Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Kassidey Smale
December 16th, 2013
ELA A30

It is necessary that we as humans must face a variety of decisions throughout the course of our lives. Some minor and some major. Books can help us discover ourselves as well by placing us in a sea of ‘what- if’s. Such as, what if you were stranded in the middle of the ocean and you had to put aside your morals in order to survive? In The
 Life Of Pi, by Yann Martel, Pi endures this situation as result of conflicting factors that he and his family are forced to face. Many pieces of literature like Life of Pi involve a character that is stuck between cultures or conflicting factors. Pi is a young man who
believes in three religions: Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. From these religions Pi develops a deep sense of morality and a kindness towards all living things. Symbolism plays a large role in Pi’s life. One of many examples was the color orange-it represents life; and symbolizes hope and survival. Although some may disagree, In The Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses Symbolism and the idea of religion, to create a vivid connection between Pi 's mental personas and how it transforms as he continues to persevere on his demanding journey for survival. Followed by the impact of religion, symbolism and how it relates to Pi’s life as a whole.
A sensitive topic that people tend to not understand is religion. Some do not believe in anything. Others just stick to one. Pi, though, is very curious and studies three extremely diverse religions, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism. Though there are multiple religions, they generally teach the same thing: to love each other and respect God. This idea is reinforced in chapter 23, where the priest, the pandit and the imam gather in a religious argument. They argue the same point “God is universal” and that “there is only one God” (Martel, 68). Pi goes even further with the idea of one God by saying “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God.” (Martel, 69) Pi says, during a meeting with all the leaders of the religions and his family. Nobody could actually give him a punishment because nobody knew if it was necessarily wrong or right. His parents said that he should choose one because they are complete opposites of each other and cannot connect together. Pi continues to stand by his own beliefs and practices multiple religions. Further Pi’s religions knowledge of God helps him survive the multiple obstacles he faces on the lifeboat. It is a long journey filled with danger, loneliness and doubt, but most of all an exploration of faith.
Pi maintains his religious beliefs while on the lifeboat through his daily ritual prayers, which helps sustain him. Pi has trouble facing issues like physical difficulty, ranging from salt-water boils, to the threat of death by a tiger, to cold, to starvation, to dehydration and other difficulties. However, he continues to pray regularly, and must plead to God in order to survive his ordeal. He remembers the misery he felt after such a long time away from God, saying, "It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, in the throes of unremitting suffering, I should turn to God" (Martel 315). With Pi keeping his ritual prayers going, which helped him to survive. Pi is able to maintain somewhat the religious lifestyle that he has prior to the sinking of the Tsimtsum. Pi also makes many religious relationships throughout this journey. He made comparisons between Orange Juice and the Virgin Mary. "She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary" (Martel 111). Truly, Pi 's religious faith remains strong throughout this journey on the Pacific Ocean. When Pi is in the midst of giving up, he turns to god for the answer, “I was giving up. I would have given up - if a voice hadn 't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said ‘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 as long God is with me, I will not die. Amen.” The will to survive made all the difference for Pi. Had he given up, he would have quickly been eaten by one of the animals. Instead, he vows to survive in the face of all that has gone wrong and all that threatens his life. His strong faith keeps him going when he would have let go of life.

As Pi is on the ocean he ran into a number of problematic factors. Pi is alone, while facing a number of different animals on board. Animals that are capable of much greater strength, and power than Pi himself. Which therefore leads to greater stress for Pi. Each and every one of these animals are said to have a specific meaning and representation of something in a greater sense. It was said near the end of the novel that all of the animals on the boat were actually people that represent the few survivors that escaped the ship in the storm. Pi 's story of the situation was embellished with animals because it was the "better story". Richard Parker, who is also orange, is explicitly stated in the novel to be the main reason Pi is still alive. He is the driving force that keeps him going, for fear of death. The orange whistles are the key to his control over Richard Parker, keeping the tiger afraid of him and preventing him from being eaten.
The Hyena symbolizes the vicious, cannibalistic cook from the ship. The hyena is represented as plainly the ruthless evil world. While on the boat he killed both the "zebra" and the "orangutan". The Zebra symbolizes the young Chinese sailor whose leg was broken, which represents the vulnerable things in life and how they are attacked. The Orangutan symbolizes Pi 's mother, she represents safety and protection, earlier described as a "Holy Mary" mother figure. Playing the largest role is the bangle Tiger also known as Richard Parker. Richard Parker symbolizes Pi himself, representing Pi 's inner strength. Richard Parker also symbolizes for the color of his fur coat, orange. Again, orange seems to represent life, and the things that keep Pi alive. The obvious one is the orange life vest, which is self-explanatory. These symbols not only represent a sign of life, but they make Pi realize the challenging obstacles that lie ahead.
Fear is a bold factor that Chapter Fifty-Six of this novel focuses on exclusively. It comes just as Richard Parker gets onto the boat and Pi realizes just what he has done by trying to encourage him to get on the same boat as him, as he fears that Richard Parker will be enraged, and, what is more, hungry. The reality of being trapped in an enclosed space with a tiger suddenly confronts Pi and he is forced to face fear. This chapter therefore personifies fear in a number of disguises, but the first paragraph describes fear as being "a clever, treacherous adversary" that "has no decency, respects no law or convention, shows no mercy." It is an enemy that comes to you "disguised in the garb of mild-mannered doubt" and then suddenly attacks you. This personification of fear as an enemy is so important because it leads Pi to meditate on the importance of finally facing that enemy at some point and confronting it head to head in order to have great joy over it.
Although Pi is very faithful, he refers to himself being “in hell” because he feels like he is at the darkest/lowest point in life. He is now stranded in the middle of the ocean, on a lifeboat, with an injured zebra, a tiger and a hyena. After losing everything that is important to him and possibly facing death himself, he feels like he is in a living hell because of the torment, pain and sadness that he feels. Pi expresses this on page 108 when he says, “I was not wounded in any part of my body, but I had never experienced such intense pain, such a ripping of the nerves, such an ache of the heart”. “Hell” gives us an imagery of a bad, tormenting place where there is only darkness and no happiness. Therefore, it is appropriate for Pi to express himself as being “in hell” because during this time in the novel, all he feels is pain, sorrow and only sees darkness in his life. Richard Parker is a key aid to survival for Pi, although he makes him physically weak because he is always working hard to keep Richard alive.
Through out the novel Pi had a constant battle with Richard Parker being on the lifeboat.
Whether it is finding him food or water, or simply defending himself against a brutal murder, Pi was constantly working hard. But if it wasn 't for the tiger Pi would of died. "A part of me did not want Richard Parker to die at all, because if he died I would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger. He kept me from thinking too much about my family and my tragic circumstances. He pushed me to go on living. I hated him for it, yet at the same time I was grateful. I am grateful. It 's the plain truth: without Richard Parker, I wouldn 't be alive today to tell you my story."(Pi, 266) Richard Parker is not only created in the mind of Pi Patel to save him from the trauma of the killings, Richard Parker is created to save him from his own insanity. Richard Parker cannot only be an animal representation of Pi 's cruelty, but also Pi 's conscience, hope, & sanity. “ Richard Parker had stayed with me. I’ve never forgotten him. Dare I say I miss him? I do. I miss him. I still see him in my dreams. They are nightmares mostly, but nightmares tinged with love”. (Pi, 8) Pi went on to explain, “I could not understand how he could abandon me so unceremoniously, without any sort of good-bye, without even looking back once”. (Martel, 266) Pi describes the pain much like an axe that chopped at his heart. Pi’s uneasy attachment to Richard Parker is something that stays with him for the rest of his life. The knowledge that Richard Parker would have eaten Pi in an instant if he had no food left does not deter Pi from loving him in this unusual way. It is a bond formed between two beings that have suffered together for many days. Pi feels as though Richard Parker was cold and unfeeling to leave him behind. Of course, Richard Parker is also a tiger who heard the call of the jungle, something he greatly preferred to a lifeboat floating in the ocean. Pi himself symbolizes
Richard Parker; he represents the inner strength in himself. When Richard Parker disappears, it shows he was never real, only what Pi needed for strength. Richard Parker represents all that Pi fears, as well as how he overcomes those fears. Pi learns how to face his greatest fear of death. Using the skills he learns while helping at his father 's zoo. Using an analogy of a circus, Pi tames his own fears, and in doing so, Pi survives against incredible odds. “When you’ve suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling” (page 6). After the long and horrible experience Pi survives through on the boat, he is hurt once again when Richard Parker leaves without looking back. Having gone through so much with him, Pi felt a real connection with the animal, and yet Richard Parker did not seem to value him as much. Richard stood there at the edge of a new phase of life and waited for a moment, deciding if he should move forward or not. Once Richard makes the decision to move forward and proceed into the jungle, he should do it with all faith and not look back at the old world. Richard realized that Pi no longer needs him in his life. The physical and psychological strains that had been placed over Pi the past few months had taken a great toll on him, and left Pi emotionally weak. As Pi continues on with his journey he realizes Richard Parker was only there for him when he needed him them most. Richards job was to keep Pi alert during the journey to survive, and that he has done. In summary, Yann Martel uses Symbolism and the idea of religion, to create a vivid connection between Pi 's mental personas and how it transforms as he continues to persevere on his demanding journey for survival. Followed by the impact of religion, symbolism and how it relates to Pi’s life as a whole. Symbolism plays a large role in Pi’s life. Pi’s strength was brought out in this fundamentally spiritual journey. Pi demonstrated one of the most critical parts of any journey, and life in general. That is of course to let go. Although Richard parker became a huge aid in Pi’s mind, the tiger fulfilled a role and function in time that was absolutely real, but when that came to an end he was no longer needed. In a different sense, Pi clearly demonstrated a metaphor for moving on as a human himself. You walk on because you have to, and you don’t look back at what you’ve done or failed to do. “You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it.”(Pi, 196)

Works Cited:
Martel, yann. Life of Pi. 2006. 1-366. Web.
"Faith Quotes Life of Pi.” Good reads, n.d. Web. 15 Dec 2013. .