Religion's Role in Survival in Life of Pi

Life Of Pi Religion Essay
"Religion" sounds like a unattainable thing in our daily life, and God is holy and Devine.
Nevertheless, In Yann Martel's "Life of Pi", religion has a leading effect; it influences the trend of
plot. In Yann Martel's Life of Pi, religion has a indispensable role for Pi by giving him knowledge to
make a difficult decision, helping and supporting him mentally, andgod enabling him to survive in
the life boat. Religion gives Pi a lot of knowledge , and it evokes him to make a difficult decision.
He believed in three religions which are Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. He was a Hindu before he
met Christianity and Islam. After he met Christianity, he realized it was a religion about love, and he
decided to become a Christian. However,...show more content...
In life of Pi, God was Pi's compass; it guided the direction for him when he was confused. In
addition, God teach Pi that never give up, and if you believed in fate, you will not died: " Finally,
by the fifth shield, he was able to send Richard back in to the bottom of the the boat by flowing on
the whistle and rocking the boat to induce nausea in the tiger" (Martel chapter 70). In this quote,
Pi was finally domesticated the tiger successfully, and it ensured that Pi will be safe. Because of
the tiger was ferocious and aggressive, it will attack and hurt Pi. In the contrary, Pi decided to
save the tiger and train it. Pi did that because the religion evoked him. For instance, Christianity
told him to love, and save the tiger is a benignant thing. If Pi didn't save the tiger, the tiger may
died, and Pi will face the danger lonely. Lots of people think that ti is safer for Pi to stay without
the tiger. Nevertheless, Pi will bear the loneliness by himself. It was extremely unendurable for a
person to live lonely for several months, and it may cause the mental collapse. For the religion, Pi
understood love; he saved the tiger, and it accompanied him for the countless days in the lifeboat.
Therefore, Pi 's belief was the key for him survived in the
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In the book the life of Pi religion was a big part of how Pi lived his life and how he survived out
on the ocean for the two hundred twenty seven days that he was there for. (p.g 110) One of the
reasons that he stayed optimistic and kept his faith in god the whole time that he was out at sea
although sometimes his faith ran a little thin he always had some faith inside of him. (p.g 110)
Some people that Pi believed that could still have faith while also not believing is the atheist because
of the reason that he believes that once the atheist sees the bright light from god that they would
believe and ask for forgiveness on their deathbed.(p.g 36) Whereas the agnostics that pi finds that
they get stuck in his craw because they have doubt and pi believes that doubt should be treated as a
philosophy.(p.g 17) When pi was headed for the church of...show more content...
(p.g 40) While Pi was at sea he compared things that he saw to icons from the christian bible, for
example he saw the orangutan orange juice on a mound of bananas and compared the orangutan
to The Virgin Mary another comparison was when the same orangutan got murdered by the
hyena he compared it to the crucifixion of jesus christ. (BEATEACH) Pi's christians beliefs lead
Pi to believe no matter the outcome of Pi's ordeal he would be redeemed because of his beliefs to
christ. (BEATEACH) Even though Pi has a lot of religious beliefs he relies mostly on scientific
methods to survive out on the ocean. Some of the methods he uses to survive are such as training
the tiger richard parker that Pi is like the master because he uses a whistle to make sure the tiger
knows that the food that which the tiger acquires comes from Pi. Another trick that Pi uses to help

Life Of Pi Religion
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel written by Yann Martel and published in 2001. The book
was adapted into a film in 2012 by director Ang Lee and David Magee. Life of Pi's protagonist is
an Indian boy named Piscine Molitor, or "Pi." During the course of the novel, he explores issues of
spirituality and practicality at the early age of sixteen. The story was split into three sections. The
first section introduces the main character/narrator as an adult living in Canada. He reflects on his
life and describes his childhood in India. His father owned a zoo in Pondicherry, a small district in
southern India. The zoo led Pi to be quite comfortable around animals and to understand how they
think. During part one, the narrator also describes...show more content...
They had met him at a hospital in Mexico where he was recovering. Pi tells them his experiences,
but they don't believe him. Pi then offers a second story where he the animals mentioned in the
previous account were actually the ship's cook, a Taiwanese sailor with a broken leg, and his own
mother. In this account, the cook amputated the sailor's broken leg for food and ultimately killed
and ate him and Pi's mother. The officials began to notice the parallels between the two stories.
They concluded that the hyena symbolized the cook, the zebra the sailor, the orangutan Pi's mother,
and the tiger Pi. Pi ends by asking which story the officials prefer. They chose the one with the
animals and the officials leave to file a

Religion in Life of Pi
As you probably remember, this novel had many ups and downs and various changes but one thing
that remained constant was Pi's faith. His belief in God was evidently extremely strong and this was
demonstrated in several different parts of the novel. Although his belief and faith was constant in the
book, it wasn't as strong as it was in the beginning. The trauma that he went through while lost at sea
and the experiences he had had an impact on his faith В understandably so. Many of the things he
had to go through made him question God at times and wonder why such a higher power considered
so amazing and giving, would allow Pi to go through all this suffering and difficulty. Although all of
this made him doubt and question...show more content...
His religion acts as an anchor. "I practised religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances В
solitary Masses without priests or consecrated Communion Hosts, darshans without murtis, and
pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion to Allah not knowing where Mecca was and
getting my Arabic wrong. They brought me comfort, that is certain. But it was hard, oh, it was
hard. Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love В but sometimes it
was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation and
weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to
lift it back up." (Martel 231) You can see how Pi is a very optimistic, positive person and I believe
that derives from his belief in God and his religion. I think that the fact that he believed there was
a God always looking out for him and caring for him helped him to stay positive even in the
hardest of times such as this one. In this quote, you can see how even Pi admits himself how he
was afraid of sinking to the bottom and going insane basically. He states how at certain times even
his strong faith wasn't strong enough to lift his spirits up. In this quote you can also see how
religion gives Pi a sense of comfort. He says in the beginning of this quote all the religious rituals
and traditions he had adapted to that gave him comfort. Throughout

In the book Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, the protagonist becomes marooned in a lifeboat in the
Pacific Ocean with only several zoo animals and his analytical mind to keep him company. Piscine
Molitor Patel or otherwise known as Pi Patel, uses religion as he escape route and his knowledge of
animal behavior to turn a horrendous ordeal into something survivable. Yann Martel states that out
of all 100 chapters of his novel, that chapters 21 and 22 are the core of his book. These two
philosophical chapters alone help define Pi's story and how everyone should believe 'the better
story'. Even those these two chapters are very short, they are the heart of the novel because it
highlights religion in general, the qualities of an agnostic or atheist individual and how everyone
should choose to believe in what Martel calls "the better story" (Martel 63)....show more content...
His faith and believe in a higher being not only kept him sane in a world of orderly chaos but also
most likely kept him alive. Pi states that "I have been a Hindu all my life"(Martel 49), "I was
fourteen years old–and a well–content Hindu on a holiday–when I met Jesus Christ"(Martel 50) and
"Islam followed right behind, hardly a year later"(Martel 58). This chapter highlights the struggle
that Pi faces with faith in general. Pi himself almost creates his own religion with sort of a blend
of each faith. There were also references to Christianity such as "words of divine consciousness"
and "an intellect confounded yet a trusting sense of presence and of ultimate purpose." Christianity
tends to focus on God's judgement upon salvation and good actions. Religion is the core aspect of
Pi Patel's life and can be seen as Yann Martel describes it in the core chapters of his

Life Of Pi Research Paper
The story "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel has various themes. This story is about a boy who struggles
with three religions; therefore religion becomes the theme of the book. This boy who has been
stranded at sea on a lifeboat with a bengal tiger named Richard Parker, for two hundred and twenty
seven days, near death, gets through his journey through religion. Pi's experiences influence the way
he acts, what he believes in, and what kind of person he has become. Pi was raised Hindu, but he
has a longing to love God in every way he can. At the age fourteen, Pi investigates two more
religions: Christianity and Islamic. He decides to become adherent in all three. His parents do not
agree but he follows through with it anyway. These religions are a part of how Pi deals with his
situation on the lifeboat.
Pi's parents did not know about him practicing three religions at first. A priest told his parents that
he had seen him in a temple and an Imam told them he was in a church crossing himself. "But fate
decided that my parents and I and the three wise men, as I shall call them, should meet one day on
the Goubert Salai seaside esplanade and that my secret should be outed" (Martel). They met all
three wise men at one time. Everyone seemed puzzled to be there all at the same time. The priest,
the Imam, and the Pandit all argued whether Pi was a...show more content...
"I know zoos are in no longer in people's good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain
illusions about freedom plague them both" (Martel). Pi studied zoology and religion at the
University of Toronto, and this quote demonstrates just how closely related religion and zoos are
to him. He's quick to turn a conversation of animal freedom into a metaphor for people's religious
beliefs. In the book it explains how people misunderstood the nature between the wild and the zoo.
People also misunderstood what it means for a person to be free of any religious system of

Yann Martel's awe inspiring fantasy–adventure novel, the Man Booker Prize winning 'Life of Pi'
(2001) tells of a Tamil boy living in Pondicherry who is left to survive the harsh oceans on a
lifeboat, with a tiger as his companion. Through the adventures of the protagonist, Piscine Molitor
"Pi" Patel, Martel explores how the notions of science and religion work in unison to cultivate a
deeper understanding of the world as we know it. Pi's struggle to stay alive amid saving an
orangutan, hyena and zebra reflect the wordly thematic concern of survival.
U might need an opening sentence..but it probs isn't necessary. Pi's scientific understanding of the
world is heavily influenced by his historical context of being brought up in a zoo. His upbringing
allowed for deep relationships to form with various exotic animals. Similarly, Pi's spiritual and
religious perception of the world, was shaped by numerous religious philosophies coupled with a
...show more content...
I don't mean to defend zoos Close them all down if you want (and let us hope that what wildlife
remains can survive in what is left of the natural world).I know zoos are no longer in people's good
grace. Religion faces the same problem. Certain illusions about freedom plague them both" – Pi,
Pi's inspiration in pursuing science and religion originated from his childhood "prophets", Mr and
Mrs Kumar. Both the Kumars and Pi's cultural Islamic context prompt him to major in zoology and
religious studies at school. In this way, Martel shows us as readers how understanding both aspects
(religion and science) can help the individual to understand the world. This is shown through Mr.
Kumar's insightful statement to Pi in,
"There are no grounds for going beyond a scientific explanation of reality and no sound reason for
believing anything but our sense experience. A clear intellect, close attention to detail, and a little
scientific knowledge will expose religion as superstitious bosh. God does not exist" – Mr

Life Of Pi Religion
The movie "Life of Pi" (2012) is a fantasy adventure movie. It was about an Indian guy saying his
adventure to a novelist. Main character Pi, is an Indian boy whom lost his family while moving
to Canada. He was alone at sea with a tiger. Trapped at sea in a lifeboat with a hungry tiger, he
survived despite many disadvantages and difficulties. He eventually reached the coast of Mexico
and the tiger left toward a jungle nearby. This movie mentioned several religion when it was
developing the character Pi. Pi was a raised Hindu that got introduced to Christianity at the age of
12 and Islam soon after. He decided to follow all three religions because he wants to love God. He
believed God was introduced to him in different forms, Hindu, Christian,...show more content...
It reflects the secularization thesis. When it mention these three religions, it is telling us that in
modern world, there are many ways of life. It's not just one way, there are many ways, even in
religion, there is the element of choice. Also mentioned Pi's father is an Atheist whom married a
Hindu wife, suggesting that cross–religious marriage is acceptable. Pi chose to follow all three of
them which in pre–modern age, wasn't allowed. It emphasized the feature of modern age and
indicated the secularization thesis works in Asia as well, because Pi is an Indian. This movie is
also religious when it comes to showing our connection with the nomos, a religious feature
suggested by sociologist Berger. Nomos is our sense of universe, it helps individuals make sense
of his life and recognize his identity. Pi used nomos to help him make sense of his life and
identity. His reflection image on the water of his loved ones helped him remember his identity,
who he is. And the challenges he got when being alone, like starvation, dehydration, hungry tiger,
and a carnivorous island can all be seen as Anomie, the separation from the norms and collectivity
of society. It gave him motivation to get back to society as soon as possible because nothing works
for human if we are disconnected to the society. The nomos he found, his thoughts for the loved
ones, kept him awake and a sense of comfort during his experience of

How Does Yann Martel Use Religion In Life Of Pi
Imagine yourself in the middle of the ocean; starvation, madness, and survival is against you. Will
you stick with your faith or will you leave the humanity inside you? In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann
Martel, creates a magical and life changing adventure for readers. The novel introduces a different
concept about faith and religion and explores the opposite sides of nature and humanity. Martel
portrays each topic through his character Pi Patel. Pi is the only human in the novel that survived a
harsh storm killing his family and almost all of his father's animals; besides a hyena, orangutan,
zebra, and a bengal tiger. Pi kept himself busy with continuing his daily routine of prayer, providing
care for Richard Parker; the bengal tiger, and writing...show more content...
At the beginning of his journal entries, Pi noted and wrote how he was feeling about his voyage
in the sea with Richard Parker. Towards the end of his entries, Pi begins to lose himself in his
writings. According to Pi, "To be castaway is to be a point perpetually at the center of a circle.
When you look up...there isn't another one like you also looking up, also trapped by geometry,
also struggling with fear, rage, madness, apathy." Pi is portraying his view of being the center. At
this moment, Pi is in need of human contact or communication. Pi is extremely isolated which is
moving him closer to insanity and madness. He writes in his journal and talks to Richard Parker to
be able to help keep his sanity. Martel displays, in Pi, how humans need contact and communication
from other humans. In a reader's point of view, humans need to communication and contact to feel
surrounded by others. This affects the work as a whole because humans will lose faith in finding
others of their own kind and it displays how humans could go mad and insane over the lack of
communication.
Overall, Yann Martel; the author of Life of Pi, says about humanity is that we are vulnerable to what
is against us as a whole. Humans face survival, starvation, and insanity in different forms. Pi was
tested by his faith to face survival, starvation, and insanity. Even though, it was long and difficult
journey for Pi, he made it through. Martel

Imagine being Pi and knowing your whole family died in a shipwreck. You have nothing left but
faith in God and a few animals. One of the animals of which is a Bengal Royal tiger named Richard
Parker whose ready to pounce at any given second, and a snarling hyena with a bone shattering bite.
And on top of that, having a feeling of immense aching hunger and thirst while being surrounded by
nothing but a vast ocean. Not to mention the blistering heat and violent storms. In the book "Life of
Pi" by Yann Martel, Pi relies on his strong religious faith to help him survive through hardships
while he is stranded on the sea.
Pi practices three religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. "But he can't be a Hindu, a Christian
and a Muslim. It's impossible. He must choose" (Martel 90). Pi follows...show more content...
Reflecting on Christianity Pi knows his faith in God would save him from damnation if he were to
die, offering him some sense of comfort. "Pi's understanding of "God" is fundamentally altered by
having to live so perilously close to the overwhelming forces of nature– including the sea and the
tiger. His understanding of nature is likewise inevitably shaped by his practice of three religions"
(Stephens 14). Reflecting back on atheism he knows he has to come up with a plan to survive and
that he can't just rely on God for his physical needs. Going back to Islam, which values animals as
much as any other creature, Pi does some serious thinking about Richard Parker and figures out that
his only way of not getting eaten by him is to take care of him. Lastly, Hinduism,"It seems
orange–such a nice Hindu colour–is the colour of survival because the whole inside of the boat and
the tarpaulin and the life jackets and the lifebuoy and the oars and most every other significant
object aboard was orange. Even the plastic, beadless whistles were orange." (Martel

Life Of Pi Religion
Can one believe in God based on a novel? Yann Martel's novel Life of Pi revolves around this
question. The question is left upon the readers to pick the story they believe in. The novel refrains
from advocating any single religious faith over another. Through a reader's analytic response of the
novel that explores the nature of religious faith itself. This theme was exemplified evidently in the
novel's protagonist, Pi Patel, who is a devote follower of three different religions. Martel uses Pi's
difficult journey, his burning will to survive and the relation to truth and reality to make one believe
in god. Pi sustains himself spiritually through this paradoxical practice of a hybrid of religions that
he draws upon in his Pacific journey. During Pi's difficult journey he found a...show more content...
Pi's inner struggle with his religion and morals vs his survival instinct is symbolized by Richard
Parker. This can be exemplified as Pi expresses, "It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It
is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who
brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness" (Martel 179). Richard Parker is a Bengal
tiger that is a constant threat in Pi's life. Although, he eventually provided Pi with rich
companionship and calmed him down. Pi takes a major sorrow and turns it into a spiritual gift. Pi
believes that God who has a very forbidding presence, can bring peace, wholeness and many other
happy things. In Yann Martel's interview he states, "The more you know about an animal, the more
you understand them" (insert citation). Initially, Pi feared Richard Parker, but he is forced to find a
way to

The belief in a higher power is one of the key components in the Life of Pi and in the lives of
people all over the world. This belief in a higher power or God contributes to strife including
conflict between different religions, religious extremists, and the relationship between government
and religion. People often choose to believe in a higher power to find meaning in life and because
of life experiences that lead them to God. Pi's experiences as a child meeting Father Martin on
vacation and the Muslim baker attract Pi to the love and devotion demonstrated by these people of
different faiths. Pi's faith and belief in God only strengthened when he was lost at sea, he knew that
he must have meaning in life if God kept him alive through...show more content...
There is often conflict between religions of the different interpretations of scripture, this occurs
when there is disagreement of which is the correct interpretation. This conflict also occured in Pi's
life when his parents and the different leaders of faith strongly disagreed over which church was
correct and whether they thought Pi could be a part of multiple religions, when all Pi wanted to do
was love God. Almost all faiths hold very moderate views, but there are many religious extremists
that cause a great deal of conflict across the world, and believe they need to bring their personal
interpretation to everyone using violence as their outlet. A very prominent religious extremist group
is ISIS that has attacked Christians, Jews, and Hindus all over the world, the group rejecting any
religion that does not parallel with their own extremist views. Thousands of Yazidis, Christians,
and Mandaeans across Syria and Iraq have been killed, kidnapped, raped, tortured, and displaced
by ISIS over the past few years. Many of these extremists groups including ISIS take such radical
measures in seeing themselves as divinely directed and fulfilling God's wishes, also considering
violence to be a 'duty' to God, finding it necessary to eliminate these 'obstacles'. Another conflict is
the relationship between government and religion, in China for example, the government views
religion as a

Yann Martel's novel "Life of Pi" is a fantasy adventure novel where the protagonist, Piscine Molitor,
a sixteen year old boy from Pondicherry, survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a
lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean with a 450 pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Yann Martel
explores the ideas of science and religion in great depth. Science and religion, two opposites and
conflicting forces, are brought together in Yann Martel's "Life of Pi". One may or may not believe
that religion and science can coexist depending on one's imagination and acceptance of different
ideas and stories. Pi shows the ability to believe in three religions, Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, as
well as science.
Pi develops an interest in science and religion essentially through two different people named Mr
Kumar, Pi's teachers during his childhood. Mr Kumar and Mr Kumar were the "prophets of [his]
Indian youth". The two Kumars are influential in Pi's life and both represent either science or
religion. Pi's atheist biology teacher Mr. Kumar, introduces the idea of reason and science to Pi. Mr.
Kumar, the biologist teacher sparks reason, logic and scientism within Pi. From Mr. Kumar, Pi
develops a...show more content...
Kumar, the Muslim baker, introduces the idea of religion and Islam to Pi. Pi is fascinated with
the Islamic faith and decides to join it. Pi then decides to become a member of the Hindu and
Catholic religions, all while still believing in science. Pi states that "all three religions are true to
him" and that he "just wants to love God". He is accepting and open–minded and doesn't restrict
himself to one religion. This shows his faith in not just a God alone but in people and humanity and
in that, he chose to believe all religions and not just one. Pi embracing both religion and science
shows that religion and science can co–exist and can be believed in by one person. He is able to
worship three religions while believing in science, as that is a faith in which Pi has a belief

Life Of Pi Religion
Religion is a cultural system of behaviors and practices, worldviews, ethics, and social organisation
that relate humanity to an order of existence. Religion gives people an outlook and a guide on how
to deal with life. In the novel, "Life of Pi" Pi experiences many different struggles that test his faith
and basic instincts. The author, Yann Martel, uses religion and zoology to explain Pi's journey and
survival throughout the novel. Martel's novel is deeply religious and the protagonist Pi deals with
his religious views and strong interest in zoology to survive. Pi Patel, the protagonist in "Life of Pi"
survives 227 days shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean. "I just want to love God"(Martel 68) his
knowledge about zoology and religion helps him...show more content...
His prayers and strong love for God made a big part during his 227 lost at sea. Pi can not practice
his faiths to the letter of the law but he trusts in his goodwill " I practised religions rituals that I
adapted to the circumstances solitary Masses without priests or consecrated communion host,
darshans without murtis, and pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion to Allah not
knowing where MEcca was and getting my Arabic wrong. They brought me comfort, that is
certain. But it was hard to love. SOmetimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation
and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able
to lift it back up.(Martel 74) Pi's faith undergoes a big test on the ocean. During his suffering he
comes close to losing hope. This shows the struggles he overcomes dealing with faith and
survival. Towards the end of his ordeal at sea Pi completely turns to God "The lower you are, the
higher your mind will want to soar." Pi's mind is desperate to escape the reality of the lifeboat so
his mind soars into fiction P realizes on the only sources available to him faith and imagination.
Martel emphasizes that these strategies for self preservation can be really effective. Wen Pi lands
on the beach in Mexico he finally is rescued from his

What Is Life Of Pi's Religion
Life of Pi 1st topic
In the book "Life of Pi", Pi studies three religions, even though he is told not to, Pi never lost his
faith in God throughout his entire journey shipwrecked, Pi didn't like Islam at first sight, but he
learned to cope with it. Pi does not care that the three prayer leaders say people should only follow
one religion. He just wants to love God (Martel). After all of the suffering and starvation, Pi never
lost his faith in God. Pi didn't like Islam at first until he started worshiping with others in a Mosque.
In the book "Life of Pi", Pi Learns about and worships three different religions, even when he is
told not to. Pi was told to focus on one God by multiple people. Three people of different religions,
an Imam, a Swami

Life Of Pi And Religion Essay
Religion as an Affirmation of Desire
In "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings", a mysterious old man with wings is found in a
village. The family that has found him place him in a chicken coop, where crowds soon flock to
so that they may pay a fee to see him. In the Life of Pi, Piscine recounts to a writer the story about
his childhood experience of being stranded in the ocean. He claims to have been accompanied on a
lifeboat by zoo animals, most notably a tiger named Richard Parker. In "A Very Old Man With
Enormous Wings" and in Life of Pi religion takes the role of a fantasy invented to satisfy the desire
for a more satisfying reality. In "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" GarcГ
a Marquez reveals
that to the villagers and tourists who go to see the old man religion is a plaything to satisfy their
ears, which ache for a good story. In Marquez's narration, he deliberately comments that the
married couple which discovers the old man "quite intelligently concluded that he was a lonely
castaway from some foreign ship wrecked by the storm" (357). The couple thereby already has
come to a satisfactory conclusion for the time being. However, the couple then deliberately goes on
to ask for a second opinion from someone who could answer from the perspective of "everything
about life and death": the neighbor responds "He's an angel". Marquez contrasts the...show more
content...
The family that has found him place him in a chicken coop, where crowds soon flock to so that
they may pay a fee to see him. In the Life of Pi, Piscine recounts to a writer the story about his
childhood experience of being stranded in the ocean. He claims to have been accompanied on a
lifeboat by zoo animals, most notably a tiger named Richard Parker. In "A Very Old Man With
Enormous Wings" and in Life of Pi religion takes the role of a fantasy invented to satisfy the desire
for a more satisfying

In the story "Life of Pi" By Yann Martel in the year 2001 the novel talks about a character called
pisco Molitar, Pi a sixteen–year–old South Indian boy who survives at sea with a tiger for 227 days
and how he debates on what religion would be right for himself and what his parents think of it.
However, the novel pointedly refrains from advocating any single religious faith over another,it
would either have been Christianity,Islam or Hinduism of choice he would arrange with when he
gets to know about each religion. Pi has studied and memorized the stories of all the various
incarnations of the Hindu gods, maintaining shrines in his home to many of them. This is one way
how Pi has been interested in becoming one region in favor of the way it can treat human life or
his cultural movement. He also possesses a crucifix and a rosary, going to church on Sundays and
praying to Jesus. He owns and proudly uses a prayer rug,to pray and not play around with the...show
more content...
And the religion of India,would be the explanation to his path.Hinduism, has shown an
extraordinary tolerance to other faiths.This is how pi has been challenged to explain each of the
religions he has chosen from his parents he has known to compete with culture standards. It is the
atmosphere of tolerance that probably gives Pi the freedom to explore other religions. Pi talks
about his belief in Hinduism and the belief in rituals and in the Hindu world view. "Religion is
more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for.The way Pi shows him self to the
people is how he has manners comming from a hudism culture from his parents.The second religion
that Pi Patel embraces is Christianity. "I was fourteen years old and a well content Hindu, when I
met Jesus Christ on holiday.Christ on holiday Although Hinduism seems more splendid to Pi, "he
comes to embrace Christianity's message of

Life of Pi
February 8th 2011
Mrs.Por
ENG 2D1
World Religions In Life of Pi
In the book Life of Pi the author Yann Martel wrote about a young boy named Pi Patel surviving on
a lifeboat by himself. Throughout the entire book Pi was very close to religion and in the end his
religions were the main reason he had survived. At the start of the book Yann Martel introduces three
religions, Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism. There are three main points that aided in Pi's survival.
One being that Pi was open to religions and started to follow the Islamic faith. The second reason is
that Islam believed that one should pray five times a day, and Pi did exactly this. The last reason is
that the religion...show more content...
Late afternoons to early evenings: Prayers. Sunset: prayers. Night: Prayers." (211). While on the
raft Pi praying as often as he did helped him keep faith in his survival and his life. If he was not
constantly thinking of God and keeping God close to him, Richard Parker would have replaced
God and Pi most likely would have ended up committing suicide. In him having faith in God and
his survival, it gave him an extra push and more determination to survive for 227 days alone in the
pacific on a life boat.
One of the beliefs that closely relates to Life of Pi is the Islamic view on suicide. Islam believes
that suicide is strictly forbidden and the Qur'an (religious text of Islam) clearly states "Do not kill
yourselves as god has been to you very merciful." While on the lifeboat Pi is faced with very harsh
thoughts for such a young boy, suicide. On the pacific
Pi says "During the long, cold dark hours, as the pattering of the invisible rain got to be deafening,
and the sea hissed and tossed me about, I held onto one thought : Richard Parker. I hatched several
plans to get rid of him so that the lifeboat might be mine." (174). This quote shows that Pi had
come up with seven ways to kill Richard Parker or depending on how one interprets the story,
himself. Although he thought up of seven ways here are two ways that Pi thought of "Plan number
two: kill him with the six morphine syringes. But I had no idea what effect they would have on him.
Would they be

In his novel, Life of Pi, Yann Martel (2001) conveys a complex story of religious encounters that
takes place within Pi's unconscious mind. Faith is especially vital to Pi during the worst of times,
as the three religions he has learned, Islam, Hinduism and Christianity, give Pi guidance during his
traumatic journey. Throughout the course of the narrative, Pi is stranded in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. An essential portion of the
novel is revealed to us when Pi finds himself yelling at the ocean, which represents God. This
passage is significant because Pi begins to lose hope in surviving until he comes upon a
free–floating island the next day. Some readers may recognize the island...show more content...
Green is often used as decoration of Mosques in the Islamic religion, and represents nature and life.
Once Pi arrives on the island, he feels comfort when exposed to the colour of green. For instance,
"since the trees continued to stand, I continued to look. To take in green, after so much blue, was
like music to my eyes" (Martel 285). This quote demonstrates how the sight of the trees amaze Pi
which increase his faith in surviving and ultimately leads him deciding to stay longer on the
island. As Pi adjusts to his new surroundings, he begins to see how Allah has come to save him.
For example, "after some minutes I crept up to the side of the boat ... well, this was green. In fact,
it was chlorophyll heaven"(286). This quote shows that Allah has presented himself in the form of
an island, compelling Pi to find strength within to survive. The very green island, signifying a safe
heaven for Pi, creates happiness and rebirth in way that an actual Elysium would. In summary, the
Island takes the role of Allah, as Pi would have not been able to survive without the colour green and
the optimistic effects it had on

The importance of Religion in Pi's life Religion was a very important aspect in Piscine Molitor
Patel's (Pi) life. When the story begins, Yann Martel (The Author) meets a man that says he will tell
him a story that will make him believe in God ("Martel"). This started off the story by establishing
that religion was going to be a major theme in the book. Pi followed three different religions,
Hinduism, Christianity, and Muslim.
He was raised believing in the religion Hinduism. Pi was fourteen when he was first introduced to
the Christian faith. His family was on a trip in Munnar. There was a Hindu temple on the right,
across the river from Pi's hotel, but Pi chose to go farther down the river, on the left to a christian
church (64). Pi visited with Father Martin, the priest of the Catholic church in Munnar, and was very
pleased about how the visit went. He thought it was going to be harsh but much to his surprise Pi
enjoyed his time with Father Marti. Father Martin told Pi that the Catholic...show more content...
Muslims base the way they live after a book called the Qur'an ("Religions:Islam"). The Muslim's
believe in only one God like Christians, but they call their God Allah. They say that the Islamic
religion has always been around but to be accurate they said that they date their religion back from
the time of Muhammad's migration ("Religions:Islam"). The basic statement of the Islamic faith is,
"There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger." They state that anyone who can't
recite this and commit to the religion are not considered a Muslim. The beliefs of the Muslim's
practice is called the five pillars, 1. Faith 2. Prayer 3. Alms 4. Pilgrimage 5. Fasting. Muslims
believe you should pray five times a day, before sunrise, midday, late afternoon, at sunset, and
between sunset and midnight. They believe you should not consume any alcohol or

Religion's Role in Survival in Life of Pi

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Religion's Role in Survival in Life of Pi