Life of Pi Theme

Theme of Life of Pi In the book Life of Pi, Religion is the most dominant theme in the story, influencing the main character as well as progressing the plotline religion is a predominant aspect of Pi’s life throughout the book. At the beginning, Pi talks of how his two majors at university are religion and zoology. Pi says “many people seem to loose God along life’s way. That was not my case.”(Martel 59). He refers to how he has always been interested in God and religion and how he has explored different religions. Throughout the book, Pi explores three different religions Hindu, Catholic and Islam. He was born into a Hindu family and has been a part of the faith ever since. He said “I felt at home in a Hindu temple” (Martel 60). His faithfulness to Hinduism did not change his curiosity towards exploring other religions. When Pi is only 14 years old, he goes to a Catholic church where he meets the priest and learns about the Catholic faith. Then about a year later, Pi discovers Islam from a local who teaches him the ways of the Muslim faith. His passion for religion drives him to learn more about other faiths and gives him the courage to talk to total strangers. Pi shows a great deal of independence to learn as much as he can. This independence is present when Pi is on the boat and has to fend for himself. His enthusiasm towards religion doesn’t change while he is on the boat. By reciting his daily prayers, religion gives Pi a sense of hope that will help him to survive. The choice he made about his religions happened to save his life, for when he was on a boat he relied on his religions to pass his time. Pi has a prayer that he used throughout his whole trip on the boat, "So long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen."(Martel 186) as you can tell this is a very religious thing to say, and heavily Christian. However, Christianity was not Pi's only religion, he practiced Hinduism, and Islam as well. With three religions behind him as well as his degree in