Sacrifice In Life Of Pi

Pi ends up being the sole survivor on the lifeboat, and it is his faith in himself that makes survival possible. He endures a lot in those 227 days at sea and faces many hardships that he has to overcome. He has lost his family, he is dealing with a crazed murder, and eventually he faces solitude on his journey. He has only himself to count on to get through this exhaustive ordeal. At one of his lowest points, when the reality of his situation really sets in, Pi is worried about dying. However, a voice within him speaks and say "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" (80). This is a true testament to Pi’s strength, as he truly does whatever he needs to do in order to survive. This is evidenced throughout the rest of the story as he devises a routine to keep himself busy, learns how to fish to feed his hunger, and continues on his journey until he reaches the beaches of Mexico. It is ultimately, his faith in his self and his will to live that rescue him from an untimely demise.

Despite the impossible elements of Pi’s story and its fantastical nature, the reader can still take away value from Pi’s story.
While his original story contains some unbelievable details such as the animals in the lifeboat, orangutans floating on bananas, and the carnivorous meerkat island, it is still a story of survival, be it fact or fiction. Both versions of the story depict astonishing courage, a will to live, and an end to a 227 day journey. As Pi recounts his time on the meerkat island, he comes to a conclusion that pushes him to leave the island. “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” (154). Whether, the island existed or not, Pi knew he that he would not want to live a life alone and away from other humans. He knew that he needed to leave the island, not fall prey to its comforts, and seek out a human world. He expresses his will to live, and he continues his path to salvation; this is the takeaway that is easy for the reader to acknowledge. Pi’s recollection is likely a coping mechanism for the reality that he had faced, and despite some of the unreliable details, there is truth and lessons within it. When faced with a life-threatening situation, the message is to do what is necessary to
survive.