Summatitve Essay
to Life of Pi
to Life of Pi
In life there is always a beginning, middle, and end. We are born and then we live and finally we die. If there was no end there would be nothing to live for and strive for. There wouldn’t be a significant meaning in life because you wouldn't be motivated by death or the end. The only thing that kept Pi alive on the life boat was the fact that death was so near. Death gave him the motivation to move forward and keep pushing for something great. In the book Life of Pi Yann Martel shows us that without death life would have no meaning.
Pi was stuck out on the life boat for numerous days not knowing if he was going to be saved and not knowing if his family was even alive. He never really tried to get to safety he just let the ocean guide him to safety. The ocean is a symbol of God so Pi was he was putting his faith in God's hands. Pi did this by letting the ocean guide him to safety rather than him paddling against the current. He was letting God decide when he should be found, when he should die, and where he went. Death was the only thing that was real, and when trapped out on the ocean his senses got confused, and death was the only thing that kept him alive.
Death seems vague and so far away from us. It always seems so far out, but the truth is that we don’t know when it will happen. Some people fear the day when death will take over but death isn’t something that should be feared it should motivate us to do great thing and make us want to do something with our lives rather than just waste them away. When Pi was out on the ocean he knew that death could happen anytime. He knew that death was real, and so close and that was something that he actually could count on. Some days Pi was dieing of thirst and hunger and he felt as if the end was near and when he went blind he was sure that his end was coming, but the main thing that always told him that death was near was the fact that he was living on a lifeboat with a tiger that could strike at any moment.
Pi was given a second chance when he arrived on the coast of Mexico. He had already given all of his faith to God by letting the ocean take him to safety and he let God call the shots. Pi's life depended on finding land, and once he found the island he didn't stay there thought because he wanted to do something with his life and not have a simple routine so he left. When Pi found Mexico he knew that his long hard journey on the sea was over but his new journey would start on land.
In the book Life of Pi Yann Martel sent a clear message saying that always try to get where you want to be and never give up because life does have an end and that's what makes everything possible. Your life is all you got and if you don't do something before you leave then you haven't fulfilled the meaning of life.
Response to Prompt: Discuss any of Pi's specific behaviors over the last section of the reading, and how that behavior serves as a metaphor; what aspect of life or human behavior is that action taken by Pi asking us to examine.
Authors Note: I wrote this response just to the beginning of chapter 90 specifically and some of the other parts that have happened in the past. I haven't finished all of chapter 90 yet so some parts of this response are my thoughts on what may happen next
When life throws challenges at someone they should fight against it, not just give up. When they do give up life may be at risk and our goal in life is lost. Pi has shown us through out his behavoir that he can fight through these challenges but when life takes away something important, and is almost a neccesity when traveling on the Pacific Ocean he is thinking about giving up.
When Pi's eyes start to fail on him he gets swallowed by the darkness, he rubs his eyes but it just gets worse, at this point he just lets the darkness swallow him up. This action describes the sense of giving up. Pi has been fighting for his life for a long time and now since he cannot see he is considering giving up. When life throws challenges at you sometimes people just accept them and give up, some give up at a game and some give up on something as important as life either way you should always fight for whatever it may be until it is impossible to do so anymore. Pi has been fighting against life's challenges since he ever went to school and was called mean names but now he is considering the worst.
Pi said that he lost the fear of death, this does give him some hope because fear can destroy life, but besides fear the other thing that can destroy life is you. Pi doesn't have to worry anymore about sharks or storms but now he has to be careful about himself. Being out on the Ocean for many days his mind has started to play tricks on him, he doesn't quite realize this but basically it is telling him that now that your sense of sight is gone wouldn't it just be easier if you die? Now Pi is starting to think about death in a different way than he had viewed it before forgetting all about his beliefs of living life until the end. These next chapters could be Pi's last couple days of life if he doesn't realize that giving up isn't the right thing to do.
Giving up on something as important as life isn't the right thing to do. You can't just sit down one day and say I am done with life, because you will end up regretting it. Fighting for something as big as life is a reward if you succeed and if you die while fighting you will be known to never give up rather than someone who just gives up on the most wonderful give ever, life.
Response to Prompt: Discuss Mr.Kumar and Pi's description and respect for him.
Authors Note: I think that Mr.Kumar will be an important character in the story. He believes in strictly all facts and no religion so I am excited to see if he impacts Pi's life later in the book. I wrote a response to the prompt:Discuss Mr.Kumar and Pi's description and respect for him.
The first time Pi saw Mr.Kumar outside of school he in visioned him as a person of authority, someone who has more power than himself. He didn't know how to approach him but once he did he remembered that Mr.Kumar is a friendly person. When Pi mentioned religion Mr.Kumar explained how religion was fake and there was no god, at this time Pi was intimidated by this and didn't want to upset Mr.Kumar. All Mr.Kumar believes is facts. There are no true proven facts that religion is real so you have to take a leap of faith.
Pi respected Mr.Kumar by arguing about religion one part of him didn't want to because he didn't want his religion to get thrown down and the other part of him was respecting his choices. Also he respects him because he has authority.
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