Loss of Innocence: Pi’s Development in Life of Pi Innocence is like a ship on a vast ocean; one small crack can expose it to the darkness that lies beneath. The enthralling novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel shows the complexities of survival and the importance of self-awareness within an individual. Pi was forced to break many rules, resulting in him committing various terrifying acts through his struggles to survive. Pi’s change in perspective allowed him to overcome various barriers and obstacles ensuring his survival at sea which resulted in his loss of innocence. Through Pi's journey in the novel; Martel shows the importance of self-awareness and perspective change and how developing these facets can result in one overcoming life’s challenges. Loss of innocence is when an individual undergoes a different …show more content…
The challenges faced by Pi forced him to change his beliefs and adapt to certain behaviors in order to survive. Pi witnessing the cook murder his mother led him into taking the life of the cook, killing him out of fear for his own survival and the revenge of his mother. “The cook killed my mother…Then we fought and I killed him” (Martel 343, 344). Through Pi’s desire for revenge, he condemned violence and killed the cook even though he was essential for Pi’s survival, often providing him food and water; however, Pi resorted to killing him when he felt his own sense of survival was threatened. Pi understood the harsh reality of the human mind; that a person can do anything for their own survival even if it meant ending another person’s life. Due to Pi’s desperate circumstances he was forced to break his vegetarian diet and started eating fish in order to survive resulting in his loss of innocence. “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 have descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible”