Beliefs in Life's Ordeals in The Life of Pi

As living things, our thinking and perspectives are constantly affected by our faith and beliefs. Within our human species we have come up with a number of belief systems which we incorporate in our lives without even knowing. From believing in different religions to having faith in science, our beliefs are always varied from each other, however they all have one main thing in common; our beliefs offer us a promise of comfort and security in which one feels they have a place in the world and a purpose to live.

In the novel, Life of Pi, by Martel Yann the protagonist Piscine Molitar goes through a horrifying experience at the sea in which he is made witness to human death and faces cannibalism Yet Pi is able to survive his ordeals because of his different beliefs. In the novel, through the character of Pi, Martel shows us that when individuals are faced with physical or internal conflicts, they use their beliefs to battle through their circumstances to gain security or hope for the future.

Pi’s faith and belief in God often helped inspire him to maintain hope and continue to live on. even at times of despair. In the novel, When Pi is stranded at sea , he becomes tired of being singed by the rays of sun, and of his extreme thirst. He is overwhelmed by his continuous worry of fetching food for himself and Richard Parker. Pi’s physical and emotional stress, make him want to give up on life even more, On page 163, Pi even quotes, “The words Father Mother Ravi India Winnipeg struck me with searing poignancy I was giving up I would have given up”.

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However just when Pi thinks he can no longer hold on to life, a natural miracle delivers him a sign and he believes it to be a signal from God. “Suddenly a bolt struck. There was an explosion of hot air and hot water. For two, perhaps three seconds a gigantic, blinding white shard of glass from a broken cosmic window danced in the sky”. The lightning storm amazes Pi and he sees it as an impressive demonstration of God’s divinity.

Pi remarks, “Praise be to Allah, Lord of All WorldsI the Compassionate, the Merciful, and Ruler of Judgment Day!. As a result of this situation, Pi realizes that God is watching over him and thanks him for the miracle he made by praising him. He later even quotes, “I was overwhelmed with happiness. All hurt and frustration fell away and I positively blazed with joy”. Through this text, we can see how Pi’s faith that God is with him helps him escape his factuality and turn to a world of hope and happiness. Pi finally begins to believe that he will survive since God is present with him. Another instance in which Pi’s faith in God inspires him to remain hopeful is when he hears God inside him. In the beginning of his journey, after the Hyena attacks the Orangutan and kills it, Pi realizes that it’s his turn next. He loses complete hope in his survival and decides to give up right away, However, his faith that God is present with him helps Pi gain strength and courage to continue his battle in survival.

On page 167. Pi quotes, “I would have given up 7 if a voice hadn‘t made itself heard in my heart. The voice said ‘I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are} I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine, The amazing will be seen every day, I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.” Through the text we can see how Pi’s faith that God is talking to him and encouraging him to remain hopeful inspires him to believe that he will survive, “as long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen.” This belief that God is with him, makes Pi determined, and he starts planning for survival, instead of grieving in fear, Pi’s belief in his morals of Islam, that all creatures co—exist with each other, helped him conquer obstacles at sea and resulted in his survival. In the beginning of the novel, Pi quotes, “I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it.

It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and Elevation” If there‘s a moment when Pi uses Islam as a guide, as a moral compass, it’s with Richard Parker. On page 181, Pi quotes, ”I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized this necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were literally and figuratively, in the same boat. We would live or we would die together.” Pi uses his teachings of brotherhood and co-existing with creatures, to survive with the Bengal tiger, by taming him rather than killing him. Pi makes Parker his companion at sea, whom without he wouldn’t have been able to survive. On pg. 182, Pi even remarks “He pushed me to go on living.

I hated him for it, yet at the same time I was grateful, I am grateful, It’s the plain truth: without Richard Parker, I wouldn’t be alive today to tell you my story. “As you can see, by following his beliefs and taming the tiger, Pi created a strong brotherhood with Richard Parker, which helped him live on. As Pi quoted Richard Parkers companionship l‘Pushed him to go on living”, which means that it gave him hope of survival, If Pi hadn’t used his beliefs of companionship and brotherhood towards Parker, he would’ve ended up killing the tiger, and probably would’ve given up on life too. In the novel, Pi‘s belief in the animal story also helps him escape the harsh reality and truth he might’ve encountered at sea.

Towards the end of the novel. Pi uses his belief in his second story about animals as a response to his horrific reality and factuality of the human story. On page 344, Pi quotes, “Then we fought and I killed him. He had no expression on his face, neither of despair nor of anger…, he knew had gone too far by killing my mother… he had gone too far and he didn’t want to go on living anymore”. Through this quote, Pi explains the tragic realities ofthe human story as he kills a grown adult man and explains the death of his own mother. We can see how dreadful the events in the story are which also explains the reason why Pi probably wanted to believe more in the animal story.

Even though there’s no way of proving which story is correct we can interpret by the excessive odds and uncertainty of the animal story that the human story may be true and Pi would have decided to believe in the animal story since it was much more tolerable and nicer. We can even interpret through the text, that Pi’s faith in the animal story might have even instigated him to gain hope that God is always present with him to battle through his conflicts. CS Lewis defined faith as ”the he art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. Life of Pi follows the same principles of faith as the protagonist Piscine Molitor, uses his faith and beliefs to battle through his obstacles, in spite of his changing emotions during the course of the novel.

Throughout the story, Pi uses his faith as a remedy to his horrifying realities and challenges he faces at sea. His faith provides him with a sense of hope and security even during his toughest times. Without his beliefs Pi wouldn’t have been able to survive even a day at sea, yet survive two hundred and twenty seven days Through Pi’s compelling story, we can see how important faith and beliefs are in people’s lives. Even in today’s chaotic world, having faith can have a huge impact on a person’s life no matter what the situation, For example, several teenagers today face daily conflicts in their lives such as bullying, stress or even depression. However, by having faith in yourself or someone can help a person gain self-confidence within themselves and feel a source of security or hope within themselves.