John

Based on the study of my theme I believe that my thesis will be in the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses the protagonist Pi to demonstrate how faith, ritual and one’s will to live save one from the barbaric and carnivorous reality. The key arguments that I will use to prove this thesis is firstly how Pi uses faith to help him survive in on the boat, for example Pi unconsciously makes a ritual for himself daily to follow in order keep himself busy and so that he forgets the notion of time, with this Pi is able to survive because he makes an effort to forget the amount of time that passes. Another argument I can argue is the different symbols of religion are found in the novel, as the colour orange and how it is the symbol for Hinduism. The colour orange was used a lot it the novel, it showed the survival and hope that God will save Pi, for example when he was thrown in the lifeboat by a sailor he was given a lifejacket that was described to be orange and also an orange whistle. These items helped Pi to survive at sea as he used the other life jackets he found in the lifeboat to create himself a floating island to keep away from Richard Parker. Furthermore the colour orange also symbolizes Richard Parker as he was orange, without Richard Parker Pi wouldn’t have survive out in the sea, Richard Parker was like a friend to Pi without him he would have gone insane Richard Parker helped him lose track of time to help him forget about the loss of his family, also without Richard Parker being there he would have been eaten by the Frenchman that tried to get on board. Another indication that the colour orange was used as a religious symbol is when he made the comparisons between that of Orange Juice, the orangutan, and the Virgin Mary, and would also often bring up Jesus on the cross. An important argument that I can use to prove my thesis is the island that Pi and Richard Parker came across, this island they encountered was a great comparison to the story of Adam and Eve