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It is a mixture of the Hindu and Christian ideals as Pi sees them, and he incorporates both worldviews.
For Pi, one belief system is not enough. Everything that is kept separate or alone is necessarily incomplete. It is very important to him that one has beliefs and faith, both of which Pi understood to require imagination. He shows this in his disdain of agnostics, seeing their inability to imagine whether there is or isn't a God or gods as a failing, and a basic lack of identity. He makes this even more explicit when he recounts how his immersion in the Hindu religion began in his infancy, and states that "religion is more than rite and ritual. There is what the rite and ritual stand for" (Martel 48). For him, what they stand for is a way of thinking and viewing the world that does not exclude other viewpoints, but that patiently imagines life from many angles. During his trip in the lifeboat, it is this ability to see things from another's perspective that allows him to reach an understanding with Richard Parker and survive.
It is Pi's ability to see multiple truths from widely varied perspectives that enables him not only to survive, but to lead the successful and spiritually fulfilling life it is very evident he has. In many ways, he learned this from growing up as the son of a zookeeper and working with the many animals. His father lists the many dangers of the various...
This can also be seen as a mixture of Christian and Hindu influences. It is more of a Hindu concept to believe that animals are equivalent -- at least largely -- to people. His Hindu father, however, instills only fear in Pi about the animals dangers. The Christian concepts of compassion and of a hidden purpose for even the most seemingly useless, dangerous, and/or disgusting creatures. Pi shows his transition towards this type of thinking and away from the pure negativity of his father in his early comments about suffering:
"When you've suffered a great deal in life, each additional pain is both unbearable and trifling. My life is like a memento mori painting from European art: there is always a grinning skull at my side to remind me of the folly of human ambition. I mock this skull. I look at it and I say, 'You've got the wrong fellow...I don't believe in death. Move on!'" (Martel 5).
Pi has moved past the negative traditions and feelings of his past without abandoning his long held beliefs. Instead, he is able to incorporate new beliefs and concepts into his identity and his sense of the world. This is what makes Pi a success, and watching him as he retells and relives his journey of discovery makes for a very enjoyable and maybe even life altering reading experience.
Life Pi Life of Pi: improving a Masterpiece? Much of the English and specifically the British/Commonwealth literature of the latter half of the twentieth century has been classified as "postcolonial" literature, in that it explores the ramifications and implications of the end to overt colonial control of much of the world by European powers following the end of World War II. Understanding such literature requires at least a minimal understanding of the
Religion features prominently as a theme in global literature and in fact literature is rooted in religious and cultural traditions, including the ancient literatures of the Middle East and Mesopotamia. Modern literature sometimes presumes a pro-religious worldview, but occasionally, authors offer scathing critiques of the way religion is used for mind control or social, political, or economic control. Generally, the evolution of literature shows that as the role of
The recurring struggles to stop hunger and thirst shows the severe distinction between Pi's previous life as well as his present life on the lifeboat. In the city of Pondicherry, where people are given food similar to zoo animals, the people did not have to exert any energy or effort just to get their nourishment; however Pi was forced to provide for himself when he was stranded on the open
Life Experience of Personal Care Assistants in Anchorage: Cross-Cultural Caring of Older Adults: A Qualitative Phenomenological Study The increase in racial and ethnic diversity in the United States and specifically in Anchorage Alaska and the compelling evidence of ethnic health disparities (Smedley, Stith and Nelson, 2002) makes the incorporation of ethnogeriatric perspective into the practice of geriatric health care of critical importance. Reported are the "federally designated racial and ethnic groups…[of]…"American
In both cases, He "is an impersonal force; an indefinable, all-pervading deity. Hinduism recognizes hundreds, even thousands, of lesser gods." (Evangelical.us) the same is true in Buddhism, "God is an abstract. In essence, Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy." (Evangelical.us) in both Hinduism and Buddhism, there are stories of how the divine interacts with humans, but there is no historical proof. Only Christianity has historical proof. Since I am not
Life of Pi [Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees] Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel, is a story of a young man named Pi Patel that was born in India. Inheriting great intelligence and keen curiosity for several various areas of life, in particular religion, he decides to follow three religions. These are Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism to the confusion of the members of his family. Aside from