Spiritual Needs In Life Of Pi

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

This case was one of the most talked about case since it touched on the eighth and the tenth constitutional amendments at the same time. This was a case that had a long running course of trial and at last a Louisiana convicted Patrick Kennedy as being guilty of raping an eight year old stepdaughter. The rape caused gross damage to the vaginal section, the cervix and the anal parts of the little girl. According to the Louisiana laws, there is a provision for death penalty in the event that a person rapes a child below 12 years of age. This was exactly the sentence that the prosecutor sought in this case and the jury handed down exactly that penalty (Oyez Inc., 2011). However, Kennedy appealed and this is where the greater interest lies.

Yann Martel manipulates the narrative style and structural devices within this passage to support the will to survive theme that is present in Life of Pi. Before the shipwreck, Pi was a spiritual individual with a strong appreciation for the joy and peace in life. Pi commonly experienced cruelty and doubt from his family and friends; however, he remained calm by following the guidance from his three religions. After the shipwreck, the spirituality within Pi’s life was tampered with because the chaotic and brute actions of the animals threatened to separate Pi from his peaceful demeanour. At first, Pi maintained his interaction with God, but as the days passed and the conditions worsened, Pi’s animal instincts began to develop.

Pi’s belief system was an anchor for his thoughts and experiences and his faith in God prepared him for the Initiation stage of the Hero’s Journey.

Before the ship sank, even before they went on the ship, Pi says that religion will save him. I think this statement is very true because it has saved him throughout his journey. He survived because of his religion. He says it himself that religion will save him, and it did save him.

By looking at Life of Pi by Yann Martel, one can see that an individual has a limit to how much physical and emotional strain they can endure before they are forced to resort to doubting their beliefs and values, and when they are forced into isolation, may become mentally unstable and create their own version of reality. Martel portrays this idea best through the main character, Piscine Patel, otherwise known as Pi. Pi unwillingly embarks on a strenuous voyage in the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat after most of his family dies in a shipwreck during their move to Canada to escape the political situation on India in the 1970s. The emotional pain at the loss of his family is indescribably horrifying, and the physical deterioration that Pi experiences far exceeds his limit, as the whole journey is a question of his love, hope, and faith. According to “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs,” a theory by Abraham Maslow, first, the physiological needs must be met, then the needs of safety, belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. When one spends their time alone, trying to meet those integral needs of life, there will always be physical and spiritual barriers.

Pi's story of survival is one based on and very similar to two stories in the bible. The first is David and Goliath, a story of overcoming overwhelming odds. David, just like Pi ,was a young teenager at the time and managed to kill a powerfully known giant, Goliath. What are the chances? Same goes for Pi, a youth who survived 227 days with a tiger. He too overcame the odds, so much so, it was unbelievable. Even the investigators said, "In an lifeboat? Come on, Mr. Patel it's just too hard to believe!...We just don't believe there was a tiger on your lifeboat" (Martel, 163). Jonah and the whale is another biblical story that illustrates similar motives in Pi. Jonah refused to let his life "end" and get eaten by the whale. The same case with Pi, but instead of a whale, it was a tiger he refused to get eaten by. He set out a plan to tame Richard Parker until one day "...the lifeboat was resembling a zoo enclosure more and more: Richard Parker had his sheltered area for sleeping and resting, his food stash, his lookout, and now his water hole" (Mantel,101). From the beginning of the story, Pi spent a significant amount of time studying religion. One in particular was Christianity, a religion that teaches both these stories. If one overcame the odds and the other managed not to get swallowed by the whale, what were the chances he would merit to be just like them?

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’s theme of truth being relative is again established when Pi experiences a shipwrecked. On the lifeboat, Pi continues to survive living with a bengal tiger, he survives after seeing the other animals on the boat kill each other, and he survives by eating fish even though he is a vegetarian. Inspite of all the suffering Pi is going through he still turns towards God. This is proved when Pi says, “I practised religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances – 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 – 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...The blackness would stir and eventually go away, and God would remain, a shining light in my heart. I would go on loving” (208-209). Through this quote, Yann Martel is showing how Pi continues to worship God even though he was suffering and struggling with his faith. Pi still believes that God is the most important to him inspite of what his is going through emotionally

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.

In Life of Pi, his long journey and ardent will to stay alive can alone discribe pi’s transformation from a confused and sheltered boy, into a young man who is now mentally broke but somehow uses his psychological experience to strengthen himself. Pi’s spirituality and religion pushes the reader to shift its perspective.

All of these factors influenced Pi’s survival while he was stranded at sea. “God preserve me! No supplication was ever more passionate yet more gently carried by the breeze” (Martel, page 140) This quote shows that Pi was very passionate about his prayers and religion while at sea. This is because he did not have anything else to believe; his religion was all he had left to place his hope in.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs a motivation theory suggested that people are motivated to achieve certain needs, and when one need is fulfilled a person seeks to fulfill the next one. Yann Martel is an author that uses the theory of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs throughout his book Life of Pi. In the Life of Pi, Pi goes through the stages from physiological to self-actualization, and has to let go of certain needs to focus on others. At the begging of the novel, Pi is fee to pursue self-actualization; you see him doing this as he pursue his religious interests.

Lastly, Pi’s state of mental malnourishment assisted him into his new life by his faith and still praying to god even though he was put in such an unimaginable situation. From connecting the storm to god trying to intimidate Richard Parker and the fish that came to Pi in his time of need to a gift from god, Pi kept his faith when most would think that their god has forsaken them. In conclusion, Pi’s mental cravings to exist once again in the real world help him actually fulfil this

It is difficult to talk about the Life of Pi text without making a reference to faith, and the same goes with explaining Pi’s survival. Pi’s belief in pluralism and acceptance of the three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam aid his future and is a crucial part of his survival at sea. His faith in knowing “so long as god is with me, I will not die” gives him the mental strength and will power to survive his ordeal. Even in the middle of the ocean, Pi practices all his religious rituals such as ‘‘solitary masses without consecrated Communion Hosts’’