essay of life of pi

Life of Pi: Key Characters, Plot, and Themes Essay

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Introduction

Key characters, plot summary, themes and personal opinion.

Life of Pi is a popular fantasy novel by Yann Martel, an author from Canada. It tells the story of Piscine, a boy who travels on a life raft with a tiger after surviving a shipwreck. After a series of hardships, the main character returns to civilization and manages to succeed in life. Martel raises several problems, ranging from the costs of survival to the details of religious self-expression.

The discussed novel is not short, but there are very few active characters that participate in the majority of critical events. Pi is a middle-aged Canadian of Indian descent, but he tells the story that happened when he was only sixteen (Palmer 2016). As a teenager, Pi believes in God, practices vegetarianism, and admires wildlife (Martel 2001). The author does not provide many details about Pi’s family. His father, Santosh, owns the Pondicherry Zoo and is skeptical about religion (Martel 2001). Gita, the main character’s mother, is a Hindu woman who implants the love of knowledge in Pi and supports him. Richard Parker also acts as a separate character – he is a three-year-old tiger named after a hunter by mistake. In this book, Richard serves as the symbol of physical power, beauty, and threat (Palmer 2016). Other characters, including Pi’s wife, brother, teacher, and children, are described in brief.

The book in question consists of three sections, each of which is devoted to the specific phase of the story. In the first part, the protagonist, known as Pi, reflects on his early life in Southern India and his relationships with parents and other family members (Martel 2001). In the first few chapters, some exciting details about Pi are revealed, including the origin of his full name, the experience of being bullied at school, and his father’s zoo and hotel businesses. Apart from these facts, Pi remembers the start of his spiritual journey when he wanted to practice three religions at the same time (Martel 2001). During the so-called Emergency period in India, Pi’s family decides to move to Canada to live in safety.

The next section is focused on Pi’s dangerous adventures during the trip to Canada. After a few days of overwater travel, “the Japanese cargo ship Tsimtsum” carrying the family and their animals runs into a gale and sinks (Martel 2001, 45). Serendipitously, Pi manages to survive and sails away with four animals on a life raft. The animals start killing each other, and Pi eventually finds himself left one on one with a “three-year-old adult Bengal tiger” named Richard Parker (Martel 2001, 47). He starts training the tiger with the help of food and tricks and becomes able to share the boat with Richard without obvious threats to life.

Different mental effects of lonely drifting with no hope of deliverance manifest themselves and make Pi approach the delirious state of mind. The tiger saves him from death a few times, and Pi wrongly assumes that they can communicate verbally. Pi and the tiger discover an island inhabited by suricates and other animals but return to the ocean due to dangerous plants. A few days after, they arrive at a Mexican beach, and the tiger runs away. In the final portion of the book, the narrator describes his communication with the Japanese authorities that investigate the case of Tsimtsum. He meets them in one of the hospitals in Mexico and tells his story, but the officials do not believe him. To avoid problems, he has to invent the second, a more realistic version of the tale by replacing animals with people.

The popularity of the novel is probably related to the number of essential ideas and issues that it raises. First of all, Life of Pi is about the need to change and the survival instinct and its manifestations in life-threatening conditions. In the first chapters, Pi is presented as a vegetarian and a person who never hurts animals. Still, as the story develops, he gradually becomes capable of hunting and eating anything to survive (Palmer 2016). Being alone with wild animals on the boat, Pi becomes an eyewitness of violence in nature when the hyena “plunges head and shoulders into the zebra’s guts” (Martel 2001, 58). This “ghastly, but natural, animal ferocity” urges Pi to challenge his ideals (Palmer 2016, 100). He has to choose between being guided by primal fear and death.

Another major theme is religion or, more specifically, Pi’s self-determination, understanding of God, and connections between religious movements. The reader is told that Pi has been raised as a Hindu but manages to understand the core ideas of the most practiced religions due to his clear-sightedness and love for God (Kuriakose 2018). Pi recognizes things that the adherents of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity have in common, thus demonstrating his “religious imagination” (Wagner 2016, 1). He believes the concept of God to be universal and describes Hindus as “hairless Christians,” Muslims as “bearded Hindus,” and Christians as “hat-wearing Muslims” (Martel 2001, 26).

In my opinion, the novel is unique since it makes totally different worlds coexist peacefully, and it does not refer only to religion. The author uses various writing techniques and proceeds from obviously fantastic scenes to naturalistic descriptions of what Pi observes during his long journey. To me, Life of Pi is among the books that can be understood in plenty of ways. It means that all people can learn more about themselves when going through a series of unexpected adversities with Pi and trying to imagine what they would do if they were him. From my perspective, Life of Pi encourages individuals to value life just like other shipwreck narratives do. It also teaches the readers that finding their inner strength in critical situations may require revising their views of life.

Personally, I am sure that the book also has a deep meaning when it comes to culture and religion. The author’s multicultural background enables him to make references to different traditions without raising conflicts (Kuriakose 2018). To some extent, the plot demonstrates that a person’s religious affiliation does not matter when his or her life hangs in the balance. From Pi’s inner dialogues, it becomes clear that religious rivalry stems from several artificial barriers between people. Conceivably, the book can make those believing in the superiority of their religion challenge their views, thus improving mutual understanding.

To sum it up, Martel’s novel raises many philosophical themes, including religious self-determination, God’s universality, and behavioral changes that people experience in the face of death. Being quite dynamic, the plot can be interpreted in a variety of ways and lead people to different conclusions. In my opinion, the book teaches the audience to build inner strength, value life, and avoid dividing people by religion.

Kuriakose, John. 2018. “Religious Pluralism in Yan Martel’s Life of Pi: A Case of Intertextual Correspondence with Swami Vivekananda’s Religious Philosophy.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies 9 (2): 138–145. Web.

Martel, Yann. 2001. Life of Pi . Toronto, Canada: Knopf Canada.

Palmer, Christopher. 2016. Castaway Tales: From Robinson Crusoe to Life of Pi. Middletown, NJ: Wesleyan University Press.

Wagner, Rachel. 2016. “Screening Belief: The Life of Pi, Computer Generated Imagery, and Religious Imagination.” Religions 7 (8): 1–22. Web.

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Bibliography

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Life of pi Essay 400 words For Students

Yann Martel’s novel “Life of Pi” offers a captivating narrative that delves into themes of survival, faith, and the unwavering human spirit. The story follows Piscine Molitor Patel, a young Indian boy stranded on a lifeboat in the vast Pacific Ocean alongside an unexpected companion, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. This essay aims to delve into the intricacies of the tale, examining its allegorical depth, character evolution, and philosophical underpinnings.

Table of Contents

Essay On The Extraordinary Journey of Self-Discovery – An Analysis of “Life of Pi”

Allegory of the human experience:.

At its core, “Life of Pi” serves as an allegory, using its unique premise to convey profound philosophical concepts. The Pacific Ocean serves as an expansive stage where the human experience is magnified. Pi’s lifeboat journey parallels the broader journey of life itself, marked by challenges, uncertainty, and the quest for significance. His survival amid the ocean’s vastness symbolizes the resilience of human determination in the face of adversity.

Character Development:

The protagonist, Pi, undergoes significant character growth throughout the novel. Initially a curious and spiritually open young boy, Pi practices Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam simultaneously. This diversity of faiths mirrors the novel’s overarching theme of religious tolerance and the various paths individuals take to find spiritual fulfillment. As the plot unfolds, Pi’s faith is tested as he grapples with isolation, hunger, and the primal instincts required for survival. His evolving relationship with Richard Parker, the tiger, serves as a metaphor for the human struggle to reconcile with our primal nature.

Survival Instinct and Primal Nature:

Pi’s survival instincts unveil his primal nature, illustrating how humans can adapt under extreme circumstances. To endure, Pi must confront and tame his fear of Richard Parker, essentially grappling with the untamed facets of his own being. This internal struggle underscores the dual nature of human existence and the necessity of striking a balance between our civilized selves and our innate instincts.

The Power of Storytelling:

Integral to “Life of Pi” is Pi’s act of storytelling, offering a framework to interpret his journey’s events. His survival narrative, which includes his unlikely companionship with a tiger, challenges the boundaries between reality and fiction. This prompts readers to contemplate the subjective nature of truth and the role of storytelling in shaping our perceptions of the world.

The Role of Faith:

Faith emerges as a central motif, encapsulating humanity’s quest for meaning beyond the tangible realm. Pi’s dedication to multiple religions showcases the intricate layers of faith and how it can offer solace and guidance during times of turmoil. The open-ended conclusion, presenting two conflicting versions of Pi’s ordeal, encourages readers to ponder the significance of faith and the narratives we choose to embrace.

Conclusion:

In summation, “Life of Pi” transcends its survival tale label, presenting a multi-dimensional narrative. Yann Martel masterfully weaves allegory, character growth, and philosophical exploration, inviting readers to contemplate the complexities of the human experience. Through Pi’s remarkable journey, the novel traverses themes of survival, faith, and the interplay between human and primal aspects. “Life of Pi” compels us to question the boundaries of reality, the potency of storytelling, and the unyielding resilience of the human spirit amid the unknown.

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by Yann Martel

• Life of Pi Summary

Life of Pi tells the fantastical story of Pi Patel, a sixteen-year-old South Indian boy who survives at sea with a tiger for 227 days. Pi, born Piscine Molitor Patel , grows up in the South Indian city of Pondicherry, where his father runs the zoo. A precocious and intelligent boy, by the age of fifteen Pi—Hindu from an early age—has also adopted Christianity and Islam, and considers himself a pious devotee to all three religions.

Thanks to government upheaval that has long been distressing Pi’s father, the Patels decide to close the Pondicherry Zoo and move to Canada when Pi is sixteen. Pi, his mother, father, and brother Ravi all board the Tsimtsum along with the zoo’s animal inhabitants (who are on their way to be sold around the world).

An unexplained event causes the Tsimtsum to sink, and Pi is the only human to make it onto the lifeboat and survive. Along with Pi, the lifeboat contains a hyena, a zebra, Orange Juice the orangutan, and Richard Parker the tiger. The hyena kills and devours both the zebra and Orange Juice, before Richard Parker kills the hyena. Pi is left alone on a lifeboat with an adult male tiger.

There is no land in sight and the ocean is shark-infested, so Pi builds a raft which he attaches to the lifeboat, to keep himself at a safer distance from Richard Parker. Eventually, however, life on the raft proves too exhausting, and Pi realizes that if Richard Parker gets hungry enough, he will swim to it and kill Pi. So Pi decides that he must tame Richard Parker. Using a whistle, seasickness, and a turtle-shell shield, Pi manages to assert his authority over Richard Parker and delineate his own territory on the lifeboat, where he is comparatively safe from the tiger.

While at sea, Pi and Richard Parker face many challenges, traumas, tragedies, and miraculous occurrences. They never have sufficient food and fresh water, and the constant exposure is highly painful. A severe storm, which they miraculously survive, destroys the raft. Pi manages to capture and kill a bird. They are almost crushed by an oil tanker, which then passes by without seeing them.

During an especially severe period of starvation, Pi and Richard Parker both go blind. While blind, Pi hears a voice, and realizes that they have drawn near another lifeboat that contains a similarly starving and blind Frenchman. Pi and this man converse for a while, and bring their boats together. The Frenchman climbs onto Pi’s boat, and immediately attacks him, planning to kill and eat him. He doesn’t realize that there is a tiger on the boat, however, and accidentally steps into Richard Parker’s territory. The tiger immediately attacks and kills him. Pi, saved at the cost of his attacker’s life, describes this as the beginning of his true moral suffering.

Pi and Richard Parker come upon a weird island that is made of algae with trees protruding from it, teeming with meerkats but no other life. Pi and Richard Parker stay on the island for weeks, eating the algae and the meerkats, growing stronger, and bathing in and drinking from the fresh water ponds. They never stay on the island at night, however, Pi because he feels safer from the tiger in his delineated territory, and Richard Parker for a reason unknown to Pi. Pi eventually starts to sleep on the island, and while doing so realizes that the island is carnivorous—it emits acid at night that dissolves anything on its surface. Greatly disturbed by this, Pi takes Richard Parker, and they leave the island.

Pi and Richard Parker eventually land on the Mexican beach. Richard Parker immediately runs off into the jungle without acknowledging Pi, which Pi finds deeply hurtful. Pi is found, fed, bathed, and taken to a hospital. There, two Japanese men come to question Pi about what caused the Tsimtsum to sink. He tells his story, which they do not believe, so he offers them a more plausible version, with the animal characters replaced by other humans, which casts doubt on the original story.

Throughout the novel, the story is interrupted by the author’s notes on Pi as he is now, telling this story to the author. After recovering in Mexico he went to Canada, where he spent a year finishing high school and then studied Religion and Zoology at the University of Toronto. At some point, he got married, and he now has two children. He still thinks of Richard Parker, and is still hurt by his final desertion.

Life of Pi Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Life of Pi is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

how pi describe the hyena

"I am not one to hold a prejudice against any animal, but it is a plain fact that the spotted hyena is not well served by its appearance. It is ugly beyond redemption. Its thick neck and high shoulders that slope to the hindquarters look as...

What is flight distance? Why is this important for zookeepers to know?

Flight distance is the amount of space that one animal will allow another animal before fleeing. Zookeepers need to be aware of this distance in order to keep from frightening the animals.

Please state your question.

Study Guide for Life of Pi

Life of Pi is a novel by Yann Martel. Life of Pi study guide contains a biography of author Yann Martel, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Life of Pi
• Life of Pi Video
• Character List

Essays for Life of Pi

Life of Pi essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Life of Pi written by Yann Martel.

• Living a Lie: Yann Martel’s Pi and his Dissociation from Reality
• A Matter of Perspective: The Invention of a Story in Martel’s Life of Pi
• Religion as a Coping Mechanism in Life of Pi
• Hope and Understanding: Comparing Life of Pi and Bless Me, Ultima
• Religious Allegories in Life of Pi

Lesson Plan for Life of Pi

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Life of Pi
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Life of Pi Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Life of Pi

• Introduction
• Inspiration

Yann Martel

Ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Francis Adirubasamy first presents Pi ’s tale to the fictional author as “a story to make you believe in God,” immediately introducing religion as a crucial theme. Pi is raised in a secular, culturally Hindu family, but as a boy he becomes more devoutly Hindu and then also converts to Christianity and Islam. He practices all of these religions at once despite the protests of his three religious leaders, who each assert that their religion contains the whole and exclusive truth. Instead of dwelling on divisive dogma, Pi focuses on the stories of his different faiths and their different pathways to God, and he reads a story of universal love in all three religions. In fact, it seems that faith and belief is more important to Pi than religious truth, as he also admires atheists for taking a stand in believing that the universe is a certain way. It is only agnostics that Pi dislikes, as they choose doubt as a way of life and never choose a “better story.”

When he is stranded at sea, Pi’s faith is tested by his extreme struggles, but he also experiences the sublime in the grandiosity of his surroundings. All external obstacles are stripped away, leaving only an endless circle of sea and sky, and one day he rejoices over a powerful lightning storm as a “miracle.” After his rescue Pi returns to the concept of faith again. He tells his interviewers two versions of his survival story (one with animals and one without) and then asks which one they prefer. The officials disbelieve the animal story, but they agree that it is the more compelling and memorable of the two. Pi responds with “so it goes with God,” basically saying that he chooses to have religious faith because he finds a religious worldview more beautiful. The “facts” are unknowable concerning God’s existence, so Pi chooses the story he likes better, which is the one involving God.

Religion and Faith ThemeTracker

Religion and Faith Quotes in Life of Pi

He took in my line of work with a widening of the eyes and a nodding of the head. It was time to go. I had my hand up, trying to catch my waiter’s eye to get the bill. Then the elderly man said, “I have a story that will make you believe in God.”

Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number of my fellow religious-studies students – muddled agnostics who didn’t know which way was up, who were in the thrall of reason, that fool’s gold for the bright – reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of the miracle of life, reminded me of God.

In the literature can be found legions of examples of animals that could escape but did not, or did and returned… But I don’t insist. I don’t mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both. The Pondicherry Zoo doesn’t exist any more. Its pits are filled in, the cages torn down. I explore it now in the only place left for it, my memory.

It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them – and then they leap. I’ll be honest about. It is not atheists who get stuck in my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while. We must all pass through the garden of Gethsemane… But we must move on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.

I can well imagine an atheist’s last words… and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays true to his reasonable self, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality, might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, “Possibly a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,” and, to the very end, lack imagination and miss the better story.

The pandit spoke first. “Mr. Patel, Piscine’s piety is admirable. In these troubled times it’s good to see a boy so keen on God. We all agree on that.” The imam and the priest nodded. “But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose…” “Hmmm, Piscine?” Mother nudged me. “How do you feel about the question?” “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God,” I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.

I didn’t have pity to spare for long for the zebra. When your own life is threatened, your sense of empathy is blunted by a terrible, selfish hunger for survival. It was sad that it was suffering so much… but there was nothing I could do about it. I felt pity and then I moved on. This is not something I am proud of. I am sorry I was so callous about the matter. I have not forgotten that poor zebra and what it went through. Not a prayer goes by that I don’t think of it.

I was giving up. I would have given up – if a voice hadn’t made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, “I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.”

Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was a hell beyond expression. I thank God it always passed. A school of fish appeared around the net or a knot cried out to be reknotted. Or I thought of my family, of how they were spared this terrible agony. The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining point of light in my heart. I would go on loving.

Life on a lifeboat isn’t much of a life. It is like an end game in chess, a game with few pieces. The elements couldn’t be more simple, nor the stakes higher. Physically it is extraordinarily arduous, and morally it is killing… You get your happiness where you can. You reach a point where you’re at the bottom of hell, yet you have your arms crossed and a smile on your face, and you feel you’re the luckiest person on earth. Why? Because at your feet you have a tiny dead fish.

I was dazed, thunderstruck – nearly in the true sense of the word. But not afraid. “Praise be to Allah, Lord of All Worlds, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Ruler of Judgment Day!” I muttered. To Richard Parker I shouted, “Stop your trembling! This is miracle. This is an outbreak of divinity. This is… this is…” I could not find what it was, this thing so vast and fantastic… I remember that close encounter with electrocution and third-degree burns as one of the few times during my ordeal when I felt genuine happiness.

By the time morning came, my grim decision was taken. I preferred to set off and perish in search of my own kind than to live a lonely half-life of physical comfort and spiritual death on this murderous island.

High calls low and low calls high. I tell you, if you were in such dire straits as I was, you too would elevate your thoughts. The lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar. It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God.

“If you stumble at mere believability, what are you living for? Isn’t love hard to believe?... Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?” “We’re just being reasonable.” “So am I! I applied my reason at every moment… Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater.”

“So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can’t prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” Mr. Okamoto: “That’s an interesting question…” Mr. Chiba: “The story with animals.” Mr. Okamoto: “Yes. The story with animals is the better story.” Pi Patel: “Thank you. And so it goes with God.”

86 pages • 2 hours read

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1. Pi describes freedom within the confines of the zoo, religion, and lack of chaos.

• How does Pi define freedom? ( topic sentence )
• Explain how Pi defines freedom in relation to the zoo and in relation to religion. Then explain how Pi justifies his assertion when animals choose to escape the confines of the zoo—and presumably, when people escape the confines of religion.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, explain whether you agree with Pi’s definition of what it means to be free.

2. Ritual is an important aspect of Pi’s life as it manifests itself in multiple ways throughout his narrative.

• How does ritual pervade the narrative of Life of Pi ? ( topic sentence )

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Life of Pi — Morality vs Survival in The Life of Pi

Analysis of Life of Pi: Moral Lesson in The Novel

• Categories: Life of Pi

About this sample

Words: 1443 |

Published: Jun 29, 2018

Words: 1443 | Pages: 3 | 8 min read

Life of Pi moral lesson: essay

• Allen, T. E. (2014). Life of Pi and the moral wound. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 62(6), 965-982. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0003065114559834?journalCode=apaa)
• Marais, S. (2018). Considering the alternative: Bakhtin’s carnivalesque and convergence of worlds of animals and humans in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. Literator: Journal of Literary Criticism, Comparative Linguistics and Literary Studies, 39(1), 1-9. (https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-f652a68e6)
• Hoey, B. A. (2005). From pi to pie: Moral narratives of noneconomic migration and starting over in the postindustrial Midwest. Journal of contemporary ethnography, 34(5), 586-624. (https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/39192) 4
• Titlestad, M. (2014). Wrecked in the Shallows: Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. In Shipwreck in Art and Literature (pp. 204-217). Routledge. (https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780203079683-12/wrecked-shallows-michael-titlestad)
• Titisari, K. (2014). BOOK REVIEW OF YANN MARTEL’S LIFE OF PI. LANTERN (Journal on English Language, Culture and Literature), 3(2). (https://ejournal3.undip.ac.id/index.php/engliterature/article/view/5377)

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• Instructions Followed To The Letter
• Deadlines Met At Every Stage
• Unique And Plagiarism Free