In the novel Life of Pi, Pi Patel is a young boy who lives to tell a story “to make you believe in god” (Martel 19). Pi believes in three faiths throughout his life and the novel, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. He finds a common spirit behind each of these religions and they come together to guide Pi through his journey and his life. Pi is faced with the challenge of staying alive on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger for months on end. He uses his faith and religion to guide him and keep him alive as well as carrying this belief to his adulthood.
Pi is born as a Hindu, and it is the first of the three religions he comes to know and practice throughout his life. When Pi was a child, his mother and aunt took him to a Hindu temple for the first time. Pi did not really remember it, as he was so young, but “something of the sultriness and mystery of the place must have stayed with [him]” (Martel 99). Pi’s first religious experience was all sensory, but left and profound impact on him and gave him his passion for religion. It brought foundation to his life and led him to other religious imagination in Islam and Christianity later in the novel. Pi becomes very passionate about Hinduism and the Hindu gods. He relates these gods to himself saying that Brahman is “no different from atman, the spiritual force within us, what you might call the soul” (Martel 101). This representation of one of the Hindu gods and what he symbolizes is carried out in Pi’s actions on the life boat. He had
At the beginning of the novel, Pi’s story is described as “a story that will make you believe in God.” Writer himself Yann Martel was going thru his writers crisis, traveling world looking for a good story to write something about. Martel found a man who told his story. His man named Piscine Molitor Patel who is a practicing follower of three religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. For this reason, extremely mature boy must constantly fight the lack of tolerance and understanding in his surroundings. While in the case of adult people the lack of a specific decision on the faith can be perceived as humiliating, but Pi is fully justified because of his young age. His desire is to find the road to the creator will be seriously tested during
Pi’s dedication to all three religions: Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity, built a stronger bond between God and himself. It gave him character and strength as God was alongside him throughout the entire journey. The bond he shared with God also helped him keep his sanity and maintain his will to live.
The Life of Pi is a book filled with many fantasy adventures that will have an excellent impact on what you may or not believe in. This novel was published in 2001 by author Yann Martel. Yann Martel is a writer who is trying to make sense of life, just like any other human being trying to deal with everyday obstacles. In this book we see that the protagonist, Piscine Molitor also known as Pi takes us through an adventure that will question our faith in religion. Pi is not pleased by only following his ancestors’ beliefs; he believes that there is much more to religion. In The life of Pi we see that Pi argues amongst his family in what he wants to believe in. His father is not at all religious and Pi has taken up religion as a hobby. Now Pi is a Hindu, Muslim and a Christian and he undergoes a tragedy, a shipwreck with his family on voyage to Canada from India. As he goes through this process it puts his faith to the test. At the time of this voyage he is a teenager exploring different beliefs and he sees nothing wrong with believing in three different religions. We can argue that there is a war between religion and science. Pi on the other hand does not argue with those of other beliefs, he calls the atheists his brethrens as well. “It was my first clue that atheist are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith. Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry
Piscine Montair Patel was a firm believer in God through Hinduism beliefs. As he begins to grow up and experience new things, Pi stumbles upon Christianity when visiting a church at age fourteen. The Father there explains to Pi about the story of Christ to which he listens in with horror. Despite his negative reaction to the story, Pi grows fascinated with the religion and asks to be become a Christian. That wasn’t all though. At the age of fifteen, he happen to come across a Muslim bread baker, Mr. Kumar, who intrigued him when Pi saw him do his daily prayers in the midst of the conversation. This would then lead to his conversion of Islam, along with his Hindus and Christian beliefs. Even though Pi is satisfied
The first past the post system also known as the single - member plurality system is a classification in which the country is divided into districts. This system is quite successful as it allows the winner to obtain a majority in parliament. The candidate gains a parliamentary seat by finishing first in a single district. This reform would not achieve the desired effect of reducing the disintegration of the party landscape. This is because, despite its antiquity and simplicity, the first past the post system is becoming less common as it is possible that the party with the most votes may not win the election. Thus, it focuses enormous power in the hands of one party that might only represent 20% of the electorate. It is mainly used in Britain
Prior to the sinking of the Tsimtsum Pi Patel, the protagonist, deals with criticism from the “holy men” because they have different perceptions of the others religions which is influenced by their knowledge. To explain Pi is a devoted follower of 3 different religions: Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. In India it is common to be hinduist, so naturally he was brought up that way. Then one day during a visit to a tea plantation he falls upon the story of Jesus christ and is perplexed by god’s sacrifice. Unable to rationalise God’s actions he spends 3 days learning more about god and his world. Consequently he too becomes a christian with the help of his new friend in church. Hardly a year later while walking near the zoo he meets Mr. kumar who prays in front of Pi. The way a muslim prays touches Pi deeply to see that level of devotion. ‘Quick, necessary, physical, muttered, striking’
Firstly, Pi’s devotion for God was clear and he often seeks clarity from god. Throughout the novel, Pi’s love for God caused him to practice three major religion at the same time; breaking any barriers between Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Pi believes all three religions are equally true and interconnective as “[Islam and Christianity] both claim Abraham as theirs. Muslims say the God of the Hebrews and Christians is the same as the God of the Muslims. They recognize David, Moses, and Jesus as prophets” (80, Martel). Pi was morally ambiguous, he did not know if one religion would bring him closer to God than another causing him to follow all three. When Pi was stuck on the life boat, he often called out for help from god as he feared death. As he was giving up, a voice inside of him spoke from his heart and 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” (164). Pi was uncertain whether or not he was going to survive however, he hoped through praying, he would as his faith in God brought him comfort.
Yann Martel establishes in the beginning of Life of Pi in the author’s note that the claim to the heart of the novel in this story will “make you believe in God.” Since God is an identity that exists in a fiction or non-fiction realm, the audience is led to believe that the story to be told is true, opening the reader to the idea that belief in anything can be belief in God. Pi makes sense of his life through the expressions of Hinduism, Christianity and Muslim, “That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression.” (Pg.68) This emphasizes Pi’s dedication and devotion to his religions and God. Martel is opening up to Pi’s story to convince the reader to find faith in Pi’s words.
“I have a story to make you believe in God” (Martel ix). However, the interpretation of “God” is very fluid. There are hundreds of religions throughout the world, each of which has thousands of followers. The four main ones however, are Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism. All but one, Buddhism, focus on one or more God(s). In Yann Martel’s book, Life of Pi, Pi breaks the social norm and follows all four religions as opposed to one. Throughout the novel, Pi follows Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, while subconsciously practicing Buddhism.
On a philosophical level, Life of Pi is about Pi Patel’s relationship with religion. Pi is raised Hindu but chooses to practice Catholicism and Islam as well. The book opens by telling us that Pi’s is “a story that will make you believe in God” (Martell 2012 x). Pi is devout in his beliefs about three religions, and about nature and goodness. Like Wordsworth and Coleridge, Pi’s faith is strong but separate from traditional organized religion. Pi’s beliefs are similar to Coleridge’s "one life" (mentioned in The Eolian Harp (24-25), a belief that all beings are connected spiritually through God. This is seen as Pi considers the
In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Piscine Patel is stranded in a lifeboat for 227 days with barely any essentials to survive, not to mention sharing the boat with a 450 pound Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Throughout his time as a castaway, Pi faces daily struggles revolving around the lack of basic necessities. On several occasions, Pi reaches a dark point in his life and considers that it would just be best if he gives up. Despite the circumstances and the heavy darkness he feels, one element that was always on Pi’s side was his three core religions: Hindu, Islam, and Christianity. Pi uses the time he has to practice his spiritual life.
1. Marvelous body of Richard Parker as both an image of God and a sign
Donald Trump meets the legal requirements to be the President of the Unites States of America: he is a native born United States citizen, he is older than thirty-five years of age, and he has lived in the United States for fourteen years; but sixty percent of Americans still believe that he is not qualified to be president. The president has an important role in our country, so it is important that whoever is selected can be trusted to be fair and honest in that position. Donald Trump, on many occasions, has shown that he would not be a fair, accepting leader. He openly discriminates against Immigrants, African Americans, women, and countless others. Although he is a successful businessman and would be able to run the country as a business,
In the words of Gandhi, “The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different”. In the story Life of Pi, Pi Patel personally experiences different aspects of four religions including Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. The author, Yann Martel promotes the concept of believing in more than one religion by exemplifying the diversities within each faith.
In the United States, marijuana legalization is a highly debated topic. Marijuana has many benefits to the body and the community. It can be used medicinally or recreationally and serves a number of purposes. Marijuana has been proven to treat a number of diseases and conditions, causes a decline in deaths due to overdose from opioid pains, and serves a plethora of additional benefits. I strongly feel that sooner rather than later, marijuana should be federally legalized so that citizens can have access to the benefits of this plant.