Category: Life of Pi

The representation of human experiences is essential in constructing good fiction as it exposes flaws in humanity and society, leading to self-reflection within the reader. Within Yann Martel’s bildungsroman novel, Life of Pi (2002), individual experience is portrayed through Martel’s unique narrative, portraying the protagonist’s journey from multiple perspectives, leaving the reader with multiple interpretations and questions about the credibility of the stories. Martel’s nomadic childhood leads to a greater international perspective reflected in the story’s cultural diversity in its settings and characters. Upon second reading, applying Freud’s theory of personality has greatly extended my understanding of the novel. Additionally, Martel explores the idea of survival through Pi’s use of animals to create a false sense of security to survive the torment of humanity. Throughout my reading, I believe that Martel’s storytelling, Pi’s struggle, and its relation to Freud’s theory represent human experiences and shape Life of Pi into good fiction.

Applying Freud’s theory of personality with Pi’s desire to survive enhances the depth of the story and characters, further shaping Life of Pi into good fiction. Pi’s ongoing conflict between the three fundamental structures of the human mind forces him to follow his desires and abandon his religious beliefs. The symbolic shift from “A lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism” to “wilful beheading of a fish” emphasizes Pi’s transition from a devoted vegetarian to a carnivore. His irrational behavior compared to his civilized behavior highlights his id taking over his superego which leads to his loss of self. His guilt of killing is reflected through his childhood memories, “I always shuddered when I snapped open a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animal’s neck”. This paradoxical statement suggests Pi’s realization of his decline into savagery. The sibilance in ‘shuddered’ and ‘snapped’ highlights Pi’s repugnance towards hurting life, Pi is heavily influenced by his superego and his difficulty in embracing his id heightens the complication of the novel. Richard Parker can be deduced as Pi’s id when the hyena dies “neither whining nor whimpering” when Richard Parker kills “without a sound” This metaphor highlights Richard Parker’s savagery against the hyena and emotive language creates a sense of sympathy towards the hyena’s death, making us realize the flaws in humanity. Similarly, “Blazing a trail of murder and mayhem/He killed beyond his need.” Blazing metaphorically compares Richard Parker’s chaotic behavior to the uncontrollable destruction of wildfire, a key characteristic of the id. Pi’s desperation to eat meerkats goes against his vegetarianism, the motif of killing emphasizes Pi’s losing control of his desires and selfishness. Therefore, Pi’s difficult decision between abandoning his vegetarianism to survive or resisting the urge which depletes his chances of survival, creates an engaging plot line involving conflict between three opposing forces of the human mind which shapes good fiction.

Pi disconnects from humanity creating a false sense of security using animals in order to survive out at sea, his dilemma between reality and fantasy deepens his character development and story, thus creating good fiction. Martel reflects Pi’s physical and mental state through the profusion usage of orange. “The whole inside of the boat/seems orange…every significant object abroad was orange.” In Hinduism, orange is the symbol of hope, it gives Pi faith that God will eventually save him. The ‘significant object’ colored by the warmness of orange personifies them as breathing out life, Pi uses lifejackets to create a raft which prolongs his chance to survive. Similarly, after a fearful relationship with Richard Parker, Pi realizes he “had to tame him.” Ironically, Pi believes a dangerous animal will keep him alive, especially after fearing him beforehand. His confidence is emphasized through high modality language, his certainty highlights his trust in Richard Parker and the realization that he is a key component of his survival, without him Pi was unable to share his story. Furthermore, Pi sees “An island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely as the Virgin Mary”, Orange Juice, his anthropomorphized mother embodying Jesus’ wife grants Pi with comfort, giving him hope and a reason to survive. The halo of light symbolizes the pathway to heaven, a way for Pi to escape the torment of the lifeboat. In the denouement, Pi says “Since it makes no factual difference/Which is the better story, the story with the animals or the story without animals?” The rhetorical question causes doubt in the veracity of Pi’s fantastical story. Pi blurs the lines of humanity and animals and the reader is forced to confront questions about the nature of truth. Upon second reading, Martel shapes Life of Pi into good fiction by highlighting Pi’s struggle to survive through Pi’s coping method with animals and the symbolic use of the color orange to represent hope.

Martel portrays Pi’s journey from different perspectives leaving readers with multiple interpretations, making them question their credibility using framed narrative to decide whether it is all Pi’s imagination. A castaway journey with animals or with cannibalistic humans, Martel questions the believability of both by personifying fiction as “the selective transformation of reality? The twisting of it to bring out the essence?” The narrator rhetorically questions whether Pi twists reality in the author’s note, which remains unanswered until the denouement. Through the ideology of postmodernism, readers choose their own narrative by exploring the ideas of subjective reality and personal influence over truth, even if it is absurd to societal norms. Similarly, Martel explores the nature of verisimilitude by presenting an idyllic view of India to give insight into the context, Martel’s tone of confidence in “I Have a Story Will Make You Believe in god” creates an expectation that the story incorporates powerful reference to Indian spirituality. The monosyllables in ‘story’ and ‘believe’ emphasize the power of Indian spirituality which forces the reader to constantly challenge their faith in the narrator. Furthermore, the intrusive narrator in “This story has a happy ending” foreshadows an ideal ending. Martel intrudes and tells the reader that it ends in a happy ending, but doesn’t tell the exact details. This comforts the reader but creates tension on how it became happy and who became happy, engaging the reader to continue reading until the end. Lastly, Pi states at the arrival of Algae Island, “I was getting used to my mental delusion.” The illusion of paradise and Pi’s lack of clothing is a biblical allusion to Adam and Eve which highlights Pi’s struggle to believe the island’s existence. The First-person narrative emphasizes his unreliability, resulting in a closer examination of the reliability of the novel. Therefore, Martel creates good fiction by exploring the nature of verisimilitude and engaging the reader by challenging their initial interpretation through a narrative frame to show Pi’s adventure from multiple perspectives and highlight the unreliability of Pi to further question the credibility of these stories.

Upon second reading, it is accurate to say that the primary concern of good fiction is to represent and reflect human experiences, however, this can expose flaws in humanity and society. Martel explores the importance of human experiences through the representation of characteristics like the structures of the mind, while also through the power of storytelling and Pi’s desire to survive by escaping through his imagination. Throughout my close study, the novel has enriched my understanding of individual experiences and how Martel incorporates these experiences into Life of Pi, transforming them into good fiction.

The Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee focuses on the main protagonist, Piscine Molitor Patel, or Pi. Pi in his older age explains the tale of his life and the series of events that lead up to this current point. He comes from an area in India where his parents owned a zoo which is crucial to this movie plot. Pi was raised Hindu in his early childhood however when he grew older in his teenage years he began pondering the religions of Christianity and Islam.

As time went on, the corruption within the Indian government led Pi and his family to sell his zoo, gather the animals, and load them onto a freight ship heading toward Canada. A few days into their trip to Canada a storm arose leading the ship to sinkage. Pi along with a Hyena, Zebra, and Orangutan hopped on a lifeboat. The animals built tension on the boat, and Hyena’s aggressive nature arose and attacked the Zebra and Orangutan. This brief battle between the animals ended with the death of both Oranatuan and Zebra. Pi at this point is now at any time a victim of this Hyena, however the tiger, Richard Parker, jumps out from under a tarp in the boat murdering the Hyena. Pi created a makeshift raft to make a separation between himself and the vicious animal upon his boat. Richard Parker, the Tiger, is the second main protagonist.

Pi and Richard Parker have a complicated relationship throughout the film. Pi struggled for weeks upon weeks to create somewhat of a cordial relationship, but he worked as Richard Parker as a wild animal. Creating the makeshift raft helped Pi, he only needed to return to the leading boat for supplies. That was until Richard Parker became so hungry he jumped out of the boat and could swim to Pi’s raft. Pi knew at this time he had to show Richard Parker that he was the boss and that he did.

They eventually came upon a carnivorous island. At first, it seemed like a sign of salvation to Pi, which then quickly turned into freight and soon left the island. They washed up on a Mexican Island, and without hesitation, Richard quickly hopped off the lifeboat and went straight to the jungle. Pi was taken to a Mexican hospital where he was taken care of, and eventually, Mexican officials approached his recovery room asking questions about what exactly happened. After trying to explain how he ended up on a life raft with four different animals they thought he was crazy, and they didn’t believe a single thing he said. He tried again creating a completely fabricated story. The story included a cook, a sailor, and Pi’s Mother. In the process, they all perished from cannibalism except of course Pi. Although neither story explained how the shipwreck occurred. The officials ended up choosing the story with the humans. Following this is where the movie ends, Pi moved on from this event in his life and moved to Canada where he plans on staying.

Setting Analysis

The most influential scenes or setting dwells down to the time that Pi and Richard Parker, the tiger spent on the lifeboat. Though Richard Parker is pretty fearsome, ironically his presence helps Pi stay alive. Alone on the lifeboat, Pi has many issues to face in addition to the tiger onboard. They struggle with a lack of food and water, predatory marine life, treacherous sea currents, and exposure to the elements. Overwhelmed by means of the instances and terrified of dying, Pi becomes distraught and unable to take action. However, he soon realizes that his most instant hazard is Richard Parker. His other troubles now quickly forgotten, Pi manages, via quite a few coaching exercises, to dominate Parker. This success offers him confidence, making his other obstacles appear less insurmountable. Renewed, Pi is capable of taking concrete steps toward ensuring his continued existence. He searched for meals and kept himself motivated. Caring for and presenting for Richard Parker keeps Pi busy and passes the time. Without Richard Parker to venture and distract him, Pi might have given up on life. After he washes up on land in Mexico, he thanks the tiger for keeping him alive.

Richard Parker symbolizes Pi’s most animalistic instincts. Out on the lifeboat, Pi must operate many actions to stay alive that he would have located unattainable in his regular life. An avowed vegetarian, he needs to kill fish and devour their flesh. As time progresses, he turns into greater brutish about it, tearing aside birds and greedily stuffing them in his mouth, the way Richard Parker does. After Richard Parker mauls the blind Frenchman, Pi makes use of the man’s flesh for bait and even eats some of it, becoming cannibalistic in his unrelenting hunger. In his second story to the Japanese investigators, Pi is Richard Parker. He kills his mother’s murderer. Parker is the model of himself that Pi has invented to make his story extra palatable, each to himself and to his audience. The brutality of his mother’s demise and his personal surprising act of revenge are too a whole lot for Pi to deal with, and he finds it simpler to think about a tiger as the killer, rather than himself in that role.

I decided to connect this movie to the story, “Why Place Matters.” It was hard to compare this movie to anything previous due to how unique it is. I chose this story because his home in India definitely shaped the adventure outcomes in the film. What I am referring to by this is, that he grew up practically living on a zoo. He had previous exposure to the animals along the lifeboat with him. However, he grew up training Richard Parker and got comfortable with him enough that they formed a sort of bond unlike anything else. What Pi learned throughout his childhood set him up for a scenario that he was put into. It’s miraculous how this story played out. As I originally stated, it was hard to even compare this movie to anything we have read so trying to form connections and articulate was very troubling. Only a brief comparison is what I can conclude.

Introduction

Life of Pi is a popular fantasy novel by Yann Martel, an author from Canada. It tells the story of Piscine, a boy who travels on a life raft with a tiger after surviving a shipwreck. After a series of hardships, the main character returns to civilization and manages to succeed in life. Martel raises several problems, ranging from the costs of survival to the details of religious self-expression.

Key Characters

The discussed novel is not short, but there are very few active characters that participate in the majority of critical events. Pi is a middle-aged Canadian of Indian descent, but he tells the story that happened when he was only sixteen (Palmer 2016). As a teenager, Pi believes in God, practices vegetarianism, and admires wildlife (Martel 2001). The author does not provide many details about Pi’s family. His father, Santosh, owns the Pondicherry Zoo and is skeptical about religion (Martel 2001). Gita, the main character’s mother, is a Hindu woman who implants the love of knowledge in Pi and supports him. Richard Parker also acts as a separate character – he is a three-year-old tiger named after a hunter by mistake. In this book, Richard serves as the symbol of physical power, beauty, and threat (Palmer 2016). Other characters, including Pi’s wife, brother, teacher, and children, are described in brief.

Plot Summary

The book in question consists of three sections, each of which is devoted to the specific phase of the story. In the first part, the protagonist, known as Pi, reflects on his early life in Southern India and his relationships with parents and other family members (Martel 2001). In the first few chapters, some exciting details about Pi are revealed, including the origin of his full name, the experience of being bullied at school, and his father’s zoo and hotel businesses. Apart from these facts, Pi remembers the start of his spiritual journey when he wanted to practice three religions at the same time (Martel 2001). During the so-called Emergency period in India, Pi’s family decides to move to Canada to live in safety.

The next section is focused on Pi’s dangerous adventures during the trip to Canada. After a few days of overwater travel, “the Japanese cargo ship Tsimtsum” carrying the family and their animals runs into a gale and sinks (Martel 2001, 45). Serendipitously, Pi manages to survive and sails away with four animals on a life raft. The animals start killing each other, and Pi eventually finds himself left one on one with a “three-year-old adult Bengal tiger” named Richard Parker (Martel 2001, 47). He starts training the tiger with the help of food and tricks and becomes able to share the boat with Richard without obvious threats to life.

Different mental effects of lonely drifting with no hope of deliverance manifest themselves and make Pi approach the delirious state of mind. The tiger saves him from death a few times, and Pi wrongly assumes that they can communicate verbally. Pi and the tiger discover an island inhabited by suricates and other animals but return to the ocean due to dangerous plants. A few days after, they arrive at a Mexican beach, and the tiger runs away. In the final portion of the book, the narrator describes his communication with the Japanese authorities that investigate the case of Tsimtsum. He meets them in one of the hospitals in Mexico and tells his story, but the officials do not believe him. To avoid problems, he has to invent the second, a more realistic version of the tale by replacing animals with people.

Themes and Personal Opinion

The popularity of the novel is probably related to the number of essential ideas and issues that it raises. First of all, Life of Pi is about the need to change and the survival instinct and its manifestations in life-threatening conditions. In the first chapters, Pi is presented as a vegetarian and a person who never hurts animals. Still, as the story develops, he gradually becomes capable of hunting and eating anything to survive (Palmer 2016). Being alone with wild animals on the boat, Pi becomes an eyewitness of violence in nature when the hyena “plunges head and shoulders into the zebra’s guts” (Martel 2001, 58). This “ghastly, but natural, animal ferocity” urges Pi to challenge his ideals (Palmer 2016, 100). He has to choose between being guided by primal fear and death.

Another major theme is religion or, more specifically, Pi’s self-determination, understanding of God, and connections between religious movements. The reader is told that Pi has been raised as a Hindu but manages to understand the core ideas of the most practiced religions due to his clear-sightedness and love for God (Kuriakose 2018). Pi recognizes things that the adherents of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity have in common, thus demonstrating his “religious imagination” (Wagner 2016, 1). He believes the concept of God to be universal and describes Hindus as “hairless Christians,” Muslims as “bearded Hindus,” and Christians as “hat-wearing Muslims” (Martel 2001, 26).

In my opinion, the novel is unique since it makes totally different worlds coexist peacefully, and it does not refer only to religion. The author uses various writing techniques and proceeds from obviously fantastic scenes to naturalistic descriptions of what Pi observes during his long journey. To me, Life of Pi is among the books that can be understood in plenty of ways. It means that all people can learn more about themselves when going through a series of unexpected adversities with Pi and trying to imagine what they would do if they were him. From my perspective, Life of Pi encourages individuals to value life just like other shipwreck narratives do. It also teaches the readers that finding their inner strength in critical situations may require revising their views of life.

Personally, I am sure that the book also has a deep meaning when it comes to culture and religion. The author’s multicultural background enables him to make references to different traditions without raising conflicts (Kuriakose 2018). To some extent, the plot demonstrates that a person’s religious affiliation does not matter when his or her life hangs in the balance. From Pi’s inner dialogues, it becomes clear that religious rivalry stems from several artificial barriers between people. Conceivably, the book can make those believing in the superiority of their religion challenge their views, thus improving mutual understanding.

Conclusion

To sum it up, Martel’s novel raises many philosophical themes, including religious self-determination, God’s universality, and behavioral changes that people experience in the face of death. Being quite dynamic, the plot can be interpreted in a variety of ways and lead people to different conclusions. In my opinion, the book teaches the audience to build inner strength, value life, and avoid dividing people by religion.

References

Kuriakose, John. 2018. “Religious Pluralism in Yan Martel’s Life of Pi: A Case of Intertextual Correspondence with Swami Vivekananda’s Religious Philosophy.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies 9 (2): 138–145. Web.

Martel, Yann. 2001. Life of Pi. Toronto, Canada: Knopf Canada.

Palmer, Christopher. 2016. Castaway Tales: From Robinson Crusoe to Life of Pi. Middletown, NJ: Wesleyan University Press.

Wagner, Rachel. 2016. “Screening Belief: The Life of Pi, Computer Generated Imagery, and Religious Imagination.” Religions 7 (8): 1–22. Web.

Introduction

The novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel is a captivating chef-d’oeuvre that features three main parts, which follow the life of Pi and a tiger that is referred to as Richard Parker. From the beginning, it is evident that the novel is about God, spirituality, religion, soul, and mind. The events that unfold throughout the novel put these themes to a great test. Further, the novel covers the biological survival process, which is pitted against the previously mentioned themes. One of the greatest fears that Pi faces is death, which is also greatly tested. Pi’s will to survive is evident by the end of the novel. In many ways that will be discussed, Richard Parker, the tiger, represents the issues that Pi fears. Consequently, Parker acts as an important representation of how Pi manages his Id. Hence, as the paper confirms, Richard Parker represents a complex analysis of taming one’s id.

Defining Id

According to Lapsley and Stey, id is one of the three human psychological states that include the ego and superego (1). These states represent the innate desires that are focused on survival. The id is unconscious. It is the only personality component that is present at birth. It acts as the main driver of people’s personality. The component strives not only to fulfil the most basic urges in an individual that are largely tied to survival but also is an important provider of the energy that is necessary for driving personality. The id is based on the pleasure principle, which points out that every desire should be satisfied immediately without consideration of the consequences (Lapsley and Stey 1).

For instance, at infancy, even before other personality components develop, infants are dominated and guided by id. At their tender age, the basic needs of food, drink, and comfort are of utmost importance. If they are not provided, crying is the only way the kids express their dissatisfaction. After the needs are met, the children are likely to stop crying (Lapsley and Stey 2). However, the children’s approach to demanding satisfaction of their needs, as per their id, is not applicable in real-life situations. For instance, as people get older, it becomes clear that acting out to satisfy the needs of the id whenever they arise can be problematic and hence the need and importance of the other personality components of ego and superego (Lapsley and Stey 4). In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Pi faces insurmountable situations, which require him to act to the desires of id for his survival, yet his companion, Richard Parker, is the main hindrance towards these desires and hence an important representation of how Pi manages to control his id.

Adjusting to Life without Family Protection

When the young Pi and his family begin their journey across the pacific, he comes on board with great admiration and love for the family, humanity, and all prescriptions of religion (Ketterer 80). However, his fear of death is revealed when he is shown by his father that despite the animals that are put in cages seeming friendly, they are dangerous and that they should never be taken for granted or wrongly be seen as friendly (Ludwig 226). By the end of the journey, Pi’s fear of death, desire for survival, and his morality and religious beliefs are put into immense test. To some people, Richard Parker represents all Pi’s fears and consequently, his weaknesses (Ketterer 82).

During the journey, the ship that Parker uses is caught between bad sea weather. After a long battle with the weather, the ship is unable to cope with the situation. Ultimately, it sinks. His whole family dies. Besides, many of the animals that his father had brought on board from the family zoo die (Nilsen 115). At the end of the disastrous events, Pi finds himself the only person who survives together with several other animals, including Zebra, Hyena, Orang-utan, and the Tiger (Richard Parker). In the aftermath of the shipwreck, Pi is instantly ushered into adulthood where he has to make critical decisions regarding his wellbeing, amid the turmoil that is present in the confines of the lifeboat. The confusion brings together various beings that would otherwise not coexist for a single minute in normal circumstances (Duncan 167).

Before the shipwreck, Pi is a young boy who has thrived in the confines and protection of a family. He has good relationships with his parents, especially his father, who teaches him many activities and experiences in handling animals as a zookeeper. Since the cushioning of parents is not available anymore, the next 227 days will test the young boy’s maturity to the core.

Religion and its Role in Pi’s Personality during the Early Stages of his Life at the Sea

In the first part of the novel, a young boy who believes in three religions, namely Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism is introduced, thus setting a complex personality, which is built upon strong beliefs in religion and God (Wolf 107). In other words, the young boy, Pi, has a strong sense of spirituality and morality, which, to a great extent, guides his actions and interactions with people and nonhuman subjects such as animals. Indeed, when he interacts with a nonbeliever, Mr Kumar, the biology instructor, Pi’s strong religious convictions are laid bare through his interpretations of what the teacher delivers. For example, when the teacher points out that religion is darkness, Pi takes the very opposite viewpoint by pointing out that he sees religion as light instead of darkness (De Cunha 235).

In fact, Pi does not seem to take Mr Kumar’s assertions serious. Instead, he claims that the teacher is trying to test him. With reference to Mr Kumar’s statement that faith is darkness, Pi thinks to himself, “was the testing me? Was he saying, religion is darkness, the way he sometimes said in class, things like Mammals lay eggs, to see if someone would correct him”( Martel Life of Pi 27). Although the atheist teacher sometimes convinces Pi with his virtues of science, Pi regards science as complimenting, but not opposing religion, as the teacher would view it.

In the initial stages of the disorderliness that is present in the lifeboat, it is evident that the fight between humanity, spirituality, and survival take centre stage from the start. For instance, when he first sees Richard Parker swimming towards the lifeboat, he exclaims, “Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you Richard Parker” (Martel Life of Pi 95). In this statement, while he is overly confused on how to react to the fact that a tiger is coming his way, he is delighted that the tiger is alive, owing to the fact that it is his much-loved animal in the zoo. His humanity, innocence, and spirituality push Pi into helping Richard Parker while in the lifeboat (Thomas 182).

He is happy after helping the animal into the boat. Consequently, the kind act saves its life. However, his joy is short-lived. Soon, he realises the grave danger he is in by having Richard Parker (Stephens 41). While trying to exercise his desires and his humanistic feelings, Pi cannot stand Richard Parker dying in the water. He acts instinctually to bring the animal onboard without due consideration of the events that may follow if the animal acts on its instincts of eating him for survival purposes.

Upon the realisation of the great danger that Richard Parker poses on his survival, Pi acts impulsively on his id by fleeing from the boat and hanging on the edges of the lifeboat. For several days, Richard Parker and Pi behave suspiciously towards each other. Pi seems to be getting the most negative consequences out of this ordeal. He later makes a raft and takes some food off the lifeboat with the mission of staying as far as possible from the tiger to ensure that he can survive for as long as possible. He ties the raft to the lifeboat. For the next few days, he is satisfied that he is not in danger any more.

However, being on the raft exposes Pi to other unexpected complex problems that he could not have considered. Firstly, upon the exposure to extreme sunlight and seawater penetrating his raft since it (raft) is not watertight, Pi realises that the two agents, that is, seawater and the sun, conspire to cause him sores and boils (Fiamengo 56). The infections are serious on his body sides that are near the water, such as the backside. As he notes,

“Saltwater boils-red, angry, disfiguring- were the leprosy of the high seas, transmitted by the water that soaked me. Where they burst, my skin especially sensitive; accidental rubbing an open sore so painful I would gasp and cry out” (Martel Life of Pi 187).

Such a sorrowful narration shows the complex sufferings that young Pi is undergoing, yet his quest for survival cannot allow him to give up. He also gets much inspiration from religion, especially Jesus, whose misfortunes he can relate to and hence purpose to overcome them just as Jesus did (De Cunha 237). He must strive to ensure that his sores heal by remaining dry, or else his survival will be a very difficult challenge, especially when he has to make all the decisions on his life. His survival or lack thereof lies in his hands.

Religion offers the young boy Pi hope and faith that guide his many actions, despite the presence of the strong id-driven instincts for survival. For an instant, while he is still a Hindu, he is introduced to Jesus Christ, or Christianity, when he meets Father Martin. Through his interaction with Martin, he becomes a Christian, although not in the real sense, as he does not abandon his Hindu faith. As a young convert to Christianity, he learns about Jesus Christ’s sufferings and his death out of love for the human race and the creation (Fiamengo 58). However, Pi is perturbed. He deeply questions why a supreme being would want to die and suffer.

His kind gesture to save Parker comes in his mind and claims that he should be treated the same way he handled Parker. However, the situation is complicated because a big deal of his suffering results from Parker’s failure to let the two creatures share the same environment in the boat. However, his questions only lead to the beauty of Christianity. Indeed, his Christian beliefs prove very important and critical lessons for his survival on the lifeboat, as he is ready to bear the sufferings and show love to even the greatest of his adversaries, the tiger (Wolf 108). Instead of taking the path Mr Kumar would have taken by disowning God, Pi takes it as a divine example and hence seeks to stay focused and loving even in the face of death and strong sense of the desire to survive, which would have otherwise pushed him to act irrationally and instinctively in response to Parker’s id. For this matter, Christianity has given him the confidence, courage, and affection Richard Parker ends up enjoying and consequently surviving in the impossible conditions of the sea and misery of living in the confines of a lifeboat (Dwyer 9).

The influence of Parker and other religions on Pi’s behaviour and actions while at sea is also evident. He never leaves his Hindu faith, just as he decides to stay with Parker, despite the consequences that he (Parker) might bring to him. Instead, he combines his knowledge with that of Christianity and later with his Muslim teachings. Hindu teaches him about love, while Islam teaches him about brotherhood (Stratton 11).

These morals combine with the teachings of Christianity on endurance and suffering such that he can survive and/or show love even to the greatest enemy, Parker. For instance, while Christianity pushes him to show love, faith, and endurance even in the midst of great tribulations, which would otherwise prompt hatred between Parker and him, Hinduism and Islam teach him to extend love and comradeship to all, including the enemy (Tai 96). His approach to the three religions is also a very important depiction of his personality, which seeks to find the good where others would find the bad (Thorn 3). Pi takes the best out of each religion hence getting a better understanding of divinity, which the three religions seek to provide (Mensch 135). He takes the perseverance of Christianity, love of Hinduism, and goodwill of Islam, to explain many happenings in his life, hence increasing his ability to act differently and to survive even when it would have been logical to act otherwise (Martel How I Wrote Life of Pi 80).

Parker is the sole beneficiary of Pi’s efforts. Although he is rescued from dying in the sea, he ends up creating an environment where Pi has to seek divine interventions for both to survive. Parker’s harshness makes him survive in the boat because of Pi’s lessons from the religions that teach him not to react to Parker, even when he (Parker) is a threat to him. In the end, he gets inspiration from the principles of each religion and uses them to make important decisions that ensure that he can survive for longer than what would be possible in a death-life situation that Pi finds himself in a while in the sea and/or boat with Parker. Parker survives the dangerous conditions of living in a lifeboat for 227 days in the open sea and in the company of Pi who would have otherwise used in human instincts to kill him (Parker).

Overcoming Id’s Fear

Martel depicts Parker as a fierce animal that disrupted Pi’s peace in the sea (186). In fact, Pi’s fears while at sea are captured well when he points,

“I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on to an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging above me” (Martel Life of Pi 105).

Everywhere, he was surrounded by great dangers to his survival. Only the provisional raft seemed to provide him with the necessary motivation to keep going and to remain alive (Georgis 165). This observation is a major irony, owing to how he would have never imagined in real life that such a simple structure could make the difference between life and death. His ordeal definitely has taught him to overcome great tribulations, a key indicator of id in action by opting for survival against all the odds (Cole 24).

In his words, he used the impermanent device for a very long time until it was almost completely gone. He imagines a situation where Parker could have decided to disrupt his peace while in the oar. This situation would have marked his end of the journey since he could have dropped in the sea and probably encounter other fierce sea animals. The young boy recognises the dangers that surround him but chooses what to prioritise. In this case, the tiger is not an immediate threat compared to the ocean (Burns 165).

Focusing on the id, in an ideal, he would have acted unconsciously, owing to his fears of the dangers that surround him, and effectively fled to the unknown to his eventual death. However, he learns to hold down his instinct, id-driven desires and makes deliberate decisions on what his best approaches to survival entail (Spall and Martel 4). For now, as long as Richard Parker remains hidden in the side of the lifeboat under the tarpaulin, no immediate danger comes from him since he does not know that Pi is just some few metres from the boat. Parker is indeed oblivious of Pi’s presence, something that gives Pi’s imagination some comfort and less stress that would otherwise be present if Pi ever thinks that Parker knows he is around. The scenario is a battle between fear and reason where reason triumphs, and hence a major win over id (Cole 25). Capturing this fight between reason and fear relating to the consequences of Parker being so near, Pi says,

“Fear and reason fought over the answer. Fear said yes. He was a fierce, 450-pound carnivore. Richard Parker could shred it with his claws with a little time and effort, but he couldn’t pop through like a jack-in-the-box. And he had not seen me…Since he had not seen me, he had no reason to claw his way through” (Martel Life of Pi 106).

The most important lesson here is that while instinct, as evidenced through fear, can aggravate the situation, it is important to think and act rationally. This claim shows how the presence of Parker is forcing Pi to find ways of taming id by acting rationally, as opposed to the irrational manner that his id would demand (Mensch 135). Although the above reasoning gives him peace of mind during impossible times, his comfort is short-lived. He is aware that he will have to face Richard Parker eventually by killing him, being killed by the tiger, or learning how to coexist.

Deciding the best way to deal with the beast that Richard Parker is revealed an important battle between id and rationality. Firstly, Pi comes up with five strategic plans on how to handle the beast. However, all strategies seem to lead to one problem: how to execute them without Pi being the casualty (Thorn 4). The beast is definitely born to be a predator. All odds indicate that the predator wins in every battle of the killer and the target. Pi is definitely not going to take such drastic measures to put himself on the leeway. Hence, he comes up with a sixth plan, which involves letting Richard Parker die a natural death out of hunger and thirst. However, he soon realises that Parker can swim. Definitely, there is no way he can escape death if Parker decides to swim across the short distance that separates them. He sums the fear that he would face when faced by Richard Parker when he decides that Pi is the next meal when he says,

“I have read that there are two fears that cannot be trained out of us: the startle reaction upon hearing unexpected noise, and vertigo. I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approach of a known killer” (Martel Life of Pi 256).

Such a statement, which in is in reference to Richard Parker clearly shows the kind of fear that Pi had to overcome order to face Richard Parker, if he had any chance to survive more than what the raft had offered him. He makes the decision that he must come out of his raft, hold onto the lifeboat, and use the dominance skills that his father had taught him at the zoo to subdue his enemy by establishing himself as the dominant being over the other animals, including Richard Parker on the lifeboat (Tai 96). When he finally subdues the beast, it is evident that in the quest for his survival, overcoming his fears is an important milestone towards overcoming and taming his id, which would have otherwise pushed him to take drastic measures that would have instead jeopardised his ability to survive at the sea.

In the process of dominating the enemy, creating boundaries is of great importance. This strategy is evident in the novel where Pi demarcates the boat using his urine, following the weird behaviour of Richard Parker. Such behaviour might be evident in an animal, rather than a human being. Instead of killing the tiger, Pi views the animal as an essential part of his survival. Although Parker is a dangerous creature he can become a very important companion when he is tamed (Stratton 11). Amidst his domination on the lifeboat is disorderliness, especially from the other lifeboat members who are also trying their best to survive. Apart from the danger that is posed by the tiger, which he has now tamed, Richard Parker is also weary of the presence of the hyena and the orang-utan, which are very docile during the day. However, at night, his fear is evident when he says,

“Darkness came. There was no moon. Clouds hid the stars. The contour of things became hard to distinguish. Everything disappeared, the sea, the lifeboat, my own body. The sea was quiet and there was hardly any wind, so I couldn’t even ground myself in sound. I seemed to be floating in pure, abstract blackness. I kept my eyes fixed on where I thought horizon was while my ears were on guard for any sign of the animals…I couldn’t imagine lasting the night” (Martel Life of Pi 116).

The confusion that is present on the lifeboat is evident, especially through the way the animals kill each other for a meal. The zebra is badly injured. He becomes an easy meal for the hyena that then goes on to eat the Orang-utan. Finally, the tiger kills the hyena. When all other animals are dead, Pi has to find ways of avoiding becoming the next meal for Richard Parker. Hence, his goal is to not only coexist but also to keep him alive for as long as possible without jeopardising his chances of survival (Mensch 136). In his quest, he aims at ensuring that he establishes a relationship with Richard Parker by becoming his source of livelihood. He ensures that Parker is dependent on him, hence erasing the possibility of him becoming the next meal. The plan works well. However, Pi does not forget the retaliation nature of the tiger since he is still an animal, despite being docile and respectful towards him after he establishes himself as the dominant in the lifeboat (Tsai 96).

When the lifeboat lands on a mysterious island, the food and fresh water that exist there provide an important opportunity for id to take root in Pi’s ordeal. He can choose to remain there forever with Richard Parker. However, at night, the island becomes a killer trap. Creatures that manage to climb on trees can survive. Even Parker has to seek refuge on the boat, although the move greatly shakes Pi to the core. While id would have required Pi and Parker to remain in the island, Pi sees it as a way of postponing the inevitable death. He decides to set voyage to the unknown, instead of dying on the mysterious island, a major victory over id (Dwyer 10).

Richard Parker’s Role in Pi’s Taming of Id

The way Pi was brought up was not to face or be friendly to animals such as Richard Parker. Indeed, when his father finds that Pi has been sneaking to feed or entertain the tiger on the ship, he is shown the immense brutality of the tiger when he is forced to watch a goat being devoured. From the beginning, he is curtailed to avoid a tiger and if possible never be with the beast in a small space such as the one the lifeboat offers. Indeed, such deep-rooted fear for the tiger pushes him to stay in the raft for very many days until it becomes impossible to stay any longer and hence the need to face the tiger. Overcoming such great fears definitely requires a major disowning of the id-guided instinct of fear and fleeing from danger to actually mastering how to find comfort and solace in the danger (Ketterer 85).

While the fear for Richard Parker is still present, Pi does not opt to flee, as it would be required in a fearful situation, but instead focuses on acting with reason. Hence, Pi has to think critically concerning the ways through which he can prevent himself from becoming Richard Parker’s next meal. Firstly, he has to establish dominance, which he has already achieved by utilising the skills he has gained from his father who was a zookeeper (Nilsen 116). Secondly, he must keep in mind that Richard Parker is still an animal that needs food. Hence, no amount of dominance can prevent the animal from eating him (Nilsen 116).

With this awareness, Pi strives to ensure that Parker is fed as it the only way he can become a tamed animal. Without food, Parker will become hungry and thirsty to the extent of acting on his animal instinct of survival where he may make Pi his next meal. It is out of these reasons that Pi finds purpose in keeping Richard Parker alive for as long as it takes. If he is hungry, Pi will probably be his last meal. What Pi does in order to ensure that he can feed Parker and consequently ensure his survival leads to many questions and doubts on his interpretation of religion as he has depicted himself as a person who has a deep love for God, especially with his deep knowledge relating to three religions, which he sought in his quest for God.

The depth he is willing to go to survive is evident in the second narration where he substitutes the animals for humans. This plan clearly depicts his brutality. Hence, he is not different from Richard Parker, the tiger. In one of the conversations with the French cannibal who is brutal and ready to live and kill for his survival, Pi views the man as the exact description of a subconscious creature. However, the description comes to reflect on Pi when he kills the French cook in the second story. Worse, he does not feel sorry or remorseful for his actions. Instead, he points to his actions by responding and indulging in the momentary and soothing nature of revenge, which he ironically finds satisfying and not evil (Duncan 168).

He is becoming used to evil. To reflect his current state, he says that the frightening reality about wickedness is that an individual ends up copying with any situation, even to the level of becoming comfortable with evil. He adopts this survival tactic to avoid the great evil, that is, Richard Parker.

In his quest for retaining sanity on the boat and keeping himself alive, Pi’s actions are greatly at odds with his spirituality and the teachings he has gained from his religious endeavours. By not viewing his killing of the French cook as evil, he goes against what he has learned from religion relating to love for one another. Earlier in the novel, he justifies this behaviour as a form of madness that often leads one into doing actions that challenge his or her beliefs to the core. He reveals a degree of lunacy that steers life in bizarre but ferocious paths. This insanity due to the suffering and hunger on the lifeboat turns Pi into an animal that can murder others for survival. In the start of his life on the lifeboat, even killing a fish is such a guilty-causing endeavour where he is only comfortable and settled when the fish is alive (De Cunha 238).

With time, the drive for survival makes him more and more brutal to the extent of killing bigger and bigger animals until at last he is ready to kill human beings and actually justify it, as opposed to feeling guilty. He reaches a point where he is now questioning God’s true nature and love, which he has greatly focused on in his learning of the religion. In his own words, Pi says that it is difficult to demonstrate love in some situations. However, unlike other people’s reaction of disowning God, just like his biology professor who became an atheist when he could not get answers for his polio bedridden childhood, he instead complains that God was not available to intervene. In this statement, it is evident that he believes that God is still present, although he takes too long to hear or respond. Consequently, Pi has to act according to his convictions to ensure survival until the time when God will respond.

The presence of Richard Parker and the evident slow response of God to Pi’s predicament in an unlikely twist leads him to seeking to know God more and to have faith and optimism, which are important virtues of being religious. In the vastness of his problems, which are represented by the lack of food and water, despite being surrounded by a massive water body and uncountable sea creatures that are underneath the lifeboat, Pi’s faith is tested to the core. How could it be so difficult to find food and water when the two resources were just an arm reach away?

In the midst of this despair, he ought to have given up and surrendered to the slow death of hunger and thirst or to the fast death of the tiger’s claws and teeth. Instead, he responds to his suffering with affection, confidence, and hope. He realises that despite his fears and drastic measures he has taken to ensure his survival, only confidence and optimism can see him through. In his deepest conviction, God is looking unto him with a good purpose and hence the reason why he and Richard Parker survive for this long out of the many other people and animals. The parallels of his interpretation of suffering can easily be drawn between Pi and his teacher, Mr Kumar, the nonbeliever and biology instructor. When Mr Kumar faces a life-death situation through polio sickness, he asks himself daily, “Where is God? Where is God? Where is God? Where is God? God never comes” (Martel Life of Pi 27). On the contrary, when Pi faces the same situation, he does not interpret the lack of God’s manifestation as to indicate absence but rather a delayed response, and hence the reason why he remains hopeful and has faith that beyond the suffering, God will see him through.

To show his strong belief in the presence of a supreme being in his problems, Pi resolves to continue extending his love to his friends and enemies. Such a statement has varied interpretations. However, as it relates to the context on this section, he seems to indicate that he will continue to love not only God but also Richard Parker. It is also a clear indication that he would continue to have faith and hope. Through his faith and hope for survival at the end, he has been stayed alive for this long. His situation does not allow him to love easily. Although he shares a great misery with Richard Parker, he resolves to take care of him (Wolf 108).

In the first story, Pi’s faith has taught him to love his neighbour, Richard Parker, despite him being a dangerous animal. On the other hand, the consequences of not having trust, confidence, and love are evident when he loses all of them and acts irrationally to the extent of killing the French cook at his most miserable point. From these two parallel stories, it becomes clear that having faith and hope is very important in helping one to share his or her love with others.

Conclusion

Throughout the novel, the protagonist, Pi, faces major problems that threaten his strong beliefs and most importantly, his life. Richard Parker contributes a great deal to these problems. However, he manages to survive against all odds. How he manages to overcome these challenges is the most fascinating part of the story. It indicates a combination of many aspects such as his strong belief in God, faith, love, and a strong desire to survive. From the start, Pi is a brilliant young boy whose explorations lead him to read widely, especially on matters of religion, where he takes up the teachings of three religions, which include Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. He is also a student of science.

Although he does not believe in atheism, he takes up the important segments of the teaching of science, as well as the three approaches to religion and the subject of God. He has also taken up important lessons from his father, a zoologist, on how to handle and interact with animals. When his family becomes shipwrecked, a battle of survival begins. Survival is an important part of id, the personality trait, which focuses on the pleasure principle.

If it is untamed, id makes it difficult for an individual to coexist with others due to its selfish connotations. In the small space that is available in the lifeboat, it becomes evident that Pi has to make important decisions to ensure that he survives and that he does not end up being a meal for the tiger, Richard Parker, who is also confined in the lifeboat. It is indeed the presence of Richard Parker that Pi learns how to tame his id. At first, Pi flees from the boat, a response to his survival instinct, and lives on a raft, to ensure that he is as far from Parker as possible. However, he later learns that he will have to face Parker eventually.

Hence, he has to face his fears. Overcoming fear is his first lesson and triumph over his id because of Richard Parker. However, he cannot overcome his id completely. This situation leads him to act in ways that he would not otherwise approve. For instance, he has to kill fish to feed Richard Parker. He also has to kill the French cook. These acts are a clear indication of id in play. However, using his religious background, he has to show love, have faith, and hope that all will be well. Any reader who follows keenly the proceedings of this work will declare Yann Martel’s Life of Pi an informative piece of masterwork.

Works Cited

Burns, Steven. “Life of Pi and the Existence of Tigers.” Engaged Philosophy: Essays in Honour of David Braybrooke. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 2007. Print.

Cole, Stewart. “Believing in Tigers: Anthropomorphism and Incredulity in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Studies in Canadian Literature/Études en littérature canadienne 29.2 (2004): 23-41. Print.

De Cunha, Rubelise. “MARTEL Yann.” Life of Pi: a novel”. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2001.” Interfaces Brasil/Canadá 3.1 (2012): 235-242. Print.

Duncan, Rebecca. “Life of Pi as postmodern survivor narrative.” Mosaic: a journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature 41.2 (2008): 167-176. Print.

Dwyer, June. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and the Evolution of the Shipwreck Narrative.” Modern language studies 1.1 (2005): 9-21. Print.

Fiamengo, Anne. Other selves: animals in the Canadian literary imagination. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2007. Print.

Georgis, Dina. “Hearing the better story: Learning and the aesthetics of loss and expulsion.” The review of education, pedagogy, and cultural studies 28.2 (2006): 165-178. Print.

Ketterer, David. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Poe’s Pym (and “Berenice”).” Poe Studies 42.1 (2009): 80-86. Web.

Lapsley, Daniel, and Paul Stey. “Id, Ego, and Superego.” Encyclopaedia of Human Behaviour (2011): 1-9. Print.

Ludwig, Kathryn. “Post secularism and a Prophetic Sensibility.” Christianity and Literature 58.2 (2009): 226. Print.

Martel, Yann. How I Wrote Life of Pi, 2007. Web.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Wales: Random House Incorporated, 2007. Web.

Mensch, James. The Intertwining of Incommensurables. Phenomenology and the Non-Human Animal. Netherlands: Springer, 2007. Print.

Nilsen, Don. “Onomastic Play and Suspension of Disbelief in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Onoma 40.1 (2005): 115-124. Print.

Spall, Rafe, and Yann Martel. Life of Pi. Netherlands: Springer, 2013. Print.

Stephens, Gregory. “Feeding Tiger, Finding God: Science, Religion, and” the Better Story” in Life of Pi.” Intertexts 14.1 (2010): 41-59. Print.

Stratton, Florence. Hollow at the core”: Deconstructing Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, 2004. Web.

Thomas, Bindu. “Territory and Power: Towards A Biocentric Reading of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi: A Novel.” Essays in Ecocriticism 1.1 (2007): 182-186. Print.

Thorn, Michael. “Cannibalism, Communion, and Multifaith Sacrifice in the Novel and Film Life of Pi.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 27.1 (2015): 1-15. Print.

Tsai, Jen-chieh. “On the Migration of Pi: Toward a Rhetoric of Identification. “Canadian Review of Comparative Literature/Revue Canadienne de Littérature Comparée 42.1 (2015): 94-106. Print.

Wolf, Werner. “Migration towards a rewarding goal and multiculturalism with a positive centre: Yann Martel’s Life of Pi as a post-postmodernist attempt at eliciting (poetic) faith.” Canada in the Sign of Migration and TransCulturalism 1.1 (2004): 107-124. Print.

The Archetypes of the Human World and the Hierarchy of the Animal World

Yann Martel explores the human archetypes and the way the society or rather human beings develop through the way animals on Pi’s boat behave. The analysis of these behaviours makes it clear that the author follows major Darwin’s assumptions that that there is a great “difference in mind between man” and animals but it is the “one of degree and not of kind” (Darwin 151). Thus, Martel stresses that all animals and, as seen from the book, humans have the strongest instinct of survival. The author puts it as follows, “Life will defend itself no matter how small it is” (Martel 41). Thus, the animals on the boat and their behaviour reveal the degree of similarity between the world of animals and humans.
Thus, the boat hosts a hyena, an injured zebra, an orang-utan, a tiger and Pi. These animals can be seen as symbols and archetypes of humans. Thus, the injured zebra is an embodiment of a peaceful person. The wound it has makes it weak and the weak are often killed by stronger species. This is the manifestation of the hierarchy in the animal and human world, where the strongest and the fittest survives.

Thus, the zebra has to die and it is killed by the hyena. The orang-utan is a symbol of the female and the ability or rather need to protect her offspring (as well as those in need). Interestingly, this animal also reveals that the degree of the difference between animals can be significant due to such concepts as morality, ethics, faith and so on. Of course, there are animals (as well as people) that focus on their basic needs. Hyena is such an animal that attacks to survive. Such people do not follow any principles and they do not think about others as they focus on their own survival.

Richard Parker as a Complex Analysis of Taming One’s It

Richard Parker and the way Pi and the tiger cohabited on the boat is a symbol of the human nature. The author explores the characteristic features of a person as well as the way humans develop through the depiction of the tiger and Pi’s attempts to tame him.

It is possible to draw lines between this process of taming and Freudian ideas on the nature of the human. Thus, humans still pertain to the animal world and their “instincts originate from the id” (Dickerson 47). Superego is, on the contrary, is a set of rules assigned by the society. The rules are based on beliefs, principles and morals that were developed throughout centuries in this or that society.

Likewise, Pi tries to tame the tiger or rather his own id. The boy tries to remain a human and keep his inner beast completely tamed. The boy tries to become “a strongly dominant male, a super-alpha male” to make the tiger “submit to his dominance” (Martel 47). It is clear that at the beginning of the book, the boy was unable to control his id as the tiger simply kills the hyena. The instinct of survival makes the boy forget about his religious beliefs, morality and ethical principles. He acts as a beast to survive.

However, later the boy chooses to remain a human and he tries to tame his inner beast even though it is very difficult. Notably, at the end of the story, the tiger leaves and vanishes in the woods. This can be a symbol of quite complete success of taming as the boy gets rid of his id. However, it is important to remember that the tiger is still out there and it can appear any time. Pi’s inner beast can reappear in the moments of danger.

Bibliography

Aldea, Eva. Magical Realism and Deleuze: The Indiscernibility of Difference in Postcolonial Literature. London, UK: A&C Black, 2011. Print.

Armstrong, Philip. “The Gaze of Animals.” Theorizing Animals: Re-Thinking Humanimal Relations. Ed. Nik Taylor & Tania Signal. Danvers, MA: BRILL, 2011. 175-201. Print.

Armstrong, Philip. What Animals Mean in the Fiction of Modernity. New York, NY: Routledge, 2008. Print.

Baker, Steve. Picturing the Beast: Animals, Identity, and Representation. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1993. Print.

Bansal, Robin. “India Is a Horrible Place, Says Life of Pi Writer Yann Martel.” Hindustan Times 2012. Web.

Daiya, Krishna. “Life of Pi: A Spectacular Combination of Zoological Oddity, Religious Tolerance and Experimentalism.” Research Journal of English Language and Literature 1.3 (2013): 322-326. Print.

Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man: Selection in Relation to Sex. New York, NY: Penguin Classics, 2004. Print.

Da Silva, Pereira Ricardo. “Sailing with Tigers and Pirates: Resistance and Space in Treasure Island and Life of Pi.” Gaudium Sciendi 7 (2015): 162-176. Web.

De Berg, Henk. Freud’s Theory and Its Use in Literary and Cultural Studies: An Introduction. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2004. Print.

De Boever, Arne. States of Exception in the Contemporary Novel: Martel, Eugenides, Coetzee, Sebald. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2012. Print.

Dickerson, Leon. Freudian Concepts of Id, Ego and Superego Applied to Chemical and Other Addictions: Introducing Twelve-Step Programs as the Superego. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, Inc., 2006. Print.

Dwyer, June. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and the Evolution of the Shipwreck Narrative.” Modern Language Studies 35.2 (2005): 9-21. Print.

Fiamengo, Janice. “The Animals in This Country: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination.” Other Selves: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination. Ed. Janice Anne Fiamengo. Ottawa, Ontario: University of Ottawa Press, 2007. 1-29. Print.

Garrard, Greg. Ecocriticism. New York, NY: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Huggan, Graham and Helen Tiffin. “Postcolonial Ecocriticism: Literature, Animals, Environment. New York, NY: Routledge, 2015. Print.

Jordan, Justine. “Animal Magnetism.” The Guardian 2002. Web.

Ketterer, David. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Poe’s Pym (and “Berenice”).” Poe Studies 42.1 (2009): 80-86. Print.

Killoran, Ellen. “Yann Martel Talks ‘Life of Pi,’ ‘What Is Stephen Harper Reading?’ In Exclusive Interview: ‘Why It Matters That People in Power Read’.” International Business Times 2013. Web.

Koenigsberger, Kurt. The Novel and the Menagerie: Totality, Englishness, and Empire. Columbus, OH: Ohio State University, 2007. Print.

Leith, William. “How on Earth Did They Film Life of Pi? The Novel’s Author Yann Martel Reveals How It Was Finally Done.” Daily Mail 2012. Web.

Lorre, Christine. “In the Same Boat: Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, the Canadian 2002 Man Booker Winner.” Pre and Post-publication Itineraries of the Contemporary Novel in English. Ed. Vanessa Guignery and Francois Gallix. Paris, France: Editions Publibook, 2007. 157-172. Print.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Toronto, Ontario: Knopf Canada, 2009. Print.

Mason, Travis V. “Lick Me, Bite Me, Hear Me, Write Me: Tracking Animals between Postcolonialism and Ecocriticism.” Other Selves: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination. Ed. Janice Anne Fiamengo. Ottawa, Ontario: University of Ottawa Press, 2007. 100-125. Print.

Mensch, James. “The Intertwining of Incommensurables: Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Phenomenology and the Non-Human Animal: At the Limits of Experience. Ed. Corinne Painter and Christian Lotz. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Science & Business Media, 2007. 135-149. Print.

McFarland, Sarah E. “Animal Studies, Literary Animals, and Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment. Ed. Louise Westling. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 152-166. Print.

Ouzounian, Richard. “Yann Martel Eternally Grateful for Life of Pi.” The Star 2014. Web.

“Q and A with Life of Pi Author.” ABC News. Web.

Rauwerda, Antje M. The Writer and the Overseas Childhood: The Third Culture Literature of Kingsolver, McEwan and Others. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012. Print.

Robbins, Jeffrey W. “Too Hard to Believe: A Reading of Religious Eclecticism in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Journal of Religion & Society 13.1 (2011): 1-8. Print.

Robinson, Jack. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi: Back in the World, Or ‘The Story with Animals is the Better Story.” Other Selves: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination. Ed. Janice Anne Fiamengo. Ottawa, Ontario: University of Ottawa Press, 2007. 125-145. Print.

Rohter, Larry. “Tiger in a Lifeboat, Panther in a Lifeboat: A Furor Over a Novel.” The New York Times 2002. Web.

Scherzinger, Karen and Colleen Mill. “Allegory, the Fantastic and Trauma in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Issues in English Studies in Southern Africa 18.1 (2013): 53-66. Print.

Schmitt, Brad. “Yann Martel: ‘Life of Pi’ a Window into Our Beliefs.” USA Today 2013. Web.

Stephens, Gregory. “Feeding Tiger, Finding God: Science, Religion, and ‘the Better Story’ in Life of Pi.” Intertexts 14.1 (2010): 41-59. Print.

Stratton, Florence. “Hollow at the core: Deconstructing Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Studies in Canadian Literature 29.2 (2004): 5-21. Print.

Suchocki, Marjorie Hewitt. Through a Lens Darkly: Tracing Redemption in Film. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2015. Print.

Sywenky, Irene. “Non-Human Animals and Liminal Cultural Space in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Victor Pelevin’s The Life of Insects.” Canadian Review of Comparative Literature 38.3 (2011): 381-395. Print.

Tiffin, Helen. “The Speech of Dumb Beasts.” Considering Animals: Contemporary Studies in Human–Animal Relations. Ed. Elizabeth Leane, Yvette Watt and Carol Freeman. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2013. 137-153. Print.

Thomas, Bindu Annie. “Territory and Power: Towards a Biocentric Reading of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi: A Novel.” Essays in Ecocriticism. Ed. Rayson K. Alex. New Delhi: Sarup & Sons, 2007. 182-189. Print.

Wright, Laura. “Wilderness Into Civilized Shapes”: Reading the Postcolonial Environment. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Print.

Introduction

The literature of any country has its distinctive features, and animals are one of them for Canada. Authors from this state like depicting various living creatures to convey some messages. Being a representative of such writers, Yann Martel also draws specific attention to animals in his works. One of them, Life of Pi, is a suitable example of how the author can incorporate both animals and people in the same setting and show a complicated relationship between them. Even though the literary work under analysis has a simple plot, it manages to cover an essential topic. Thus, the theme of Life of Pi is to show the difference between a human being and an animal and to indicate that no conditions can make it disappear.

Summary

As has been mentioned, the plot of this novel is not complicated. The literary work tells a story of a young Indian man, Pi, who finds himself in an unusual setting. Pi’s childhood was closely connected with animals because his father owned a zoo. As a result, the hero knows how to behave and cooperate with these creatures. Since it is not calm in India, and the Prime Minister declares martial law, Pi’s family decides to leave the country and head for Canada. Thus, they sell most of their animals and board a cargo ship. However, it is wrecked, and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a tiger. Soon, the hyena kills the orangutan and the zebra, while the tiger, named Richard Parker, kills the hyena. Also known as RP, the tiger is the only companion of Pi, and the latter has to train the animal to allow the two to survive.

Theme Explored

It has already been stated that the novel addresses the difference between human and animal nature and how the environment can affect a relationship between them. The following paragraphs will present some information that will support the claim above. Thus, the discrepancy under consideration becomes evident for the first time when Pi talks with his father. The older man explains that it is a mistake to believe that people and animals are equal. While he does not insist on the superiority of human beings, the man tries to convey the thought that animals should face a specific behavior. When in a zoo, some of them can have human-like traits, but people still should not forget about their true nature.

The previous idea is further elaborated when Pi’s father states that “every animal is ferocious and dangerous” (Martel 50). This belief is essential for the zookeeper and his son because it can help them save their lives. To demonstrate it, Pi’s father makes his son watch a tiger kill a goat. Pi mentions that the sound of the killing “was enough to scare the living vegetarian daylights out” of the hero (Martel 47). Even though one can say that such an experience is harmful to a young boy, Pi manages to benefit from it. Thus, the main character learns how violent and dangerous animals can be. This lesson is of significance for the hero, who then understands that it is necessary to be careful when dealing with wild living creatures.

At the same time, the author does not attempt to state that people are harmless. Father demonstrates it with the help of a particular trick. In the zoo, there is a question on the wall concerning the most dangerous beast in the zoo; the inscription has an arrow that points at a mirror (Martel 40-41). The idea behind this trick is that a human being can be even more dangerous than all animals. However, the question and the mirror do not mean that the discrepancy between animals and people disappear. They are still different because the former ones act according to their instincts, and the latter behave to obtain some advantages. Thus, the second variant is more harmful to the environment because it is challenging to predict individuals’ behavior.

As has been stated, animals can get some human qualities, and the zoo helps them succeed here. However, this humanization is of limited scope, and the case with the tiger and the goat has proved it. Even the fact that the predator has a human name, Richard Parker, does not mean that it is equal to people or can act like a human being. At the same time, people can lose their human nature when they are outside a civilization. Thus, the difference between Pi and RP becomes less evident when the two are entrapped on the boat, but it does not disappear at all. Even though the goal of the two is to eat and survive, which is a characteristic trait of animals, Pi uses his previous experience to domesticate the tiger and cope with the task. While on the boat, the man feels connectedness to the tiger, which allows Pi to believe that appropriate conditions can make the animal obtain a portion of human nature.

However, Pi’s beliefs entirely vanish when the two are saved. On the Mexican coast, RP “moved forward and disappeared forever from life” of Pi (Martel 285). The hero expected that his companion would demonstrate its human nature, but the tiger failed to say goodbye as it is usual for people. That is why, Aslani argues that anthropomorphism, “attribution of human characteristics to non-human beings,” is a leading theme of the novel (93). In addition to that, Martel is said to convey a message that animals can get human qualities under some conditions. However, it does not mean that these traits will outweigh their instincts. Furthermore, Aslani states that the theme of the novel is that “there are two natures which can never be unified – human and animal nature” (95). Thus, no conditions can result in the fact that an animal becomes equal to people.

Conclusion

Life of Pi is an unusual piece of literature, and it is possible to summarize its plot in a single sentence. However, it does not mean that the simplistic plot does not address essential issues. Thus, the principal theme of the novel is the relationship between people and animals. Martel demonstrates that animals can have some human features, just as people can sometimes act like animals. This idea is supported by the claim that a man is the most dangerous creature in a zoo. At the same time, it does not denote, for example, that a tiger can eliminate its wild nature under appropriate conditions. In conclusion, animals and people are significantly different creatures, and no external circumstances can make this discrepancy disappear.

Works Cited

Aslani, Stella. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi as a Reflection of the True Self.” Central European Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 10/11, 2016, pp. 91-106.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Canongate Books, 2012.

Yann Martel, a Canadian writer has published many literature works in course of his writing career. Life of Pi happens to be one of his literature works and was published in the year 2001. It is a fantasy novel focusing on adventure, spirituality as well as practicality.

Although there are many themes discussed in the novel, religion is a major theme. The main character or the protagonists known as Pi used to practice three religions during his childhood which were inclusive of Hinduism, Christianity as well as Islam. All religions that he practiced were important to him and none was inferior to the other.

However, the role of religion in the Life of Pi has been illuminated by Allan Poe in The Narrative of Arthur Grogon Pym of Nantucket. Based on that, this paper shall discuss the role of religion and God in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi as influenced by Poe’s The Narrative of Arthur Grogon Pym of Nantucket.

It is important to discuss the plot of the story before discussing the main idea. The story has been subdivided in to three different parts based on the life of the main character Pi (Piscine Molitor Patel). The main character is named after a swimming pool in France but changed latter to Pi during his secondary school life. He was brought in a well up family since his father not only owned but also used to run a zoo. Religion was introduced to him in his early childhood as he was born a Hindu.

However, when he was a teenager, he was introduced to other religions such as Christianity and Islam. Instead of choosing one, Pi was practicing all the three religions and used them to try and understand the nature of God. The second part illustrates the journey through the ocean while the last part focuses on the interaction of Pi and the two officials who wanted to know to more about his adventure.

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Poe is also similar to the Life of Pi as it focuses on a story of a young person Pym. The main character in the story decides to go on a sea adventure where he encounters several issues like cannibalism, ship wreck as well as mutiny.

It is a strange and an adventurous story which features religious symbolism among other themes. The story also discusses the theory of the Hollow Earth as well as some of the life experiences of the author especially concerning the sea adventure. It is considered as one of the influential works in the field of literature especially as an adventurous story.

As highlighted in the in the introductory part, religion is one of the themes that stand out in the Life of Pi. Moreover, even at the beginning, the author points out that the story can make someone believe in God. One is left to wonder how a story of one human being with a number of animals can turn out to be spiritual or even religious. However, looking keenly at the life of Pi reveals the importance of God and religion as well.

Despite the fact that Pi grows up in a secularized society, he ends up becoming too religious. Apart from Hinduism which was his first religion, Pi goes to the extent of embracing Catholicism as well as Islam. Surprisingly, Pi chooses to practice the three religions at the same time but chooses to keep his spirituality as a secret, not only to his family but also to his three religious leaders. All the three religions were important in his life since he found something important in each (Greer).

According to Pi, Hinduism was an important religion as he was introduced to it early in life-it was part of him. He did not consider leaving Hinduism after discovering other religions because it formed the basis of his spirituality.

He embraced Christianity and Islam out of curiosity not out of dissatisfaction of the other religions. Despite the fact that he was comfortable with his three religious beliefs, his religious leaders were dissatisfied with his stand as they believed that it was impossible for him to practice all the three religions at the same time.

He was unable or unwilling to choose a single religion. Although he was quick to embrace other religions, he found it quite hard to embrace atheism even if it was presented to him by his favorite teacher. He believed in the existence of a supernatural being and that is why he was afraid to explore or learn more about atheism. It is clear that that the religious life of Pi forms the basis of the whole story and can inspire the reader to believe in God as the author illustrates (Quilty).

Religion has been discussed in the beginning and the idea is revisited towards the end of the story when Pi asks the Japanese officials to choose the story they preferred. Pi concluded that it is the same case in life because human beings chose between religion and science or fantasy and reality.

The religious people chose to believe in the uplifting issues rather than in the believable issues which may be less entertaining. In that case, it is clear that the whole story is more on application of religion in the life of human beings. For instance, to illustrate the application of religion in various life circumstances, Pi gives an illustration of two men who give different interpretations after seeing white light before them.

While the religious person believes that the white light represents God in a different form, the other person who believes in science concludes that the light is a scientific phenomenon caused by lack of enough oxygen in the central nervous system. In that case, Pi does not oppose either of them but highlights that the only difference between them is how they take life. According to Pi, the scientific person only lacks imagination and therefore “misses the better part of the story” (Quilty).

As NikoRad illustrates, religion in the life of Pi is effectively used to pass the main idea of the story to the audience. The author illustrates that in every situation, human beings have got a choice on how to perceive reality.

According to Pi, human beings can chose to take the advantage of religion, engage their imagination and obtain the best out of it. In that case, even though religion may not be true, it is more exciting to believe in the same than to live as an atheist. Therefore, the protagonist has used the idea of religion in the whole story to effectively communicate his mind the audience.

Religion has also played a great role in developing the character of Pi. Right from an early age, the author introduces Pi as a religious person since he is able to observe three religions at the same time. More specifically, the author presents Pi as a person who has got a religion of his own based on the fact that he is able to embrace three religions at the same time.

The issue of religion in the life of Pi is very important as it makes him to have faith in himself. Consequently, due to the faith in self, Pi is able to carry out his role effectively through out the whole story. For instance, it is observable that Pi speaks so firmly not only concerning religious issues but also concerning other life issues like a person who has had a lot of experience in life.

The background information concerning Pi religious beliefs not only develops his character but helps the audience to accept and appreciate Pi as he is, bearing in mind that children can also see things in their own perspective. Most importantly, religious belief and the faith that Pi has makes the audience not to doubt his survival even after going through very dangerous circumstances during his journey through the ocean.

The story of Pi is one of the unbelievable tales in the field of literature. However, incorporating religion adds value to it. This is based on the fact that religion also contains a lot of stories which look fictional.

For instance, some of the biblical stories like the story of Jonah and the whale and the story of the fall of man can only be read by someone who is able to suspend disbelief and similarly, the story of the life of Pi can only be read by someone who can do away with disbelief and embrace some faith. Instead of having doubts, religion helps the reader to become eager to read a story that is supposed to make someone believe in God. Therefore, the issue of religion does not only create harmony in the story but also makes it interesting to read.

Similar to religion, God also plays major roles in the life of Pi. From the very beginning, the protagonist Pi is faced with a lot of challenges. Religion happens to be a major challenge in life since other people cannot understand how he can manage to practice the three religions at the same time. Surviving a shipwreck for two hundred and twenty seven days is also a major challenge.

His religious beliefs and believe in God enables him to overcome all the challenges that he goes through not only during his childhood but also during his journey through the Pacific Ocean. Pi is a believer because he states that “I just want to love God” (Martel pp. 69). In the view of the fact that the life of Pi is characterized by danger, loneliness and doubt or uncertainty, his belief in God helped him to overcome all the challenges. Through out his journey, Pi continued to perform his religious rituals such as prayer.

Yann Martel once indicated that it is natural to be influenced and inspired by other writers. In the life Pi, it is clear that the author has been greatly influenced by the Poe’s Narrative of Arthur Grogon Pym of Nantucket. To begin with, Martel names the tiger Richard Parker after a character in the Poe’s narrative. As much as there is a difference between the two characters, it is clear that Poe’s work was influential.

For instance, the issue of cannibalism features greatly in the two stories and may have influenced Martel in naming the Tigress ‘Richard Parker’. In the Poe’s narrative, Richard Parker is human being who becomes a victim of cannibalism since he is eaten by the captain and his two friends who survived a ship wreck for sixteen days. However, it is ironical since in the life of Pi, Richard Parker who represents the tigress ends up eating other animals like the zebra and the hyena.

According to the studies of Buchinger (pp. 73), the life of Pi is not just an adventurous journey but also a religious metaphor as ‘Tsimtsum’ which is the Japanese name for a cargo ship suggests. Further studies illustrate that the tzimtzum concept illustrates that God created the finite world by contracting himself and ended up leaving a space for human beings to develop. To reunite with God, Pi explains that human beings are supposed to live lives that are free from evil.

Although Pi often used to feel that God had forsaken him, the tigress Richard Parker helps him to overcome all the obstacles and is hence seen as a helper from God. Therefore, it is clear that the life of Pi illustrates the importance of religion, Faith and God as well. Similarly, the Work of Poe is also characterized by religious symbolism especially in the last chapters. Although both themes have been discussed differently, it is clear that Marten was influenced greatly by the work of Poe especially in discussing religion.

Poe’s Narrative of Arthur Grogon Pym of Nantucket and the Life of Pi are very similar since both of them are adventurous stories involving similar issues such as cannibalism and shipwreck. However, the main aim of the essay is not on the similarity of the main themes but on the influence that Poe had on Yann Martels work.

Nevertheless, the similarity of themes is one of the important factors that can illustrate how the work of Poe was influential. Although there are many issues such as ship wreck and cannibalism that are similar, religious symbolism is the most important factor in the whole story.

In the life of Pi, a supernatural being or God helped the main character to survive the difficult situations and to overcome all the obstacles. Religious symbolism in the Poe’s work which features greatly in the last chapters influenced the role played by God and religion in the life of Pi. Therefore, it cannot be an understatement to conclude that Poe greatly influenced Yann Martel in writing the life of Pi not only in bringing out the idea of God and religion, but also on the presentation of the whole story.

Works Cited

Buchinger, George. The Tiger in the Angolphone Literature. 2009. Web.

Greer, W. R. Life of Pi is a masterful story. 2002. Web.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002.

NikoRad. Religion and spirituality in Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. 2009. Web.

Quilty, Susan. Religion and spirituality in Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. 2010. Web.

Introduction

Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is a must-read tale that presents great tribulations and the fight for survival in difficult circumstances. The masterwork is an account of the life of a shipwrecked young boy named Piscine Molitor Patel who is commonly nicknamed as Pi. In the novel, the young boy Pi is the only survivor after the ship that happens to be carrying him together with his family sinks because of bad weather. What follows in the aftermath of the shipwreck is an ordeal of survival that takes 227 days before the young boy gets to the show when he is finally rescued. In many ways, the survival of Piscine Molitor Patel is a classic example of Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which is mainly referred to as the survival of the fittest. Indeed, it is evident that by the end, only the fittest category makes to the shore so that they can live to tell the story (Speringer 34).

This paper draws immensely from the events of the 227 days that Pi was in the sea. It also presents his survival story. The goal is to show why Yann Martel’s work is a good example of Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest theory.

Definition of “Survival of the Fittest”

In the mid-1800s, a scientist by the name Charles Darwin advanced the idea of evolution. In what came to be known as the theory of evolution by natural selection, Darwin asserts that animals and plants alike have evolved over time to their current state through the natural selection process, which explains the subject of animal and body adaptation and specialisation (Darwin 13). In explaining the natural selection, Darwin views organisms as having important traits that guarantee their survival at any given period during their existence. According to the method, the traits that are important for the survival of the organism are preserved and passed on to future generations, while the traits that are not important are eliminated together with the organisms.

For instance, if a prey animal such as antelope must survive, it must be able to outpace the predator. In such a scenario, only the fast antelopes stand a chance to survive for long by passing on their genes or traits to the next generations. On the other hand, the predator will catch the antelopes that are not fast enough. Hence, they end up dying before they can pass on their traits to the succeeding generation of antelopes (Crawford and Krebs 23).

In other words, they will be selected against by nature. Gradually, only the fast antelopes will exist since they have an advantage over the prey until another trait or changes in the demands of nature will require better traits to ensure further survival. For example, the predator must also adapt to the status of the prey. In the above illustration, if the predator cannot adapt to catch the antelope, assuming it is the only source of food, it will die of starvation. Such adaptations and specialisations are geared towards ensuring that the organisms with the best traits survive while those with inferior traits die, or are selected against by nature.

The selection of the best survival traits is what Darwin refers to as the survival of the fittest. In this survival of the fittest feat, nature is viewed as unpredictable based on its ability to throw many situations that threaten the very survival of an organism in its given environment. The ability to adapt to these natural events determines whether an organism can survive or not (Kaila and Annila 55). Creatures that have important traits for surviving through the specific event are likely to adapt easily and endure the situation while those that are not well equipped with the necessary traits die out (Gregory 157). Borrowing from the Darwin’s survival of the fittest, the story of the Life of Pi is an entire survival account where the best and the fittest are seen surviving the events that they find themselves in. Such events can be viewed as a life and death situation that lasts for more than 227 days in the ocean.

The Background to the Life of Pi and its relation to Survival

When the family zoo can no longer adequately support the family, Pi’s father does what he thinks is best for his family. He seeks greener pastures in Canada. The journey to the new land separates the family from their new dream life. The ship accommodates Pi’s family members together with some of the animals that were initially in the family zoo, which Pi’s father plans to sell once the family arrives in Canada. Pi’s childhood is like that of ordinary children in his native country. He attends public school just like other ordinary children. However, from an early age, Pi shows a great desire for knowledge. This desire is evident when he seeks to study various religions, which include Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity. Further, he also has a great desire to learn about science. Hence, he questions the atheist teachings of his biology teacher, Mr Kumar (Shmoop par.1).

All the exposure to science and religion offers important lessons and approaches to life that will prove very important in his survival quest later in the story. In addition, he learns how to swim as an important skill, which he is the only one who has it in his family. The skill will prove very important on his survival as opposed to his family members. From an early age, his father had exposed Pi to the danger that is characteristic of animals such as the tiger, which despite it appearing seemingly docile still had its animal instincts of killing (Stephens 41). Such experience to danger at an early age exposed Pi to the concepts of fear and danger, all of which are important aspects of survival in difficult situations. While studying the behaviour of animals in zoos, Pi is exposed to the psychology of animals. He learns important lessons about why some animals attack people, despite them seemingly receiving the best treatment. To him, some animals attack people or escape from the zoo because they are not able to re-adapt to the new environment. Others do not feel safe at all. Such a danger is a threat to their survival and hence their attack on humans or outflows from the zoos. The lessons that the reader learns from this masterpiece are important when it comes to handling animals.

They will prove important for the survival of Pi while at sea. Once the journey begins, there is no return. The family is excited that it is going to have a new life at last. However, the joy is short-lived. The ship runs into bad weather. Unfortunately, it is broken down because of weather issues. From the beginning of the tragedy, the struggle for survival begins. At this point, the survival instincts of Pi are set in motion. For the next 227 days, Pi has to make important decisions, as well as use his instincts to ensure his survival.

Survival During and the Aftermath of the Shipwreck

“In the aftermath of the bloody killing of Zebra, A foul and pungent smell, an earthy mix of rust and excrement, hung in the air. There was blood everywhere, coagulating to a deep red crust” (Martel Life of Pi 159)

The above statement from the novel is reflective of the environment where killing and struggling to live have been the talk of the day as each character fights for its life a few days after the journey had begun. After several days on the voyage, Pi and his family members are awoken by loud noises from the ship. The ship is now heavily tilting from a massive storm that has caught them in the middle of the ocean. He moves to the deck to see what is happening and realises that the situation is very dire and that he is in imminent danger of becoming shipwrecked. When he tries to go back and warn his family, he finds that the corridors to the rooms are already waterlogged. Hence, he cannot access them. He then runs back the deck with the intention of asking for help from the crew members who are in the deck (Shmoop par.2).

Instead, he is thrown overboard with a lifejacket and onto a lifeboat. While on the lifeboat, he sees animals drowning and instinctively sets himself to rescue the tiger, Richard Parker, onto the lifeboat. On the boat are other seriously injured animals that include zebra that has a broken leg, a hyena, and a tiger that is Richard Parker. However, as soon as Richard Parker gets onto the lifeboat, Pi realises his mistake and the obvious danger that he (Richard Parker) poses to the survival of the rest of the group, including Pi himself (Cloete 314). He has to flee from the boat and onto a provisional raft, which he makes to float away from the lifeboat while still tied onto the lifeboat. The battle for the fittest has already begun. In the next 227 days, only the fittest will survive and live to tell the story.

When thrown onto the lifeboat by the Japanese crewmembers, Pi later realises that they have used him as bait for the hyena, which is already in the lifeboat. The Japanese crew team has realised the possibility of being shipwrecked and hence has to take the necessary steps by lowering the lifeboat in preparation for any eventuality. However, when a hyena beats the people to the boat, they are torn between jumping, waiting to drown as the ship sinks, and/or being eaten by the Hyena (Street 179). As a response to the survival instinct, the Japanese crew people have to make important decisions.

In this case, they have to sacrifice Pi to distract the hyena as a way of ensuring that they have a safe landing on the boat, as the hyena will be contented. However, fate conspires against them. Before they can jump onto the lifeboat, the ship sinks. Pi is frightened by the loss of his family, as he witnesses the unbearable situation of the ship going down. However, he realises that he is the only person and with him on the boat are the hyena, zebra, and an orang-utan that are taking refuge in the lifeboat (Ketterer 81). When he sees the tiger, Richard Parker, swimming towards the boat, he encourages him until he gets onto the lifeboat.

Once Richard Parker is on the lifeboat, Pi impulsively realises the danger he has put himself in together with the animals on the boat. Darwin’s presumption of the “survival of the fittest” is evident when Pi flees the boat in fear. According to the theory of evolution, through natural selection, fear is an important survival instinct since it allows organisms to flee, rather than face danger. Fleeing a dangerous situation allows an organism to avoid a confrontation that can lead to injuries or death. In the battle between Pi and Richard Parker, it is evident that Parker has an advantage since he is fashioned to kill and hence the reason why fleeing because of fear is the only alternative for Pi. Pi being a human being, has a better reasoning capacity relative to the other animals. Using his intelligence, which is a major survival trait, makes a temporary raft.

He ties it onto the boat away from the tiger. His thoughts when he realises the presence of the tiger on the boat after coming to his senses following the initial shock of the events of the previous night of the sinking of the ship are well captured when he says, “There was a tiger on the lifeboat. I could hardly believe it, yet I knew I had to. I had to save myself” (Martel Life of Pi 195). After fleeing the boat, his reasoning and intelligence are evident in the activities that he undertakes to make the raft. He takes the life jackets and the ropes from the locker to make a raft. Unlike the animals that are in the boat, he can think rationally and/or be driven by reason. Such actions are not strange when a person in danger does them. Indeed, they are very important indicators of a person who can reason. The reasoning is an important survival instinct that Pi will use on many occasions during his stay in the ocean (Martel How I Wrote Life of Pi par.1).

However, the animals in the boat, including the Hyena, Zebra, and the Orang-utan, have no other way out other than sticking onto the boat. Only the fittest animal among them will survive the ocean tribulations.

The situation in the boat is characterised by chaos. It is a battle for the best to survive. Firstly, the hyena is very voracious. It does not hesitate to make a meal out of the other animals. He begins with the injured zebra where he tears off the injured leg at first. In this contest for survival, the zebra is at a disadvantage. It is weak to compete with the strong hyena that has sharp carnivorous teeth that can tear bones and meat with ease. Even in these circumstances, the animals do not show normal behaviour (Dwyer 13).

For instance, a hyena is known to eat large quantities of food in one sitting, yet in this case, he takes time tearing off the injured leg of the zebra first, as if he is planning on the next part to tear. He seems to know that tearing off the injured zebra’s leg will not lead to death and that the longer the zebra stays alive, the longer the food will be available in this journey, which they find themselves in. However, the zebra’s stay is short-lived. The hyena moves swiftly and kills it, an event that to Pi is very stressful and difficult to comprehend. For the first time, Pi understands the wildness, voraciousness, and animalistic tendencies of the hyena, which while in the zoo did not reveal its wild side. It is evident that the battle for survival has taken one soul and that it is unstoppable. In noting and justifying hyena’s ruthlessness, Pi says,

“But even wild animals that were bred in zoos and have never known the wild, that is perfectly adapted to their enclosures and feel no tension in the presence of humans, will have moments of excitement that push them to seek escape. All living things contain a measure of madness that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways. This madness can be saving; it is part of the ability to adapt. Without it, no species would survive” (Martel Life of Pi 51).

In hyena’s madness, it is evident that he still has the instinct of killing. In fact, he executes the skill with precision by killing the zebra and getting food for himself for the next few days.

After the death of the zebra in the jaws of the voracious hyena, the next animal to be devoured is the orang-utan. To Pi, the orang-utan represents a motherly love. She expresses human traits. In fact, when she first comes on-board the lifeboat, Pi describes how she seems sick and tired. He says, “The poor dear looked so humanly sick! It is a particularly funny thing to read human traits in animals, especially in apes and monkeys, where is so easy” (Martel Life of Pi 152). When the hyena manages to kill the orang-utan, a major fight ensues between the two. Who will win the fight? In terms of capturing the fight between the hyena and orang-utan, Pi points out that the orang-utan had managed to eat the hyena hard and that the fight seemed to be going in her favour. However, the hyena easily outmatches her when it swiftly goes for her throat, thus killing her on the spot.

The ruthlessness of the hyena shows the quest for survival and/or how animals are dangerous and merciless (Duncan 168). With reference to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, or the survival of the fittest, it is evident that the hyena, which has traits that offer an advantage over other animal characters, outshines the orang-utan and the zebra. The zebra is an obvious prey for the hyena, especially now that he is injured. Hence, he (zebra) is a great disadvantage. He becomes an easy prey because he is helpless. On the other hand, although the orang-utan tries to defend herself, the sheer strength of the hyena means that the battle already has its preferred winner. Hence, although the death devastates Pi, it is expected eventually, especially when the battlefield is in the confines of a small lifeboat. Recounting the scene, Pi says,

“Orange Juice lay next to it, against the dead zebra. Her arms were spread wide open, her short legs were folded together and slightly to one side, she looked like a simian Christ on the Cross. Except for her head…She was beheaded. The neck wound was still bleeding. It was a horrible sight to the eyes and the killing to the spirit” (Martel Life of Pi 135).

After the bloody ordeal that occurs on the boat, Pi can see from his raft that the situation is a matter of time before he faces the hyena on a life and death battle. The hyena has proved himself the most ruthless and eager to survive in the lifeboat, even if it means killing all the other characters in the lifeboat. However, it is evident that even in such circumstances, the hyena has few options and that his animal instinct is all focused on survival. It takes advantage of the weak animals or those that have lesser survival traits based on the circumstances that are in the sea (Morace 56).

As Pi contemplates how to best attack and fight the hyena, Parker, the tiger, emerges from the tarpaulin, pounces on the heartless and ruthless hyena, and kills him instantly to Pi’s relief. The turn of events is an important indicator of the survival of the fittest doctrine at work. From the start of the journey in the lifeboat, the hyena has already shown his bloody and ruthless side and his ability to survive, especially at the advantage of the weaker animals, which include the zebra and the orang-utan. Pi, who is almost oblivious of the presence of the hyena, is preparing to fight the hyena. As the situation stands, the hyena is the only danger to his survival. Ideally, the hyena is battle-ready. He is ready to kill to survive. So far, he has had immense success (Thorn 6).

However, when Richard Parker emerges from the tarpaulin, he kills the beastly hyena instantly. It is evident that there is a more powerful survival force in the lifeboat. Richard Parker represents a major obstacle and a threat to the survival of Pi. Pi has to think, reason, and come up with approaches to taming the beast. Pi is aware that the raft will not last for long. Eventually, he will have to face Parker in what he believes will be a battle of life and death.

Survival with Richard Parker

After the death of the other animals that include the zebra, the hyena, and the orang-utan, it is now Richard Parker and Pi who will be battling for survival. Initially, Pi was aware that he stood no chance with Parker since he (Parker the tiger) can kill and that he can be ruthless. Pi knows this fact too well right from his childhood when his father taught the entire family a good lesson after he threw a live goat into Parker’s cage, which was devoured with unimaginable ruthlessness by Parker. Further, the way he kills the hyena with so much ease is evident that he can easily kill Pi (Thomas 183). In response to these thoughts, Pi has fled the boat.

He currently floats on a raft, which he deems is at a safe distance from the lifeboat where Parker is. He has carried some supplies from the lifeboat. Besides, he is aware that the resources can only sustain him for a few days. However, he does not forget to plan on how to handle Parker. Indeed, through reasoning, which is a major survival instinct and an advantage that Pi has over Parker, he comes up with five major plans on how to handle Parker (De Cunha 235). The plans do not reach the execution level because any plan will mean confronting Parker. Based on reasoning, indications are that Parker may triumph. The sixth plan involves Pi killing Parker, although the execution strategy is the main problem. How will he kill Parker? He has no adequate tools to kill the animal. In any case, the probability of being seriously injured or even killed is very high. Hence, it is better to postpone any confrontations for as long as possible.

After staying on the raft for as long as it took, exposure to salty seawater makes Pi develops sores and boils, which are unbearably painful. The raft is also giving into the waves and corrosion of the seawater. It becomes apparent that a confrontation with the tiger is inevitable and hence the reason why he has to come up with the final plan. Initially, his plan to kill tiger seems very valid since instead of confronting the tiger, he thinks the best approach will be to let the tiger die a slow death from hunger and thirst (Duncan 169). However, such thoughts are short sighted. When he thinks about such an approach, he realises that Parker can swim and that the raft is not beyond his (Parker) reach. In recapping his thoughts and fears upon realising the imminent danger that he might face if Parker decides to swim across to the raft, Pi says,

“I have read that there are two fears that cannot be trained out of us: the startle reaction upon hearing unexpected noise, and vertigo. I would like to add a third, to wit, the rapid and direct approach of a known killer” (Martel Life of Pi 331).

To avoid such a situation where Parker has to make Pi his last meal, Pi decides that the seventh plan will involve taming Parker using the skills of handling animals that he obtains while working at the family zoo with his father. The plan is for Pi to establish himself as the alpha using skills other than fighting, which he is sure he cannot win. Using the strategy of taming the tiger, which he has in store, he manages to enter the lifeboat to establish a demarcation zone where the tiger has his area while Pi has his other area, each on the opposite side of the boat. He says that he had no option but taming Parker to stay away from the threat of being killed any time (Spall 14).

In this case, it is evident that Pi realises that instead of living in the fear of Parker or without him at all by killing him, it will be better to tame and coexist with him in this predicament, which only the fittest have survived so far. In the boat, Pi has a reason to live and that is keeping Parker alive for as long as possible. If he keeps Parker alive, he knows that Parker will not have to kill him because he will be getting enough food and water. The situation is a tough challenge, especially when he notes that getting food and water is the biggest encounter. Indeed, getting water to drink appears to be the biggest immediate challenge. In the beginning, Pi uses water rations that are available as part of the survival supplies that are available in the lifeboat (Dwyer 12).

Because he is a person with reason, he focuses on ensuring that the food and water last for as long as possible since he is not sure of how long the remaining journey will take. He also knows that Parker is not a completely tamed animal. Hence, by not providing food and water to him, he may be killed. Instead, Pi focuses on using seasickness and a whistle to demand compliance or subordination of Parker. With time, Parker learns to associate the whistle with seasickness. This way, Pi can easily control Parker with a whistle. He can easily maintain his territory while Parker keeps his region. From the above events, it is evident that the fact that Pi has a higher intelligence is a major advantage. He is able to use it to tame and control Parker and consequently establish himself as the alpha. However, he does not forget that such an advantage can only remain valid if Parker is not hungry and hence the reason why he makes deliberate efforts to ensure that he is well fed.

In all his life, Pi has developed strong religious values, which uphold the importance of life. Indeed, he is a vegetarian. Hence, he has a difficult time trying to abandon his beliefs to become a meat eater. However, survival demands cannot allow him to remain a vegetarian for long (Nilsen 115). He has to learn to kill not only for himself, but also for Richard Parker whose only meal is meat. The struggle between his beliefs and his demands for survival is evident when he encounters the flying fish feast.

Although he manages to catch several fish flying overboard, he feels very guilty for taking away the life of the fish. He regards the act of assassination as killing a rainbow or butchering an innocent creature. Under the circumstances that he is in, he knows that there is no other option. To survive, he has to make this decision. He has to learn how to kill, and most importantly, how to overcome his ‘vegetarianist’ beliefs. Hence, he has to eat meat since it is the only way to survive for him and for Parker. He notes that under the circumstance, an individual can become evil and get used to it. He says, “The scary truth about evil is that, one can get used to anything” (Markel 185). His turn around from vegetarianism to a sworn hunter is a major triumph for the survival instinct and a major indicator of Darwin’s theory of survival. An organism will do anything in its capacity to survive. Consequently, Pi’s actions are a clear indicator of this major shift and the desire for survival (Gregory 158).

Following his first killing, Pi becomes a ruthless hunter who does not feel disgusted to kill. In this process, apart from his survival, he is aware that he must kill enough to keep Parker alive for his safety and survival as well. At the end and after overcoming his initial fears of killing, Pi’s declaration that a person can get used to any evil makes him a ruthless killer. He is no longer disgusted. He no longer appears to struggle or be troubled with killing fish or any other creature that comes his way. His killing becomes the norm. Indeed, it does not seem to be an issue of major concern in the story. He mentions the volumes of food and the varieties together with the brutal methods that are deployed to get the food. For instance, to show his level of brutality, he points to a case where he kills a turtle and drinks its fresh blood, which can be equated to becoming a bloodthirsty individual who is almost equal to an animal. He captures his situation well when he says,

“You may be astonished that in such a short period of time I could go from weeping over the muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully bludgeoning to death a Dorado. I could explain it by arguing that profiting from a pitiful flying fish’s navigational mistake made me shy and sorrowful, while the excitement of actively capturing a great Dorado made me sanguinary and self-assured. But in point of a fact explanation lies elsewhere. It is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything even killing” (Martel Life of Pi 234).

The flying fish that pounds the lifeboat area is blessing for Pi and Parker. For the first time, Pi is actively involved in catching and eating as many fish as he can get. In describing the moment, Pi says that the tiger appeared stronger compared to him when it came to getting the fish. Parker is able to get many of them because of his energetic body and malicious character, especially when he sees a prey (Morace 34). Indeed, the behaviour of Parker and the way he ravages the fish is a clear reminder that he still has his animal instinct, a fact that only acts to ensure that Pi is determined to ensure that Parker is well fed.

Another important aspect that emanates from the event relating to Parker’s destructive nature is that Pi seems to admire how Parker is a devastating animal. In his mind, it is a battle of whether he should become as ravage as Parker or retain his morality and humanity. He chooses the latter option. However, this goal can only be achieved by keeping an active diary where he notes the events of his journey as it progresses. He writes on a daily basis until he runs out of pens. It is only through his ability to write to keep memories of his journey that he can at least distinguish himself from Parker, the animal (Dwyer 16). Otherwise, he is not different from Parker in terms of his brutality and his eating habits, which involve eating raw meat and drinking fresh blood from the sea creatures that he manages to catch.

When they are pushed ashore on the carnivorous island, it is a good feeling, especially in the plenty of food that is available in the mysterious islands. The island is full of meerkats, as well as fresh water. In response to their hunger and thirst, Pi and Parker begin a serious eating session where they kill and eat many meerkats. A good case in point of their ruthlessness is evident when Pi tries to sooth his legs with the blood of several meerkats that he kills in the island. When the nightfall comes, Pi and Parker soon realise that it is not just an island, but also a carnivorous one, which consumes all animals that are unlucky to be on the surface. The lucky animals flee to trees while Parker has to flee to the lifeboat.

The events of the carnivorous island are also an important example of survival of the fittest. Animals that have the necessary traits to climb trees or run out of the island as Parker did are the ones that escape being eaten. Pi has climbs on a tree. The following day, Pi has to make an important decision to proceed with his journey because it is not the place he would wish to stay without civilisation, although the island is full of food and fresh water. He says,

“By the time morning came, my grim decision was taken…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” (Martel Life of Pi 357).

Although the decision may seem misplaced to many people, it is indeed a triumph of reason over survival. Human beings are social beings. Hence, staying alone in this island is a wrong decision. Pi and Parker have already survived in the open sea. Hence, it appears only logical to know that they will survive again until the time they will be swept onshore or get spotted by a ship and be taken to safety. When they are finally spotted and rescued on the shores of Mexico, it becomes evident that only the fittest characters have survived. It takes more than just the survival instinct, but also reason, for Pi and Richard Parker to last for 227 days in the ocean.

Conclusion

The novel Life of Pi is indeed a tale of survival of the fittest. Survival of the fittest is a term that was coined in relation to the theory of evolution through natural selection by Charles Darwin. The theory holds that only organisms that have the right and advanced survival traits for a given situation in the environment survive while the others die. At the start of the Life of Pi and immediately after the shipwreck, very few animals together with Pi can survive. Hence, the battle for survival begins. The zebra is the first to die followed by the orang-utan, all in the jaws of the voracious hyena. It is evident that the hyena is fit for the battle at that stage, although Richard Parker, the tiger, later kills him.

On the other hand, Pi has to find ways of dealing with Parker. Using reason, which is a major survival instinct and an advantage, he is able to tame and control Parker. Survival demands make Pi overlook his beliefs that relate to life. He becomes a killer. In fact, he abandons his vegetarianism ideology to safeguard his survival and that of Richard Parker. He is aware that it is only by keeping Richard Parker fed and quenched that he stands a chance to live. If Parker gets hungry, the beast can easily eat him. At the end of the story, Parker and Pi are the only survivors because they have proved the fittest in the life and death situation that has prevailed in the lifeboat.

Work Cited

Cloete, Elsie. “Tigers, Humans and Animots.” JLS/TSW 23.3 (2007): 314-333. Print.

Crawford, Charles, and Dennis Krebs. Handbook of evolutionary psychology: Ideas, issues, and applications. Netherlands: Springer, 2013. Print.

Darwin, Charles. The origin of species by means of natural selection: or, the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2009. Print.

De Cunha, Rubelise. “MARTEL Yann.” Life of Pi: a novel”. Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2001.” Interfaces Brasil/Canadá 3.1 (2012): 235-242. Print.

Duncan, Rebecca. “Life of Pi as postmodern survivor narrative.” Mosaic: a journal for the interdisciplinary study of literature 41.2 (2008): 167-176. Print.

Dwyer, June. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and the Evolution of the Shipwreck Narrative.” Modern language studies 1.1 (2005): 9-21. Print.

Gregory, Ryan. “Understanding natural selection: essential concepts and common misconceptions.” Evolution: Education and Outreach 2.2 (2009): 156-175. Print.

Kaila, Ville, and Arto Annila. “Natural selection for least action.” Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences 464.2099 (2008): 55-76. Print.

Ketterer, David. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi and Poe’s Pym (and “Berenice”).” Poe Studies 42.1 (2009): 80-86. Print.

Martel, Yann. How I Wrote Life of Pi, 2007. Web.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Wales: Random House Incorporated, 2007. Print.

Morace, Robert. “Life of Pi.” Magill’s Literary Annual 2003. Literary Reference Centre. Columbus: Mississippi for Women Lib, 2003. Print.

Nilsen, Don. “Onomastic Play and Suspension of Disbelief in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.” Onoma 40.1 (2005): 115-124. Print.

Shmoop, Mitchell. Life of Pi Summary, 2015. Web.

Spall, Rafe, and Yann Martel. Life of Pi. Netherlands: Springer, 2013. Print.

Speringer, Markus. Survival of the Fittest!?. Netherlands: Springer, 2012. Print.

Stephens, Gregory. “Feeding Tiger, Finding God: Science, Religion, and” the Better Story” in Life of Pi.” Intertexts 14.1 (2010): 41-59. Print.

Street, Steve. “Life of Pi (review).” The Missouri Review 27.1 (2004): 179-180. Print.

Thomas, Bindu. “Territory and Power: Towards A Biocentric Reading of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi: A Novel.” Essays in Ecocriticism 1.1 (2007): 182-186. Print.

Thorn, Michael. “Cannibalism, Communion, and Multifaith Sacrifice in the Novel and Film Life of Pi.” Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 27.1 (2015): 1-15. Print.

Introduction

In the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the protagonist is found in a state where the realm of self-awareness and human consciousness fails to make the difference between reality and illusion. However, it is a mode of debate that whether if the chemical imbalances in the brain under extreme conditions makes illusions out of reality. For this, a complete understanding of self-consciousness and mental testing is needed in order to establish the illusions created by Pi Patel with the reconstruction of his own self-consciousness. All these components of self-consciousness created a parallel reality for Pi and that forded him to two different stories of the ship disaster and his survival. The first, and the predominant story, involve animals. This story can be termed as expression of illusion. The second story involves human characters, which is the reality. To understand this difference one must look into the parameters of self-consciousness of the human mind.

Description of Consciousness as a mental state

Consciousness has been described to be a mental state. It is a perception of a person’s self with others in his surroundings. Researchers have also concluded based on research survey and extensive medical research that mental illnesses such as schizophrenia have been caused due to chemical imbalances in the brain. Therefore, it is essential to determine whether all such factors such as the consciousness of a human being could also be explained by the same phenomenon. Consciousness is essentially, philosophically and metaphysically, a sense of self-awareness. Therefore, it is important to understand the basic bio chemical reactions that take place in the human brain and therefore try to relate it to conventional discoveries in neuroscience and ascertain whether bio chemical processes are the sole reason for self-consciousness.

Analysis of the dual existence of Pi

There is a significant belief that most of human consciousness has been because of such chemical reactions and the study of these reactions were in line with Darwin’s theory on natural selection and evolution. Additionally, most contemporary literature also supported the view. In the case of Pi, his mental imbalance and his illusions are clearly due to shock of his mother’s violent death and that was instrumental with long starvation and living under harsh conditions as a shipwreck. Thus, the position of his self-consciousness was highly challenged due to these physical incidents and that triggered the process of depiction of manifested imageries of animals in place of human being such as Zebra, tiger, orangutan, hyena etc. Mr. Okamoto, the maritime insurance investigator, points out, “both the zebra and the Taiwanese sailor broke a leg, did you notice?” (Martel, 2004) Mr. Okamoto further mentions, “And the hyena bit off the zebra’s legs just as the cook cut off the sailor’s.” (Martel, 2004) Mr. Okamoto then clarifies the entire connection between human beings in the second story and the animals in the first story. He indicates, “So the Taiwanese sailor is the Zebra, his mother is the orang-utan, the cook is…the hyena – which means he’s (Pi) the tiger!” (Martel, 2004)

Establishment of relation between Pi and Richard Parker

It is a well-established medical fact that most of the neural reactions, which leads to our basic senses such as the power of smell, touch, hearing, taste and seeing have all been the outcomes of bio chemical reactions in the body. Therefore, it is obvious that these factors, which essentially contribute to human consciousness, have been borne out of these reactions and therefore human consciousness in itself is borne out of chemical reactions. Studies conducted under the fields of neuropsychological and neuro science has helped in understanding the functioning of the human intelligence system and therefore human consciousness. This again establishes the fact of self-consciousness and the realm of reconstruction of self-consciousness. This was the reason why Pi manifested his alter ego as a tiger, Richard Parker, who became his constant advisory throughout the novel. (Martel, 2004) Mr. Okamoto rightly understood this context and established the reasoning that “The tiger killed the hyena – and the blind Frenchman- just as he killed the cook.” (Martel, 2004)

Understanding the realms of consciousness

However, consciousness of the mind is not limited to senses of touch, vision, smell etc. It also encompasses areas such as knowledge, memory, ego, sanity etc. it is the study of these areas, which are tougher. A study of human consciousness based on bio chemical reactions would face stiff challenges in proving these aspects. Therefore, the human consciousness has to be studied at many different levels. It is easy to understand how sensory organs work but different to understand how the reciprocator actions are caused. Therefore, the mind actually works at varied levels.

Understanding the realms of consciousness in case of Pi and Richard Parker

It is however proven that the chemicals present in the body react due to various stimuli such as electrical signals, which are transmitted by the sensory nerves. There can therefore be various similar stimuli which are still not known and yet to be discovered. There are various aspects of consciousness, which manifests itself physically, but there are some like memory or thoughts, which does not always manifest it. Explaining these aspects are the toughest. Various research organizations have been studying cognitive sciences and researchers have been using such knowledge to apply to development of artificial intelligence in machines. Even as inroads are being made into understanding the mind in a more “scientific manner”, the scope of the study remains immense. The difficulties that researchers face in answering such abstract aspects of human consciousness are indeed tough. Thus, it justifies that fact that harsh sea conditions, constant hunger forced the chemical imbalance within Pi, and he reconstructed his self-consciousness as the tiger, Richard Parker. (Martel, 2004) This is why, when the crisis related to Pi’s survival was over and he was rescued by locals, he promptly discarded his alter self, the tiger. Pi states, “I would like to say it formally: Richard Parker, thank you. Thank for saving my life. And now go where you must.” (Martel, 2004)

Different views of consciousness in relation to Pi and Richard Parker

The realm of consciousness has different views. The ancients Greeks best describe the relation between the mind and the body when they mentioned that a sound mind is only possible in a sound body. As a result, it can be stated that the basic setup of a healthy mind is situated in the domain of a healthy body. Thus, there is a direct relation between the mind and the body. The body provides the mind the needed nutrition and energy to work efficiently. On the other hand, the mind controls the body and helps it to remain healthy by maintaining healthy characteristics. However, from the point of view of biology the nature of a human is chiefly dependent on the genes and all the aspects of the concept of physical, mental and the mind/body feature of the human nature is dependent of that principal. Biology seeks the justification in the aspect of genetics and states that every individual and human nature if the result of a formulation constructed well within the genetic codes of the double helix and the body just follows these codes as the human nature is build on these directions. Thus according to biology the central nervous system controls the basic parameters of the mind. This again proves the notion of chemical imbalance within Pi and this was the prime reason behind his reconstruction of his self-consciousness as Richard Parker, the tiger. This reconstruction was a need manifestation of his self as his basic timid and pious self was unable to bear the harsh conditions of the survival strategies employed during the castaway experiences. However, once Pi regained his foothold on the beaches of civilization, it became necessary to discard the tiger, as he was not fit for civil life. Pi tells Richard Parker, “Watch out for man. He is not your friend…So farewell Richard Parker, Farewell. God be with you.” (Martel, 2004)

Scientific evaluation of Pi’s constructed illusion

However, the characteristic of psychology also enumerates the variables of the human mind on the same principals of biology but add in the influence of immediate environment and virtually subtracts the elements of central nervous system. According to psychology, the human nature of the mind features are generated by the direct influence of the environment around the individual and any instigation by the environment is processed by the mind without the intervention of the central nervous system and the result of reaction of the human nature is delivered accordingly. Thus, it can well be stated that the mind can be free from the parameters of the CNS. So, the elements of reconstruction of Pi’s self-consciousness finds another possible ground and this is also due to chemical imbalance though the reason behind this imbalance was mostly psychological in nature. It had been established in the text that Pi comes from a pious Hindu family who follow strict code of non-violence and maintain vegetarian diet. He followed a life of well-defined boundaries as a good pious Hindu boy. It is as if the life that Pi describes as “you have known the confined freedom of zoo most of your life”. (Martel, 2004) The course of action demanded Pi to be violent at times and have animal flesh and this caused a deep change in his metabolism that ultimately appeared to him as a destructive shocking force and changes his mental chemical balance.

Conclusion

Thus, in conclusion, it can be ascertained that the incidents that took place in the novel ‘Life of Pi’ formulated and manifested an additional mode of self-consciousness that lead him to construct a world with flesh eating pool and meerkats. He developed an alter ego through acute consciousness the existence of Richard Parker the Tiger as alter ego of himself and the series of animals that were fundamentally formulated on real human beings like his mother, the cook and the sailor. Thus, it could be well established that in case of Pi the realm of self-awareness and human consciousness fails to make the difference between reality and illusion due to mental chemical imbalance and the psychological influence of an unreal world caused due to adverse situation faced by him.

References

Martel, Yann; Life of Pi; Penguin Books. (2004).

This is a story by Piscine Molitor Patel. People may know Piscine as PI as well. I mean, are we even supporting this? First, there are three different religions, then the science belief and now sharing a 26-foot lifeboat with a crippled zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker? I took the liberty of talking to some of my old pals, and surprisingly enough, I realized we were actually not communicating.

Some of them believed this and stood strong to the ground. By this, I mean, there was no convincing them otherwise. Without food, shelter, clothing? Do you people even realize these are the basic needs needed by an individual to survive? According to one of my friends, this was possible. She said, ‘do you believe in the bible’? If we are told, Jesus survived for forty nights and forty days, what else is not possible? PI had faith. All he did was to hold up firmly to this faith. Together with the little knowledge acquired from science, surviving was not that hard.’ This paper seeks to enhance argumentative and professional writing using literary work. It also looks into the possibility of writing about animals in such a captivating and catching way.

This left me thinking I must say. I was confused and nearly convinced beyond doubt that this was just not working or rather an art of literacy. Trying to come to terms with reality and bear in mind how literacy works symbolize our environment, the natural setting, and our day-to-day happenings. Then Daniel, a freelance writer by profession and a pal of my, had this to add, “Literacy art is all about creativity, it’s a gift, inspiration and at times, an imagination!” so where was he driving to? Was he against the art or supporting it?

According to Daniel, art was part of the imagination. He thought the writer was inspired but looked for a better way of delivering a message. The events covered in the book are as though they happened, but the fact remains they are all fiction. There went my knight in shining amour. At least I had some sharing the same page I was. Daniel used his knowledge gained from his profession to explain himself (Martel 45).

“In my line of work, at times when I am bored, if find myself talking of boredom. When I see something fascinating outside, I talk about it. However, at times one just feels he has had enough with real life issues and immediately turns into fantasies! I say this out of firsthand experience. At the end of the day, they are all literacy arts and you surely have nothing to lose! One thing we always keep at the back of our mind is the fact that, either reality or imagination, there is always a message available to pass.

Daniel truly divided the group! Questions were there to be answered. Some even turned to rhetoric. Obviously, there was this one question lingering in everyone’s mind. Where do we classify ‘life of Pi’? I say we classify ‘life of Pi’ as a pure fiction and not reality. This once more brought up mixed reactions and Bianca could not take it anymore. She stood up and let everyone else know her own point of view (Rogers).

After she had cleared her throat, she began,” when we look at the formalist approach of life of Pi, we are told it checks more of the form of the work rather than the content! Why are we ignoring this? All we have talked about is nothing more than the content. I mean, even after Daniel trying to draw u people back to the drawing board you still do not get it! Let us start by looking at the relationships of the characters. They all play a big role in the work.

Us as the readers of the work are obligated to find that reason. Take a closer check on the cadence to have a clue on why that character exists in the work. You may take words as they are literally used. However, do you know the way a person uses words in the work gives those words a completely different spin from the normal meaning? Before we decide anything concerning what ‘Life of Pi’ entails let us not rush into conclusions (Rogers).

Works Cited

Jordan, Justine. Animal Magnetism, 2002. Web.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. New York: McGraw Irwin, 2003. Print.

Rogers, Henry. Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Print.