Robbie Sorrentino

Mrs. Honaker
AP English 12

In many works of literature, a physical journey the literal movement from one place to

another plays a central role. Using Life of Pi, discuss how the journey adds to the

meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

Yann Martel explores the nature of believing in Life of Pi using the main characters

journey to broadcast his message. A young fourteen year old boy who is highly tolerant and

mature for his age uses religions as a means of motivation in times of survival. The author shows

meaning in that every person may find their own path in faith as explained by Pi from his time in

Pondicherry, to the Pacific Ocean, to adulthood in Toronto.

Pi demonstrates the misconception towards imprisonment that most people attribute with

zoos with his interactions with animals at his home in India. He connects this same fault with the

belief that religion is restricting. He states, Illusions about freedom plague them both. The

main character observes the pleasurable life of the zoo animals as they are no longer prone to the

dangers of the wild such as predators or starvation. The same can be said about believers versus

agnostics. Agnostics choose not to believe in any principle locking their mind behind bars,

devoid of making imaginative leaps. The ability for a person to comfort oneself in faith and a

mirage of some reality can hide the gruesome reality from perception. Pi respects Atheists

because even they too choose a path regardless of their belief that God is not real. Martel

conveys that faith is undefined but characteristic to each person freeing them from the harsh facts

just as the cages and zookeepers do to the animals.

 As Pi journeys about the vast blue ocean, he looks to the sky for protection. In times of

doubt, he (God) gave me rest. Pi practices Muslim, Hindu, and Christian exercises or rituals in

his solitude with Richard Parker. He formulates his own set code of ideals that act as a melting

pot of many faiths. He wonders if there is only one nation in the sky, shouldnt all passports be

valid for it. The question is one that resonates with all thinkers. It is curious to ponder if Hindus

do go to Heaven or Hell based on their childhood beliefs. Pis literal, physical journey from the

sinking of Tsitsum to the Mexican coast exemplifies the correct answer that each person paves

their own road from one place to another. It does not matter how Pi got there, but that he did, and

the rest goes with God. Pi had to pull details and notions from various religions to grab hold of

and latch onto hope. Faith gave him the freedom to choose how to survive. His path is his own.

His time on the lifeboat is a representation of every humans days avoiding falling over the edge,

capsizing into the depths of pessimistic society. Every person is free to find their own way to

hold on, as Pi did.

After his 227 days of survival, Pi attends school and reflects on the power of choice

throughout a philosophical journey that spans his entire life but not just on the lifeboat. The

paths to liberation are numerous, but the bank along the way is always the same, the bank of

Karma. Karma is an ancient Hindu system that claims your actions determine future glory or

misfortune. Pi shows that one must be concerned with his action to believe in something. One is

given the right to decide how they live their days. Faith of any kind brings happiness as the gates

open, and hope enters the arena. The journey to freedom has a million different first steps;

humans can take any one they please.

 Martel uses Pis experiences to illuminate the idea that life is full of possibilities. He

discourages the view that there is too much discrepancy, and a decision of what to believe cannot

be made. This view leads to nowhere, but a choice surely has a destination at the end of the line.