Pi Conscience

In Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Pi has to go through many obstacles, which can make him cave in, and do things he is not proud of, leading him to his fate. “Courage without conscience is a wild beast” by Robert Green Ingersoll, describes that doing things without your conscience could get you harmed in the process. Pi demonstrates in the novel the necessary skills needed for survival, which were bestowed upon him as he listened to his conscience. Pi’s conscience prevented him from experiencing, or engaging in savagery, guiding him to make decisions, and made him do things, and get used to things he would have never thought he would have to do. If a person can trust in their conscience, then survival is possible, and it will guide them along
Pi’s father was the one to bring this action to Pi. Pi’s father and mother were arguing whether or not they should show this to Pi, and his brother Ravi, at such a young age. Upon showing them what Pi’s father had planned, Pi, Ravi and their mother are in hysterics. Pi’s father then proceeds to show them the dangers of all the animals in their zoo. Pi’s father states “I’m going to show you how dangerous tigers are… I want you to remember this lesson for the rest of your lives.” (Martel 34) Pi’s father had trust in his conscience to show Pi and Ravi the lesson, to prevent them from injury. The word “dangerous” shows how Pi’s father does not want Pi or Ravi to get injured from putting human characteristics onto animals, and “remember” shows how the lesson will be so intense that it will be stuck in Pi and Ravi’s brains forever. Pi remembers the lesson later on in the novel, as he is stuck on a lifeboat with Richard Parker. Determination is a trait that is shown through Pi’s father and mother, as they just want to keep their family safe. Anthropomorphism is a theme presented throughout the novel. It is shown using language, that putting human characteristics to animals is dangerous. Pi followed his conscience to trust in his father’s lesson, which had given Pi survival skills that prevent him from enduring
Because of this, Pi had to get used to the things he would normally not do, making him become numb. Pi struggles to figure out how he will feed himself, and Richard Parker, on the lifeboat. Fishing becomes an option for Pi. Pi is a vegetarian, and would never think about killing marine life. Although, Pi knows that he needs to fish. He knows that he needs to do this from listening to his conscience, and gains the courage to kill the fish. This task soon becomes as easy as ever. “It is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything, even to killing.” (Martel 185) Pi has to listen to his conscience, and knows that if he did not kill the fish, he nor Richard Parker could not survive.“Used” in this quote, shows Pi is becoming familiar to things, he never thought he would ever do, now that he has been on the lifeboat.“Killing” is something Pi is becoming easier at, but this goes against what he believes in and what his family has taught him. The novel is affected by this, because Pi’s humane side has become damaged, and he has given into savagery. This event, has revealed how Pi can adapt to situations for the sake of his own survival, but as he does this, he is in conflict with his diet, his beliefs and his values. Sympathy is created for Pi, because we see Pi struggling to decide what's more important: his survival or his morals. The theme of survival is enhanced in this quote, as it uses language to