...Like any good work of fiction, symbols play a key role in Yann Martell’s Life of Pi, the most important being Richard Parker. Richard parker, a four hundred and fifty pound Bengal tiger, is forced to share a life boat with the protagonist, Pi. While initially, his ferociousness scares Pi, after taming him, the two learn to coexist. At the end of the novel, when the two reach land, Richard Parker runs off into the jungle without a farewell. Through the way Pi speaks to the tiger and as the story develops, it becomes apparent that Martell intended Richard parker to symbolize Pi’s will to survive and his primal state. Although he is ferocious and fearsome, Richard Parker’s presence is what drives Pi’s will to live. Pi faces many issues on the...
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...Life of Pi – Inquiry Essay The important thing isn’t that we can live on love alone, but that life isn’t worth living without it. In the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the author shows that Richard Parker is part of Pi, and is necessary for his survival. This is shown at the end of the novel when Pi reaches Mexico with Richard Parker’s help of survival. However, there are two different versions to Pi’s story, and there is no physical proof of Richard’s existence other than his word. Life isn’t worth living without hope, Richard Parker is necessary for Pi’s survival because he gives him a reason to survive, provides companionship, keeps him from feeling hopelessness. Firstly, Richard Parker is essential for Pi’s survival. He is essential for Pi’s survival because Richard Parker has the strength and viciousness necessary to survive. In the end of the book it is revealed that Richard Parker is Pi. Richard Parker is just a figment of Pi’s imagination a creation of Pi’s mind to help him cope with seeing his mother killed and the rest of the bad experiences he had after the ship sunk. Pi created Richard in order to conjure up those traits that he needs in order to survive; Richard is strong, fierce, and terrifying, whereas Pi is complete opposite. He creates a strong fierce animal with a personality that is capable of doing things he can't, but has to in order to survive. Richard Parker is just Pi’s dark side. He keeps Pi sane, despite of his terrible deeds. In other words, he...
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...The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is about a 16-year old boy who is stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days. He is accompanied by a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger, all fighting for survival on a tiny raft. Yann Martel uses characters to show that the absence of hope can either weaken a character or allow the character to realize that perseverance is needed to make him/her stronger. Pi’s evolution as a character is portrayed throughout his journey at sea: at first he is scared, fearful and is mourning the painful loss of his family. Though, as days pass, he learns to adapt with his surroundings and becomes courageous and intelligent with his lifestyle at sea. His relationship with the tiger, Richard Parker, also evolves from fear and hate to admiration and love. When Pi’s family decides to make a life in Canada, this leads Pi and his family to take aboard the Tsimtsum along with the many animals from their family zoo. One night the ship sinks and Pi is forced to take aboard a rescue boat, and later realizes that he is to share it with multiple animals. The presence of animals adds to the amount of trouble Pi must handle now that he is stranded at sea. All hope seems lost based on his situation, as Pi explains, “I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the pacific… had I considered my prospects in the light of reason, I surely would have given up and let go of the oar, hoping that I might drown before being eaten” (Yann 118). Pi has already accepted the fact...
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...“The color orange is the midpoint between yellow and red and is said to signify a point of balance between a person’s libido and their spirit” (Signology) In the novel The Life of Pi, the colour orange is a symbol of hope and survival. It is present through the whistle, lifebuoy, OJ, who is the orangutan and Richard Parker, who is the tiger. Orange is a symbolic colour in Hinduism. This why I believe the author used this colour because Pi is a Hindu. “If there hadn't been the lifebuoy I wouldn't have lasted a minute.” (Martel, 117) The lifebuoy saved Pi from the sinking of the Tsimstum ship. I believe Yann Martel did this because the colour orange represents survival and it shows that Secondly, the whistle is another representation of the...
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...Anthony Pulicicchio Mr. Cook ENG4U Tuesday, January 12th, 2016 Pi and his Religious Survival Throughout many novels such as, The Lord of the Flies, The Road, and Then We Were None, there were many instances where God and the values of religion came into play, as the characters had to subdue their loneliness. Many of these novels had characters whom survived solely on the life skills they were taught as a kid, or they were given assistance from God. This ideology of God relates to the novel The Life of Pi. The novel incorporates and explains the central theme of the nature of faith, and how faith is one. This is shown as the novel’s protagonist, Piscine ‘Pi’ Patel, a character that dedicates himself and practices many different types of religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. Yann Martel makes a clear indication on how faith brings a person together and how faith and religion brought Pi to the person he is today. These 3 religions play an important role in Pi’s life as Pi refers to God many times throughout his devastating journey on the lifeboat. The novel, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel offers and gives the reader the most accurate definition of religion, which is incorporated by simply and basically having faith. At the beginning of the novel Francis Adirubasamy states that Pi’s story of survival is “…a story that will make you believe in God” (Martel. 21). This story makes you believe the ideology of religion and notion of God due to the fact that Pi’s devotion...
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...Miraculous Survivor: Humility and Pi In Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses the journey of Pi out in the ocean to show us the transformation Pi goes through from a boy who is angry about the situation he is currently in to a survivor trying to survive while taking care of Richard Parker. The article Miraculous Survivors: Why they live while others die, lists humility and humbleness as a trait of a survivor. The article applies to Life of Pi because of the transformation Pi goes through in which, humbleness allows Pi to learn to appreciate Richard Parker in helping him survive while also becoming his care taker. The reason Yann Martel displays such a transformation is to make us believe in God through showing how humbleness can allow people to appreciate what they have in any situation, and that people should just take what they get because it is all in the hands of God. Pi goes...
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...Life of Pi is an interesting journey through life and faith in an extraordinary experience. Pi Patel is a man who speaks of his loss, his gain, and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Pi Patel is a Christian Hindu who underwent a series of unfortunate events. Troubles about his own name, chaotic exposure to different religious beliefs, his proximity to his family, his ultimate loss against natural causes, his strive to survive and the adequacy of his whole experience. Imagining how his life could be so surreal, there’s no part in the story that is not interesting enough to not tell. He involved everyone who made a difference in his life. His uncle, who taught him how to swim; the one who swam in the clearest of waters in a French hotel, gave the idea of his name to his own father. The name he dare corrected to his peers and professors. By memorizing every number in the equation of pi, he proved that he is pi. Complicated as it were, no matter how different your name is, challenging your belief of anything brings you closer into harnessing the essence of it. In his quotes, lines as it were, he emphasized that religion should be challenged in order for your faith to grow stronger as climbing through the metaphorical ladder to God. As Pi grew, so did his religious beliefs. Meeting or being introduced, discovering three different religions made him see that there is one god and many gods to believe in. He met Christ as his older brother dared him to drink from the...
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...Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a story about a young Indian boy who finds himself alone in a lifeboat after his ship sinks - his only companions are a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Throughout his journey, the protagonist, Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. The book was published in 2001 and was adapted by Ang Lee for the big screen in 2012, winning four awards from eleven nominations, including Best Director. Unlike several book-to-film adaptations, Life of Pi did not disappoint its many fans. Instead of losing fans and falling victim to critics, it gained more fans. This was largely due to how they handled the original material. The book is well know and well loved for the inner struggle and triumph of Pi, whose main goal is simply to survive, while his secondary goal is to spiritually come to terms with what has happened. What is most surprising, though, is that the screenplay is only 75 pages compared to the 400 plus pages of the book. As a general rule of thumb, one page in a screenplay equals one minute on the screen. However, due to the stunning cinematography and the computer graphics, the movie is 127 minutes long. These visuals replace the inner monologues that the book uses to show the changes in Pi. Excluding the monologues was the biggest risk David Magee, the screenwriter, took when he adapted the book. The book focuses...
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...in these crucial situations would flow from their desires and needs and their emotions and psychological state of mind. A concern is raised when we try to find a positive correlation between following one’s moral compass and the success of survival; which there is none. If one does not succumb to their survival instincts – that kick in to aid in an unfamiliar situation – you cannot survive. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Pi Patel is faced with despairing hardship when the ship he has boarded sinks and he is led astray on a lifeboat with four wild animals along with him. Furthermore, Pi faces the issue of morality versus survival which is especially difficult for him because of his religious nature, the usage of Richard Parker as an emotional and psychological crutch to get through this chaotic circumstance and also, the constant fixation on food and the lack of it. Being lost at sea gives the story a perspective very different from the normal life of Pi Patel. Pi’s will to survive coordinates with his loss of spiritual purity – though those acts of survival are needed for Pi to thrive, in which societal norms of behavior are irrelevant when ones sole priority is to survive in a circumstance that is nearly impossible to overcome. Morality and survival do not go hand and hand in dire circumstances. In order to survive, you must lose your morality and do things to survive that are far from your usual behavior. In Pi’s case he was forced to eat feces and walk around naked to accommodate...
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...Thrive Throughout the book, Life of Pi, the main character Pi is placed in an extremely precarious situation which requires tremendous ingenuity, intuitiveness and responsive to higher guidance. This in turn, requires the growth of his person and faith. Pi undergoes a marked transformation in maturity, discernment and faith, all of which procure his survival. As time and situations continue to present themselves, it is in the becoming of Pi’s highest self which inevitability secures his existence. Pi undergoes a tremendous development and maturity of his character. Pi learns to fully accept and overcome his situation. The death of Pi’s family has a huge impact on how his character develops acceptance. “…It was not only the day that died and the poor zebra, but my family as well. With that second sunset, disbelief gave way to pain and grief. They were dead; I could no longer deny it”(Martel 160). Pi’s overwhelming grief leads him to a place of being striped of all external support. He must first accept how he will respond and grow through it. Without this situation thrust upon him, he would not have been forced or “gifted” with the opportunity to develop into full maturity as an individual separate from his family. Pi is placed in a horrific situation, which actually “gifts” him with the opportunity to grow in the midst of challenge, choose for himself who he will become and how he will respond, and subsequently experience transformation. Pi moves beyond his grief so that...
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...Life of Pi Theme of Religion At times, Life of Pi reads like a defense of religion. Has science proved religion wrong? Here's a protagonist who believes passionately in both zoology and religion. What about the fact of multiple faiths? Don't these faiths contradict each other, cause wars, and other problems? Here's a protagonist who is Muslim, Christian, and Hindu – all at the same time. The book defends not only the common spirit behind these three religions, but the rituals and ceremonies of each. It's as if all three religions find harmonious common ground in this character. Seems unlikely, but then again, the protagonist argues passionately that the miraculous happens in our darkest moments. Quote #1But 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. (1.4.14) | Do zoos incarcerate animals in confined spaces and make them miserable? Pi doesn't think so: "Certain illusions about freedom" tempt us to this conclusion. In actuality, an animal's life in the wild is more circumscribed than "a knight on a chessboard" (1.4.8). Predator-prey relationships restrict the animal's movement. A zoo enclosure is actually more like a hearth for an animal: a place of comfort and rest. Likewise, most people think of religion as a restrictive...
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...any other through religion and hope. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Piscine “Pi” Molitar Patel manages to survive out in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days alongside a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. While both fight for their lives to keep from starving, Pi finds even greater difficulty in believing he would live. Formed by the necessity and struggle to survive, man must gain hope from his trust...
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...Life of Pi Literary Research Essay In the novel, Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses Pi’s uses of survival that are throughout the novel to show how he overcame his dangerous journey. The use of physical survival was shown by getting food and water to live. Spiritual survival by believing in god and giving up his beliefs and religions to live. And also biological survival and how his uncle was an excellent swimmer which made Pi one too. First, there is the necessity of physical survival: he must keep his body alive. This requires food and water, both in short supply, as well as protection from the elements. Pi knows he must defend himself from the immediate threat, Richard Parker, but he is also aware that there is a whole host of dangers waiting to do him in. Ocean storms, huge waves, sharks, sunstroke, dehydration, drowning—any and all of these things pose a risk to his life. Pi’s inventiveness and resourcefulness (he covers himself with wet clothes to protect his skin from the sun and builds a raft from oars and lifejackets to keep him at a safe distance from both the tiger and sharks) enable him to remain physically safe. As Martel makes clear in his novel, living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes heroic things to survive. However, they will also do shameful and barbaric things if pressed. "I will confess that I caught one of his arms with the gaff and used his flesh as bait. I will further confess that driven by the extremity of my need and...
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...Reading between the lines The second story Pi was the truth leaving the first story as Pi’s way of coping with the traumatic events that happened in the life boat. Pi’s unique background gives life to all the symbolizing and double meanings, explain why the second story is true. Life of Pi is book with deep detail and description, giving a very full pictures. I think Martel uses this to his own advantage. Giving us such a layered story, makes the ending even more of a crash. With such realistic details, it seems impossible for anything other to be true. Pi also seems like a whole and true character, it makes no sense for him imagine it (Shmoop 1). Not only until I sat back ran through my notes did I realise it was staring me in the face the whole story. Almost the whole first part is about the abstraction of religion. The fact that he believes and worships three religions just screams imagination. Pi’s beliefs run wild throughout the entire book, giving his character flesh and blood. In part one, Pi tells us about his childhood. His father owned and ran a zoo, giving Pi a deep...
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...Yann Martel’s novel, ‘Life of Pi’ is about the protagonist Piscine Molitor Patel, a 16 year old boy who has been stranded in the Pacific Ocean for 227 days with only the company of animals. A zebra, hyena, orangutan and a Bengal tiger, all which are trying to survive on a lifeboat. In ‘Life of Pi’ survival is a key theme and along with survival goes hope. Pi evolves into a different person by the end of the novel as he has adapted to the unfortunate circumstance. Pi’s family had made the decision to move to Canada with various animals from their zoo in Pondicherry, aboard the Tsimtsum. The Tsimtsum sinks leaving Pi to be the lone survivor, spare the mentioned animals. Having the presence of animals adds to the stress of survival, as Pi does not only need to keep himself alive he feels the need to keep all the animals alive and from harming him. To Pi, at...
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