Sacrifice In Life Of Pi

In Yann Martel's book Life of Pi, Pi has to make some tough decisions that will ensure his survival. He courageously decides that he can no longer be vegetarian, for the only way to survive is to get protein by way of animal meat, he stays faithful through the toughest times, and he made the brave decision to keep Richard Parker on the boat with him.

Pi makes moral sacrifices, despite his devout religious beliefs, that allow him to survive. "But enough is enough. I had suffered so much. I was hungry. There are only so many days you can go without eating. And so, in a moment of insanity brought on by hunger– because I was more set on eating than I was staying alive… 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 hurried away to the raft"(Martel 222). Pi finallly realizes that he needs to give up some morals to his religions to keep himself alive and to have some energy. Pi had little energy before eating the Dorado.

"Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you, Richard Parker! Don't give up, please. Come to the lifeboat. Do you hear this whistle? TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! TREEEEEE! You heard right. Swim, swim! You're a strong swimmer. It's not a hundred feet"(Martel 97). Pi thanks all the higher beings many times throughout the novel of keeping him and Richard Parker alive. He thanks them for keeping him somewhat healthy enough to keep Richard Parker alive. Staying connected to his religious leaders is a sign of hope throughout this novel. Pi has hope of getting to dry land and being able to live a normal life again because if he stopped believing he would have stopped communicating with he gods earlier when they first got on the lifeboat and he thought they were all going to