Life of Pi shows that any animal, and also humans, should fight to survive by doing anything unconventional, even wicked, to triumph over the impossible to live instead of just accepting death. Pi, a human; a hyena, and a blind man all fight to survive in a variety of ways that are examples of this thesis.
Pi quits his vegetarian diet and also embraces a bengal tiger with him on the same boat, which are both unconventional choices. He satisfies his hunger by quit being a vegetarian and beheading and eating a fish. Pi knows that “A lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism [stands] between [him] and the willful beheading of a fish” (Martel 98). In other words, his body needs the fish because the beheading “had to be done” (Martel 98) in …show more content…
For example, Pi asks the blind man if he ever killed anyone and he answers that he killed two people because of “Need” (Mortel 247). The blind man states, “It was them or me…It was the doing of a moment. It was circumstance” (Mortel 247). He killed people because he needed some kind of food or else he would starve to death. Furthermore, the blind man attacks Pi when he suddenly “landed upon [Pi] heavily” and yelled, “You’re damn right your heart is with me! And your liver and your flesh!” (Mortel 254-255). In other words, the blind man kills two people and unexpectedly attacks Pi and tries to devour him because he is stranded in middle of the Pacific Ocean desperate for …show more content…
He worries about the many ways he could easily face death such as failure to be rescued by a ship and being attacked by the tiger. Pi cries, “I had to stop hoping so much that a ship would rescue me…To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away. There was much I had to do. I looked out at the empty horizon. There was so much water. And I was all alone. All alone. I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed arms and sobbed. My situation was patently hopeless” (Martel 91). Pi becomes hopeless about surviving now that he believes no one will rescue him. Furthermore, Pi thinks that “With a tiger aboard, [his] life [is] over” (Martel 74). Pi worries that a tiger could easily end Pi’s