Latham 1

Rondie Latham Jr.

Mr. Falcon
ENG 102
12 December 2013
Perception
The glass is half full. The glass is half empty. Depending on ones view, a glass
containing an amount of substance can be seen in different ways. The well-known saying Is the
glass half full or half empty? signifies how there can be more than one way of looking at things,
proves how there can be more than one truth to things, and interestingly connects to a much
broader topic: ones perception of things in life. Perception is in fact a deep subject that
continues to be explored by many. A book which analyzes perception, Visual Perception:
Physiology, Psychology, & Ecology by Vicki Bruce, Patrick R. Green, and Mark A. Georgeson,
states that the relationship between most of our visual experience and the functioning of the
brain remains largely unknown. (Bruce, Green, Georgeson 77) Although this relationship
between our eyes and our brain proves too complex to be defined through the idea of perception,
it can certainly be explored. Symbolism is one characteristic in literature that relates to
perception; it suggests how certain things in a story can be perceived, or in other words, it deals
with how a reader can relate something they read using their eyes with something they think of
in their brain. One novel in which the author makes frequent use of symbolism is Life of Pi by
Yann Martel. In it, Martel uses the tiger, religion, and water to symbolize different things and by
doing so, creates a story that can be perceived in different ways. In a story that can change
depending on the reader and their view of the truth, Martel uses symbolism in Life of Pi to
demonstrate how perception can be the most important thing in life.

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The tiger is perhaps the biggest agent of symbolism in Life of Pi, as it is one of the main
characters in the story. To understand what the tiger symbolizes in the story, the nature of the
tiger must first be discussed. A wild animal trainer, Roman Proske, writes in his book about the
nature of the tiger. In Lions, Tigers, and Me, Proske explains how the tiger, even when compared
to the lion, is absolutely unpredictable, absolutely impulsive and its behavior in the big
cage is no different than in his native habitat. (Proske 174) He tells a story about when he was
attacked and nearly eaten by a tiger also. The tiger in Life of Pi was stuck in a life boat with a
human for 227 days, and it is quite clear to see from the nature of the tiger how this is highly
improbable. In turn, this improbability is one sign that the tiger symbolizes something else. The
nature of the tiger though, is also something that can vary depending on your perception. In
Monster of God by David Quammen, four retired tiger hunters give their opinions on the beast.
Each hunter has a different perception of the tiger; a tiger is an enchanter. It will enchant
you. (Quammen 350); I was out there scaring off the tigers all the time. The tigers came back
to scare me, so I left. (Quammen 351); You cant eat em. They dont produce anything. They
steal our game. (Quammen 351); the tiger was considered something of a god. (Quammen
353). Surely the tiger in Life of Pi can be perceived in different ways. The fact that the name of
the beast is a human name, Richard Parker, suggests how this tiger can be perceived as
symbolizing a human. At the end of Life of Pi, an alternate story, one that is much more realistic,
is given to the reader. In it, the possibility of symbolism in the tiger is confirmed: which
means hes the tiger! (Martel 311) Richard Parker symbolizes Pi himself. Although one can
argue about which story is the truth, there is no doubt that the tiger and its symbolism creates an
opportunity for the reader to perceive the novel in different ways.

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Religion is a recurring subject throughout Life of Pi, as Pi is depicted to be deeply
religious. Interestingly, it seems as though symbolism exists in religion as well. Pi is constantly
reflecting on himself through religion. Indeed religion is sometimes a tool that man uses to
analyze himself. A book about religion, The Quest: History and Meaning in Religion by Mircea
Eliade, explores this idea: the historian of religions will inevitably attain to a deeper
knowledge of man. (Eliade 3) In Life of Pi, it is revealed that Pi later studies religion in college,
but Pi had always been very interested in religion. By the time of the shipwreck, he had
embraced Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. It can argued that ones perception of life can be
heavily related to ones religion. Authors Ralph W. Hood, Jr., Peter C. Hill, and Bernard Spilka
suggest this idea in their book The Psychology of Religion, Fourth Edition: An Empirical
Approach: We surround ourselves with spiritual references, creating a context in which the
sacred is invoked to convey the significance of major life events. (Wood, Hill, Spilka 1) To
relate this directly to Pi, it can be observed that Pi had multiple religions with which the
significance of major life events could have been conveyed to him. Through his religious
backgrounds, Pi has the ability to perceive things in multiple ways. From these facts, it can be
argued that in Life of Pi, religion symbolizes the ability that Pi has to perceive things in multiple
ways, and Martel uses this ability to create the two different stories.
Water is an element in Life of Pi that is constantly present. A free-flowing element, water
flows throughout the novel in different forms. This characteristic of water and its multiple forms
is explored in The Science of Water: Concepts and Applications, Second Edition by Frank R.
Spellman: Whether we characterize it as ice, rainbow, steam, frost, dew, soft summer rain, fog,
flood or avalanche, or as stimulating as a steam or cascade, water is special water is strange
water is different. (Spellman 1) In Life of Pi, water takes on the forms of the very thing that Pi is

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named after (swimming pool), something that Pi is constantly struggling for, something that can
continue or end life (rain/drinking water), and the setting of most of the story (the ocean).
Although all of these forms of water are important, it can be sensed that the most important is the
ocean. It can be argued that the ocean is the true antagonist in the story. After all if it was not for
the ocean, Pis life would be much easier. The book Oceanography by C. P. Summerhayes, S. A.
Thorpe explores this topic: a feature which governs the Earth as we know it and one that
influences human activities in many ways (Summerhayes, Thorpe 9) Indeed this applies to the
adventure that Pi experiences. Perhaps the most important thing that the use of the ocean in Life
of Pi does is that it creates two sides to the character of water in the story. All living things need
water to survive, but by using the ocean as a setting, Martel effectively emphasizes this
characteristic of water, and at the same time introduces a major antagonist into the story. One can
perceive water as a savior; every rain that comes is rejoiced by Pi as a blessing; each solar still is
treated if it were gold; Pi uses sea-sickness to keep Richard Parker from attacking him. One can
also perceive water as an enemy; without the boat Pi would be eaten by sharks or eventually
drown; the setting of the ocean causes food and drinkable water to be scarce. This double-sided
perception of water that Martel creates can be thought of as symbolizing the double-sided quality
of Pis story.
Symbolism in literature and perception have a close relationship; without perception,
there can be no symbolism; through symbolism, perception can change. This relationship is
precisely what Martel uses in Life of Pi to create two stories in one. The tiger symbolizes Pi,
religion symbolizes Pis multiple perspectives, and water symbolizes the two faces of Pis story.
Of the two stories, the reader determines which is true using their perception. One can sense that
the symbolism in Life of Pi and Martels use of it demonstrates the importance of perception in

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life. Although the relationship between our eyes and our brain remains largely unknown,
authors like Yann Martel use symbolism to create new kinds of this relationship in brilliant
stories. If the main story in Life of Pi is the glass half full and the alternate story is the glass half
empty, then Is the glass half full or half empty?

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Works Cited
C. P. Summerhayes, S. A. Thorpe. Oceanography. London: Manson Publishing Ltd, 1996. Print.
Eliade, Mircea. The Quest: History and Meaning in Religion. London: The University of
Chicago Press, LTD., 1969. Print.
Proske, Roman. Lions, Tigers, and Me. Holt, 1956. Print.
Quammen, David. Monster of God. New York: W. W. Norton & Company Inc., 2003. Print.
Ralph W. Hood, Jr., Peter C. Hill, Bernard Spilka. The Psychology of Religion, Fourth Edition:
An Empirical Approach. New York: The Guilford Press, 2009. Print.
Spellman, Frank R. The Science of Water: Concepts and Applications, Second Edition. Florida:
Taylor & Francis Group, 2008. Print.
Vicki Bruce, Patrick R. Green, and Mark A. Georgeson. Visual Perception: Physiology,
Psychology, & Ecology. New York: Psychology Press, 2003. Print.