Life Of Pi Multimedia Essay Part Three

Topic Sentence:

As Pi continues his timeless journey across the Pacific Ocean he begins daily rituals that provide him comfort and restores faith in him as he strengthens his will to survive. At this point, Pi had three regular rituals in which he took part in: practicing religion and prayer, stimulating his mind with writing and rest, and feeding himself and Richard Parker.

Point One:

Practicing religion helps restore faith in one.

Proof One:

“I practiced 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’s certain.” (Life of Pi, pg. 231)

Comment One:

 From the time Pi has been stranded in the Pacific Ocean he is feeling anger, desolation and weariness. In an attempt of lifting his spirits and hope, he reunites himself with practicing religion. By practicing religion and having faith, Pi’s will to survive will strengthen and allow him to overcome his journey.

Point Two:

   Writing daily and keeping track of your experiences allows you to express your feelings and have it to look back on later.

Proof Two:

“I kept a diary. It’s hard to read. I wrote as small as I could. I was afraid I would run out of paper. There’s not much to it. Words scratched on a page trying to capture a reality that overwhelmed me.” (Life of Pi, pg. 230-231)

Comment Two:

With this in mind, he kept the journals undated and unnumbered as to forget about time. Keeping a journal allows Pi to communicate his emotions and experiences on the journey. By losing track of time, and communicating his feelings, Pi is able to maintain a level of sanity and is able to focus on the important things like his survival.

Point Three:

Keeping the tiger on the boat satisfied allowed Pi to be in the clear for being attacked.

Proof Three:

“Richard Parker licked his nose, groaned and turned away. He angrily batted a flying fish. I had won. I gasped with disbelief, heaved the Dorado into my hands and buried away to the raft. Shortly thereafter, I delivered to Richard Parker a fair chunk of the fish.” (Life of Pi, pg. 247)

Comment Three:

Fishing was considered the chore of rituals for each day. This kept Pi quite busy and kept his mind off of being stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger. By Pi taking the time to feed Richard Parker, he was benefiting himself and increasing his rate of survival as he was lessening his chance of being attacked. Because of the rituals Pi partook in, he was able to maintain a level of sanity thus contributing to the theme of the will of survival.          

Conclusion:

Overall this novel takes you through an unimaginable journey where your strive for survival is all you have. This novel is an intriguing piece of work that keeps one guessing “What will happen next?” Without doubt, the reoccurring motifs of territorial dominance, hunger and thirst and ritual contribute to the theme of Pi’s will to survive.

   

Life Of Pi Multimedia Essay Part Two

Topic Sentence One:

            The level of desperation that is peaked when the will of survival is high is displayed by the reoccurring motif of hunger and thirst. Being stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean doesn’t leave one fully stocked with all of supplies that are needed, thus resorting one to gain animal like instincts and take part in beastly actions to fulfill one.

Point One:

In desperation humans are willing to try things that they normally wouldn’t in hopes of satisfying their needs of hunger.

Proof One:

“I tried once to eat Richard Parker’s feces. It happened early on, when my system hadn’t learned yet to live with hunger and my imagination was still wildly searching for solutions.” (Life of Pi, pg. 237)

Comment One:

This quote is the first display of desperation to fulfil ones hunger in this novel. Because Pi is not used to going so long without access to food he tries to satisfy his needs regardless of the taste; whether it is foul or plain. The motif of hunger and thirst is a starting point leading Pi into madness. Once the state of madness has been reached, the will to survive will decrease, and thus to avoid this Pi does what he feels he has to do to survive his journey.

Point Two:

Proof Two:

“I relieved myself into the beaker…I felt the urge to tilt the beaker into my mouth once more. I resisted the temptation. But it was hard. Mockery be damned, my urine looked delicious!” (Life of Pi, pg. 190)

Comment Two:

In this situation, Pi compares his urine to apple juice and longs to drink it as it is a reminder of comforts of home. However, Pi heeds his judgement and uses the urine to mark his territory on the lifeboat as he had already satisfied his thirst.

Point Three:

Breaking something that you have strong beliefs in for the sake of satisfying your hunger

Proof Three:

“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 had descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible.” (Life of Pi, pg. 218)

Comment Three:

Pi is feeling remorse for the deeds that he is taking part in. He is coming to realize that he is willing to let go of his beliefs if it means that he is increasing his chance for survival.

Concluding Sentence:

  Under these conditions, as desperation for fulfilling ones hunger and thirst grows, it has been found that one will do the unimaginable and let go of their beliefs to have a chance at life.

 

Life Of Pi Multimedia Essay Part One

Introduction:

            Canadian Author Yann Martel’s famous novel “Life of Pi,” tells a story of a young man named Piscine Molitor Patel, also known as Pi, who at the age of sixteen survived 227 days on a raft on the Pacific Ocean.  Throughout Pi’s journey it becomes increasingly evident that he has a strong will to survive. Pi is conveyed as a strong human being that uses his strive to survive as a way of making it through the ordeal of being lost at Sea. In the narrative, Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses the reoccurring motifs of territorial dominance, hunger and thirst and ritual to contribute to the theme of the will to survive.

Topic Sentence One:

The reoccurring motif of territorial dominance is evident in both Pi and Richard Parker. Because tigers are very territorial creatures, Pi concludes that it is necessary for him to display dominance over Richard Parker if he wanted to survive the journey.

 Point One:

Animals often urinate on objects to mark their territory.

Proof One:

“A smell came to my nose, a musky smell of urine, quite sharp what every cat cage in the zoo smells of. Tigers are highly territorial, and it is with their urine that they make the boundaries of their territory.” (pg. 191)

Comment One:

At this time, Richard Parker is holding dominance over Pi as he has marked his boundaries of which Pi is not to cross. Pi devises a plan to state his claim on the tarpaulin of the safety boat in an attempt to make friends with Richard Parker, or at least to show him who is the more dominant mammal of the two.

Point Two: 

Pi urinating over Richard Parker's to show dominance and state his claim.

Proof Two:

“I splashed my urine on the tarpaulin and over the locker lid to stake my claim.”

(Life of Pi, pg.191)

Comment Two:

Because of the tiger’s territorial persona, Pi needs to stake his claim over Richard Parkers to show that he holds dominance on the lifeboat. By doing this, Pi hopes that he will be able make it back safely onto the lifeboat as he continues his quest for survival.

Point Three:

Similarly Pi continues to claim territorial dominance not only by stakes of claim of urine but rather with acts of aggression.

Proof Three:

 “When he looked up, I stared him aggressively in the eyes and I blew on the whistle a few times. He disappeared under the tarpaulin.” (Life of Pi, pg. 209)

Comment Three:

This quote shows Richard Parker that Pi is indeed the more dominant mammal. If it were not for Pi, Richard Parker would be hopeless and die from dehydration and starvation over time. Richard Parker disappears underneath the tarpaulin shows that he is backing down to Pi and admitting to being the lesser mammal for the day.

Concluding Sentence:

In other words, territorial dominance is used both by humans and animals in this novel as a way to gain control over ones chance of survival.