The Life of Pi (Re-do)

The Life of Pi

By Yann Martel

          The book, The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, is a beautifully crafted book. Piscine Molitor Patel (Pi) the protagonist, is the narrator for most of the book. He tells a story of his early childhood and a shipwreck that changed him. He explains his life about suffering intensely while studying zoology and three different religions. After years of studying Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam, Pi's family moved to Canada on a ship along with many numerous cages of zoo creatures. As the ship begins to sink, Pi and a tiger named Richard Parker cling to a lifeboat while Pi's family drowns and the other creatures kill one another off. Pi and Richard were washed ashore onto a Mexican beach where Richard runs off never to be seen again. Pi was found by villagers and was rushed to a hospital where he survives and successfully moves to Canada. This book contains many themes, as well as symbols and patterns. Some essential themes that Martel implied were religion, suffering, and survival.

          To begin, religion is a crucial theme because the author defends religion repeatedly throughout the book. For instance, Pi, as a Hindu, defends the zoo and the creatures held in it. He says, "But I don't insist. I don't mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both" (19). When Pi says this, he confirms the fact that zoos aren't a form of captivity. They aren't restricted places that make animals feel miserable, but they are a place of relaxation, where animals can't express their feelings of predator and prey. Likewise, most people think of religion as a cage. Actually, Pi says "it's home and hearth for the believer" (16). Moreover, the author makes Pi defend religion against an Atheist. His biology teacher, Mr. Kumar, claims that "religion is darkness." Pi retorts by saying, "Religion will save us... Since when I could remember, religions had always been close to my heart... Religion is light" (27). By using Pi, the author defends the practicing of religion with this book.

           Furthermore, Pi suffered a great deal in his childhood as well as his adulthood. Suffering is a key theme because it's what leads the book to its end; Pi, his family, and numerous creatures suffered intensely in this book in order for the author to get a message out. For instance, Pi's family and the zoo creatures all died during the shipwreck. Pi's family slowly drowned into the deep ocean, while the animals tortured each other until Richard Parker ate the Hyena. In addition to the religion theme, suffering existed in time period where religion reached its peak. The author says, "This Son, on the other hand, who goes hungry, who suffers from thirst, who gets tired, who is sad, who is anxious, who is heckled and harassed, who has to put up with followers who don't get it and opponents who don't respect Him – what kind of god is that? It's a god on too human a scale, that's what" (55). The author includes this sentence to imply that life doesn't pass without suffering.

          Lastly, survival is a very critical theme. Pi fights against death for very long. He seeks death when he practices his religions and he runs away from death when he confronts it. One situation where Pi runs away from death is when his ship is about to sink; he and his fellow zoo animals cling to the lifeboat to survive. One symbol in this part of the book is the color orange. The author states that orange is the color of hope and survival and that was when the tiger appeared to save Pi from the savage hyena (106). Another symbol Pi comes across is a skull. It is an intimidating symbol towards Pi because he believes in life and religion. He responds with, "My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition. I mock this skull. I look at it and I say, you've got the wrong fellow. You may not believe in life, but I don't believe in death. Move on!" After reading this book, I found out that a memento mori is a symbol used to remind people of death, but the author uses Pi to support the survival theme. 

          In conclusion, the book, The Life of Pi, is a book promoting many themes including religion, suffering, and survival. Many symbols are used by the author in order to send these messages to the reader. I think the author meant to make Pi, the main character, a theme. Pi, the mathematical term, is a never ending decimal and is hard to explain. In the book, Pi is also unique; he practiced three religions and lived with a tiger for a long period of time. There aren't many people like him in the world but the author makes someone like him seem plausible.