Most people try to avoid challenging situations, but they produce the most personal growth. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, illustrates a story about an Indian boy stranded at sea for over two hundred days. The Indian boy, Pi, survives because of his resilience at sea and his courage to continue on the journey. Through the use of symbolism in Life of Pi, Martel creates a sense of hope and tension revealing that resilience and courage are elements that allow one to get into a better place. Martel emphasizes the significance of risk and being resilient to uncomfortable situations.
Resilience is vital for Pi as without resilience there is no Life of Pi. In the beginning, Pi shows resilience early on in the novel. Pi experiences cruelty even when
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It makes him a laughingstock to other students (Martel 20). He deals with it and has the resilience to deal with the name-calling by changing his name to Pi when he gets the chance. The effect of this evidence on this reader is it shows how much Pi has endured, and the reader feels hope after Pi changes his name so he will not have to go through getting made fun of again. Pi dares to get up to the front and announce his new name, showing off his resilience to deal with the class. He gets in front of the class to get out of living in an uncomfortable situation. Later in Life of Pi in the lifeboat, Pi only has distractions to keep him busy, so he finds a “sight [which is] a welcome relief for [Pi’s] fray[ing] nerves” referring to the barnacles (Martel 198). The barnacles symbolize the resilience that Pi is building up just by being in a life-threatening situation, thriving on a lifeboat even though the situation is very dire. The barnacles contribute to saving Pi’s life, and that is hope for Pi as the journey progresses. Martel uses the barnacles as a stepping stone for Pi to get to a better place mentally. At the end of the story, Pi stumbles …show more content…
Pi has the resolve and patience to get out of the ocean. When Pi is first stranded in the ocean, Pi discovers his large and “fierce will to live” (Martel 148). Pi grows the courage to set goals for himself and to continue until the very end. His fierce will is symbolized by his inner voice where he gives himself a motivational speech. The reader feels the effect of Pi’s objective, and the courage Pi needs to overcome this journey. This is demonstrated by his desire to live and conquer this large obstacle using courage. Pi needs the courage to risk it all to get out of a difficult situation. Earlier, Pi witnesses the brutality of the fight between the hyena and Orange Juice during the first days of the lifeboat (Martel 132). The animals symbolize different parts of life, such as Orange Juice being a maternal figure, and the hyena as evil. These animals symbolize what Pi has to deal with in his life. The brutality of the animals gives the reader a sense of tension as the hyena and orangutan clash. Pi’s emotions fight as he loses the maternal figure and evil takes over. The effect it has on the reader is for them to think if Pi dares to keep going after this traumatic incident, giving the text tension. Pi uses his courage further in the story, as the reason why Pi survived this event is he “[has] the will to live…thanks to Richard Parker” (Martel 164). Richard Parker is a massive