McCollum 1
Anna McCollum
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
14 November 2011
An Exploration of Faith in Life of Pi
Thesis: Of all of these, however, faith is exemplified by Life of Pi as the number one source of survival and happiness through Pi’s pre-tragedy struggles, his steadfast hope and determination during his isolation, and ultimately, his commitment to his religious beliefs.
I. Pi’s pre-tragedy struggles with social acceptance
1. Amongst peers
2. Amongst elders
II. Pi’s survival and hope during isolation
A. The presence of animals on the lifeboat and their effect on Pi’s outlook
B. Pi’s will and “smarts”
III. Pi’s commitment to his beliefs
A. Sincere belief and hope during physical and mental strife
B. Showing others how to have faith
Anna McCollum
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
14 November 2011
An Exploration of Faith in Life of Pi
Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is the story of a man named Piscine “Pi” Molitor Patel from Pondicherry, India, growing up in the late 1960s and 1970s. Pi’s tale unfolds in the form of an interview and is broken down into three parts. First, Pi tells the reporter of growing up in Pondicherry with his loving parents and menacing older brother, a tale rich with the culture of India, spiced with Pi’s religious predicament, and sprinkled with descriptions and stories of exotic animals and wild beasts, all of whom reside in the Patel’s family-owned zoo. The second part of the novel is Pi’s account of his grueling 277 days aboard a lifeboat on the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker. The cargo ship that had been transporting Pi, his family, and their animals to Canada had sunk suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving Pi the sole survivor. The third and final section of the novel is an interview between Pi and two Japanese officers who are trying to determine the cause of the Tsitsum’s tragic end. This part, much shorter than the others, sums up the entire theme of the novel, filled with instances of love, cultural nuances, family, determination, hope, and finally, faith. Of all of these, however, faith is exemplified by Life of Pi as the number one source of survival and happiness through Pi’s pre-tragedy struggles, his steadfast hope and determination during his isolation, and ultimately, his commitment to his religious beliefs.
Before his life-changing battle for survival, Pi suffers several less-severe predicaments that are typical to adolescents. As a boy, Pi is ridiculed for his given name, Piscine, which is the French word for “pool.” His classmates taunted him with the cruel nickname “Pissing” and with this new title came Piscine’s social rank. As described, “The cruelty of children comes as news to no one . . . ‘Where’s Pissing? I’ve got to go.’ Or: ‘You’re facing the wall. Are you Pissing?’. . . The sound would disappear, but the hurt would linger, like the smell of piss long after it has evaporated” (Martel 20). Through much of his early, elementary years, Pi is insulted and bullied with similar remarks.
Although he is tested, Pi keeps faith. The definition of “faith” is complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It takes confidence to have faith, whether it be in others, a greater being, or even oneself. When Piscine had had enough of the mockery, he did something very brave out of faith in himself. He had a will to make his situation better, so he “took the bull by the horns.” At a new school, with a clean slate, Piscine decides to give himself a new nickname and ensures that it catches on by giving his classmates a mnemonic device, the Greek symbol for pi. This display of confidence stems from faith in a less obvious way as well. Critic Gregory Stephens observes, “There is irony in the refuge that Pi found . . . Pi, as a mathematical formula, functions both as a logical equation and as a sort of mystical symbol. The novel itself seeks to strike that same sort of ‘irritating but fascinating’ . . . ” It turns out that even the main character’s name symbolizes something that is too complex for the human mind to comprehend-- something that perhaps requires a bit of faith to accept.
Pi has dilemmas other than bullies as a young adult. Stephens suggests, “the teenaged Pi is in motion between continents, between faiths, and between childhood and adulthood, which means that the novel is also a bildungsroman [a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character].” He is Hindu, as to be expected because of his culture. Pi explains, “I am a Hindu because of . . . the clanging of bells to announce one’s arrival to God . . . because of the fragrance of incense . . . because of foreheads carrying, variously signified the same word- faith” (47). Pi is describing how the familiarity of what he has grown up with as “religion” is comforting to him and how it became the spark within him that lit the fire of his love for God. He says, “They [religious rituals] brought me comfort, that is certain” (208). It is from this original inspiration that Pi gets his interest in God, and therefore faith. This, however, was only the beginning. Pi says, “A germ of religious exaltation, no bigger than a mustard seed, was sown in me and left to germinate. It has never stopped growing . . .” (47). From that point in his life onward, the root of Pi’s faith could be traced back to God and his relationship with Him.
Soon, Pi was exploring different faiths. The next was Christianity: “I was fourteen years old--and a well-content Hindu on a holiday-- when I met Jesus Christ” (51). On this day, Piscine stumbled upon (and then into) a church, where he met Father Martin, a loving, kind man who told Pi of Christ. At first, Pi was skeptical and could not comprehend the type of God being described to him. Stephens says, “Through a Hindu lens, to limit God to one son seemed ‘divine stinginess.’” Many of the stories contradicted all that Pi had previously learned: “The mystery of this ‘greater love’ (gods who sacrifice themselves for humans) which is the cornerstone of the Christian story ‘bothered’ Pi” (Stephens). Slowly, with more of Father Martin’s “stories” and tales of joy and love, Piscine came to believe in the Christian faith.
It wasn’t long after that Pi discovered also the Islam faith from a teacher, and somewhat of a mentor, of his: Mr. Kumar. Stephens states, “Pi seems more immediately receptive to Mr. Kumar’s teachings about Islam as being centered on “the Beloved.” Pi says, “It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and devotion. It felt good to bring my forehead to the ground. Immediately it felt like a deep religious contact” (67). Stephens notes, “Its rituals immediately feel natural to him.” However, how can one believe in all three religions at once? Another critic, Dina Georgis, speculates, “Pi’s journey to discover God does not end with Hinduism . . . Compelled by each of their faith stories, Pi decides he cannot choose between the religions and instead follows all three with much ease and synchronicity.” He seems to be indecisive with his beliefs, when really, he is very firm in his faith.
It is in Piscine’s unbelievable readiness to take on all three religions (Hindu, Christian, and Muslim) as well as his dedication and commitment to each that another instance of faith is pronounced. Georgis continues, “Pi’s God is plural because he could not see the sense in choosing between three good stories, even though he ironically claims that his decision to believe in God over atheism and agnosticism is because ‘God is the better story.’” With an admirable ease, Pi does not discriminate between religions. Elsie Cloete states, “He denies the scape-goating religions’ conduct against each other – Hinduism and Islam; Christianity and Islam– and he denies the possibility of mimetic rivalry between the three faiths.” Piscine is like a mother towards her three racially diverse children with his three radically opposing religions. He is aware that they are different, yet he doesn’t discriminate in the least; he loves them equally.
Pi’s religious diversity, however, does not settle well with his elders. He says, “In time, my religious doings went from the notice of those to whom it didn’t matter and only amused, to that of those to whom it did matter-- and they were not amused” (64). Readers may also feel this way towards Pi’s religious “promiscuity.” Stephens speculates, “The problem for readers accustomed to thinking of religions and faiths in the singular—you can only serve one master—is that Pi, as a teenager in India, sought out and received training in three faiths: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam.” Stephens goes on to state, “For students from a fundamentalist background, it is a challenge to buy into a narrative that proclaims a God that transcends the imaginations of most believers in the three faiths in which the young Pi has been trained (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam).” Eventually, Pi’s three spiritual leaders confront one another during a meeting which Pi’s parents have slyly arranged. They too are unsettled by their son’s “confused” spirituality. Each of the adults nags and criticizes Piscine relentlessly, but he is not fazed by it. Piscine holds strong to his faith and ardently follows God through three different avenues and is rewarded with spiritual love and happiness.
Another prime example of steadfast faith within Life of Pi is the simple fact that Piscine survived 277 days on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger. To do this Pi must have had an amount of persistence, hope, and faith more vast than the Pacific Ocean itself. At one point, Pi’s hope brought him great joy: “With the very first rays of light it came alive in me: hope. As things emerged in outline and filled with color, hope increased until it was like a song in my heart” (119). He had not only continuing faith in God, but, once again, faith in himself. Pi shows that with this, the unthinkable becomes possible. He states, “Only fear can defeat life” (161). Piscine also exhibits tremendous faith when he realizes that only with his steadfast trust will he survive. He says, “I was giving up. I would have given up – if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, ‘I will not die . . . I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen’” (148). Perhaps it is his strong foundation with faith through his religious beliefs that enables Pi to overcome such a life changing, mind-warping test of life itself. After all, Pi describes, “Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love . . .” (208). He also declares, “For fear, real fear . . . such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end . . . it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it . . . You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it” (162). This displays Pi’s belief in perseverance. However, Piscine’s unbelievable persistence may also be accredited to his “companion.” Aboard the lifeboat is a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a name that Pi’s family gave the cat when he was a resident of their zoo. Pi lives in awestruck fear of the animal for the beginning of their journey. However, he quickly realizes that he will have to learn how to survive with the beast, and therefore provide food and care for the both of them. Pi feels, “Without Richard Parker, I would not be alive today to tell you my story” (293). As Stephens says, “I argue that Pi comes to see God in a new way by becoming not only a companion but a servant to the tiger named Richard Parker.” In occupying himself with the tasks related to maintaining the tiger and therefore allowing himself to be depended upon, Pi has yet more reasons to keep himself alive. His faith remains in tact regardless of the tiger’s presence, but is further validated by Richard Parker.
In addition to the relationship formed by Richard Parker and the admirable Piscine Molitor, it was also thoughtful, skilled actions also allowed Pi to continue living in his bleak situation. His knowledge and strong will pushed him through times when he otherwise would have perished. To use his resources (the lifeboat, its emergency stash of necessities, rainwater, and the fish in the sea beneath him) as wisely and sparingly as he did became a tactic that saved his life. As he says of his initial error, “I proceeded with great deliberation. The loss of my tackle that morning had had a sobering effect on me. I couldn’t allow myself another mistake” (182). Because Pi was born Hindu, another obstacle was presented to him: eating meat. Once Pi is at sea, “each faith’s injunctions (apart from the eating of pork) are put to the test in Pi’s survival narratives . . .” (Cloete). His religious views made killing and eating animals tough emotionally, another strain on his overall health. He remarks, “Lord, to think that I'm a strict vegetarian. To think that when I was a child I always shuddered when I snapped open a banana because it sounded to me like the breaking of an animal's neck. I descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible” (197). Pi says after killing his first fish, “I wept heartily over this poor little deceased soul. It was the first sentient being I had ever killed. I was now a killer” (183). Despite the emotional strife Pi experienced from some of his actions, the skill and intelligence with which they were executed was crucial to his survival.
Although he knew nothing about killing, because his family had owned a zoo, Piscine knew more about the animals with him on the lifeboat than any other average sixteen-year-old young man would. Stephens says, “Pi never lost the fear of tigers that his father had instilled in him, but he soon came to understand that feeding the tiger had importance for him far beyond the literal-interest of physical survival.” He was able to put this knowledge to use and predict, understand, and ultimately manipulate Richard Parker’s behavior. In doing so, Pi found companionship and a reinforced will to stay alive. He says, “It was Richard Parker who calmed me down” (162). It was this excellent use of applied knowledge and intelligence that gave Piscine the faith in himself to do what had to be done: kill fish for food and tame the animal that would make him food otherwise, leading to success in not only gathering food and sustenance, but acquiring a reason (both the challenge and companionship of Richard Parker), and therefore the determination, to endure.