What Does Water Symbolize In Life Of Pi

Improved Essays
Yann Martel's Life of Pi, a story about a 16-year-old Indian boy named Pi Patel, uses symbolism such as the color purple, animals, and the algae island as a way to represent the ways Pi's survival, but water, the profoundest symbol shown throughout the novel. Shipwrecked in the middle of the ocean, Pi has to worry about events such as, hunger, loneliness and that come with the ocean, but he will have overcome these things he will have to overcome to survive and the water with help him.
When growing up, Pi practiced Hinduism, but her also studied Islam and Christianity, and while studying Christianity, Pi learns about salvation, Jesus and to receive salvation he must confess Jesus as his savior by becoming baptized. Baptism, a practice in the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Piggy's Glasses Analysis

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the book of Lord of The Flies a plane that has been crashed into an Island with no adults and only infants lying around the Island ages 4-9.Their job is to survival on the Island until someone finds them. The book emphasizes a lot symbolism such as piggy’s glasses, the conch, and the scar. The book introduces a character named Piggy he is chubby and wears glasses and follows Ralph the leader of infants. When the book was describing him, the author mentions that fact that he wears glasses right away that means Piggy’s glasses are very prominent.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Water is possibly one of the most ordinary yet powerful substances on the planet. It plays a role in the birth of stars and planets and is a necessary component of sustaining life. Because water is such a common element, it is often overlooked when featured in stories or novels. Water can symbolize several characteristics, add depth to a tale, and can say a lot about characters without saying anything at all. Water is crucial for life and is often used symbolically to represent life.…

    • 1160 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    With everything happening in life, it is easy to focus on just ourselves and our own lives sometimes. However, it is important to not get caught up in the trivial aspects of life and lose sight of the bigger picture, or forget that “this is water.” In David Foster Wallace’s “This is Water” speech, he states that “[Life] is about simple awareness - awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, that we have to keep reminding ourselves, over and over. “This is water, this is water.’” He reminds us that being aware of real things is hard, and that we have to use things like literature to keep reminding ourselves of the reality around us.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Pi Hero's Journey

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Everything in the world follow some sort of format whether it's building a rocketship or writing a story. The author Joseph Campbell studied the myth and made the famous claim that nearly all stories have similar ideas and the heroes' adventures are almost identical in their format. It describes the adventures and experiences that an archetypal hero would go through. The story of Pi on the boat also follows the format found in the hero’s journey of departure, initiation, and then return. During the departure he experiences the Ordinary world, the call to adventure and the crossing of the first threshold.…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Archetypes In Life Of Pi

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Throughout Pi’s life he meets many people of different archetypes. For instance, Pi appears himself to be somewhat of an outcast. His brother teases him about his name and his many religions throughout the book by calling him names such as that one word that starts with p and ends in g. It is also reinforced by the fact that he is stranded on the lifeboat for around half the book. Let's take a look at some other character’s archetypes now. Most of the more main characters can be associated with an archetype.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lan Samantha Chang’s short story, “Water Names,” on the basis is three sister listening to their grandmother retell them an ancient legend or commonly considered a ghost story. The grandmother finishes the story abruptly leaving the children with many questions, as well as the reader. However if the story is read in-depth, one realizes that the interplay between the present setting and actions with the ancient legend holds an underlining meaning—desire in all forms and the disruption between old and new. Through the use of detail and symbols, Chang relates to the true meaning of “Water Names” to the readers.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Martel discusses the concept of fear and the usage of the power of fiction as a method of counteracting fear in Chapter 56. In order to survive on the lifeboat, Pi needed a way to confront his fear of Richard Parker, his fear of boredom, and his fear of fear itself. To fight fear, Pi needs a structure of beliefs, or his own “zoo” so to speak, to base his own existence on and from which he can gain a sense of protection and stability. However, on a lifeboat, there is simply not enough room for two creatures to coexist, so Pi cannot have the “zoo” that he would…

    • 110 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Does everyone have the willpower to display ‘moral courage’? No. Not everyone does. But for those who do often suffer consequences and are often remembered by all that witnessed their moral courage. Say one day you are caught in a storm, all the roads are ridiculously slippery, and then you see a car swerving toward a little boy.…

    • 487 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over time society has come to recognize certain objects, like the Red Cross, flashing lights, and hospital signs, as being the universal symbols of aid. However, many of these symbols do not necessarily need to be tangible objects in order to represent something greater, but can be a concept even as subtle as a colour that, when repeatedly shown in certain contexts, comes to symbolize the same as an ambulance responding to an emergent call. Some of the strongest symbols in literature include this type of symbolism, which subtly makes a reading more interesting and powerful, even if the reader does not initially comprehend what the symbol is. In Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, the colour orange is a symbol that portrays Pi’s eventual return to safety, through the presence of various objects, animals, and a personification of Pi himself onto an unsuspecting wild creature. In essence, objects like life jackets and whistles are automatically a representation of hope and survival, however, within Life of Pi, both of these objects also appear as being the colour…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He acknowledges the fact that his optimism differentiates him from those around him. He becomes a God loving, righteous person which further enhances his true identity as Pi does things in his own distinguishable manner. The norm of his society would be to simply follow one religion, however, Pi’s identity is a reflection of his beliefs and own personal interests. He does not concur to what society says and he clings on to all three religions, strengthening his identity. This is evident until the very end, as he continues to shape his identity by practicing each religion in the hopes of pleasing God even in the times of hardship, proving how his identity has grown to be stronger.…

    • 1540 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi Patel is a member of three different religions. He believes that all these religions are the same, they all work towards an afterlife, and when it is all boiled down to it, each of simply wants to love God. Pi uses this beautiful faith in God as a vital coping mechanism to survive the vast Pacific Ocean. His faith in God proves to be a crucial part in Pi’s survival as it guides him through his ordeal.…

    • 809 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is the meaning of Freedom? Can one ever be completely free? The true definition of freedom becomes a question early in the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, when Pi argues and refutes the claims relating to the cruelty and restrictiveness of a zoo enclosure. Pi claims that an animal is no more confined in its mobility by a physical cage, than, by its survival instincts in which profoundly restrict an animal’s freedom. According to Dictionary.com, freedom is “the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint” (dictionary.com) In Life of Pi, the arisal of questions of freedom and the deprivation of Pi’s freedom are demonstrated in three distinct forms, animal freedom, physical freedom and spiritual…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Life Of Pi And The Ocean

    • 1848 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Setting in Life of Pi: The Relationship Between Pi and the Ocean The setting of a story plays a major role in the development of the plot throughout the novel. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the main character, Pi, is left without his family and only accompanied by an untrained Bengal tiger, Richard Parker. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, Pi is compelled to train the tiger for his own survival and faces several physical and spiritual challenges.…

    • 1848 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Life of Pi Essay Life has tons of struggles, problems, and challenges in it that we all have to go through, but sometimes, those issues can turn into something much more. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, we follow Piscine Molitor Patel, a young boy who goes from his home in India where his father runs a zoo to stranded in the middle of the sea on a lifeboat with a tiger. Pi has many beliefs that were formulated while he lived in India that we see appear on the lifeboat. These beliefs helped him survive through his time of peril. Pi’s three beliefs are that religion is important, routine makes life less complicated, and that someone needs to take charge in order for things to go right.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life Of Pi Religion Essay

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Life Of Pi Essay The book of “Life of Pi”, by Yann Martel is a novel of finding yourself through religion. The main character named Pi, believed in God and faith. He comes across a journey that showed him how to be a better person. The book shows how Pi struggled through deciding which religion is best for him.…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays