Life of Pi

For my summer reading, I chose to read Life of Pi by Yann Martel. The novel made a profound impression on me and I have read it multiple times, most recently this summer, since first starting it in freshman year. One prominent aspect of the novel is the perspective in which it is told. Pi Patel narrates his story several years after it happened and periodically reflects on what he has learned. This is very important to the overall impression that the novel has on the reader. The narrator uses a very reflective tone throughout the book and this allows the reader to learn the lessons that the Pi Patel did throughout his journey. Pi Patel learns that
Another of the most prominent aspects of the novel is the intricate character relationship Martel develops between Piscine “Pi” Patel and Richard Parker throughout the novel. Martel uses the ironic fact that an animal and a human must rely on each other to survive to try and teach us that essentially we might be the same as animals. Richard Parker seems to be the physical representation of all the animal characteristics that are inherently present in human beings. During the course of their long journey on the raft, Pi realizes that he needs embrace his animal characteristics in order to even have a chance of surviving. Once Pi abandons his previous moral and ethical concepts on life, he gives himself a way to survive. This is a important concept in the book because it shows that all humans contain animal characteristics. Another interesting aspect of the book is the way Pi “trains” Richard Parker. Instead of giving up on the possibility of life Pi Patel does everything and anything in his power to stay alive for the duration of his trip.
The Most interesting aspect of the novel in m mind is the ending. Once Pi Patel survives his ordeal, he is confronted by a couple of journalists who want to ask him about his journey. In the end, Pi tells a completely different story involving no animals whatsoever, but human that closely resembles their animal counterparts (or vice versa). This is extremely interesting because it further shows the inherent similarities between man and beast. The reader is left in extreme confusion to which story to believe. Both stories are quite believable and neither one seems to make anymore sense than the other. However, the reader is inclined to believe the story in which there were no animals on the raft at all, but this also involves believing the unimaginable acts of cannibalism and horror that come with that particular story.
In conclusion, Life of Pi teaches the readers that all humans have inherently animal characteristics and extreme conditions can cause us to shed all of our moral and ethical learning that we have grown up and that define us. Before his journey, Pi Pate was a tri-religious vegetarian boy from a small village in India. His journey transformed him into carnivorous, potentially cannibalistic young man whose whole moral foundation was thoroughly shaken by his ordeal.

Life of Pi