Yann Martel

What is fiction? “[I]sn’t it, the selective transforming of reality?” (viii). Or what about “the twisting of it to bring out its essence?” (viii). In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the boundaries of fiction are pushed to the limits. Piscine Molitor Patel, a devoutly religious Indian boy, falls victim to a shipwreck and is stuck for two hundred and twenty seven days on a lifeboat. Through starvation, storms, trauma and several near death experiences, Pi chooses to depict his lengthy story first with…

expense of taking one. (Martel, 139)” Richard Parker knew who took care of him, and when Pi was in trouble Richard Parker showed his loyalty by protecting him. Dominance is shown by an animal when they feel like they have a possible replacement. Many animals will show their dominance by urinating to mark their territory. For example, “I always made sure I was there before him, copiously marking my territory with urine so that he didn’t forget who was who and what was whose. (Martel 148)” This is…

of coexistence, overcoming fear, and religion. The book by Yann Martel has a main idea of coincidence, predominantly between the beliefs of science and religion. One of the first settings of the book, a zoo, is a representation of this main theme. The Patel family owns India’s famous Pondicherry Zoo before they try to move to Canada. The zoo is symbolic itself; hundreds of various kinds of animals live there together without conflict. Martel writes, in Chapter 32, about “surprising living…

who is driven to live can will do whatever it takes to survive and can come back from the brink of death. In Life of Pi, Yann Martel demonstrates just how powerful inner strength of a person can be and how faith in something can keep one alive in unbelievable situations through his use of devices such as anthropomorphic characters and multiple versions within the story. As Martel opens the novel with a description of Pi’s youth, readers learn that his childhood in a zoo and with multiple faiths…

survive to succeed! In Life of Pi by Yann Martel the main character Piscine, also known as Pi is on a ship when tragedy strikes, and a terrible storm sinks the ship. As the only human survivor, Pi is not alone; a tiger named Richard Parker has also found refuge on the lifeboat and so did several other animals. In the novel Life of Pi, Martel uses the animals to create a self identity out of survival by portraying indirect characterization and simile. Martel uses the animals to create a self…

Belief is the foundation that sustains the themes and events in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. In order for the readers to believe a sixteen year old boy can survive being cast away at sea for 227 days with a tiger the author provides the reader with Pi Patel—the epitome of belief. Pi represents belief because his life’s story is based on the belief of the reader. Throughout Life of Pi the reader is able to witness the effects stories have on Pi’s belief in respect to his survival. The reader is…

Yann Martel once said, “Survival is a state of mind”. In The Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses the theme of survival. Mans duality is demonstrated through facing his fears, psychological survival, and constructed reality. At the beginning of the novel, Pi’s father instills a lesson is to be learned around big animals such as Bengal tigers. Pi’s father makes Pi and his older brother watch as a goat is thrown into the cage of the tiger as a meal. Growing up at the Pondicherry zoo, Piscine had a love…

Lastly, another important concept in both passages is self-defense because safety provides one with the ability to protect oneself from dangers such as wild animals. Self defense is important to Piscine Patel because his goal is to get rid of any possibilities that are considered threatening. As much as Pi cares about animals and is known to be as soft as snow he is still competing for limited sources such as food, water and boat space. Due to this reason, Pi starts to become selfish and…

In the novel “Life of Pi” written by Yann Martel discribes the life of a Indian boy name Piscine Molitar Patel and what he undergoes to finding his true beliefs. Faith plays a signifiant in shaping Pi’s personality. Pi’s significance of Hundusim, Christianity, and Islam helps him discovery his own beliefs on religion. Growing up Pi’s mother and auntie practiced Hinduism. As Pi comes to age he discoveries sprirituality. Pi curiosity in relgions grew as he discovered there was more than the…

requires intelligence, ingenuity and resilience. In the story “The Story of Keesh” Jack London portrays the fundamental character Keesh, who use wit and resourcefulness to survive in the extreme environment of the Arctic, and in the story “Life of Pi” Yann Martel depicts how the main character Pi use ingenuity and resilience to survive alone in the middle of the Pacific ocean with an adult tiger. “The Story of Keesh” centers on Keesh, who had to hunt, despite the fact…