Roan Whittaker

Life of Pi Essay

English Home Language

 Planning
Question: Pi has several older male mentors. What role do they play in Pi’s
understanding of life and how do they equip him for survival on the lifeboat?

Characters to Discuss:
Santosh Patel- Pi’s Father
Mr. Satish Kumar- Pi’s Biology Teacher
Mr. Satish Kumar- Muslim Baker
 Rough Draft
In the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, Pi, the main character, has several older
male role models. These role models shape Pi’s way of thinking, his religion,
and morality, and some of their lessons help Pi survive on the liferaft. For
example, Mamaji, a close friend of his parents, teaches Pi to swim intensely,
which comes of great help while he’s stuck on the Pacific Ocean. Another
example is the lesson Pi’s father taught him and his brother, to never
humanize animals, especially dangerous animals.

Pi’s father, Santosh Patel, is a very serious man. A past hotel manager turned
zoo owner, he had a great love for animals. He teaches Pi many lessons. One of
these, as mentioned before, was not to anthropomorphize animals, not to
humanize them. He does this by showing Pi, and his brother Ravi, how vicious
the Royal Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker is. This lesson is key in Pi’s story, as it
cements the fact that animals are dangerous, no matter how cute or fluffy they
look. This lesson, in fact, saves Pi’s life when he is stranded on the liferaft, with
only Richard Parker for company in the end. His father, maybe not directly,
also teaches Pi everything about animals, which leads to Pi studying Zoology.

Mr. Satish Kumar, the biology teacher, is an atheistic Communist that survived
polio in his youth, and because of that turmoil, he is an atheist. Mr. Kumar not
only helps bring a healthy dose of pessimism to Pi’s life, which serves him well
when he’s trapped on the liferaft. He hopes for salvation, in the beginning, but
eventually, he lets reason and a healthy dose of pessimism keep him alive. He
also respects Mr. Kumar, for being an atheist, because he believes in
something, instead of doubting, as agnostics do. Pi feels like belief, whether it
was in an actual spiritual figure, or just believing that there is no God, is better
than doubting. At least it is belief.

Mr. Satish Kumar, the Muslim baker, is one of Pi’s most prominent religious
figures. He shows Pi’s how to be humble, teaches him how to pray like a
Muslim, and they explore the Muslim texts together. Pi’s religion, and his faith,
is a big part of his life. All of the religious leaders in his life affect him very
strongly, but Mr. Kumar raises this fervor in Pi, a fire for his beliefs. Pi relies
heavily on faith, for everything, so much that Pi studies Theology as well as
Zoology.

Pi has great male role models in his life, and they shape his morals, knowledge,
his passions, and equip him for survival in one of the worst situations a
teenager could ever be in.

Final Draft

In the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, Pi, the main character, has several older
male role models. These role models shape Pi’s way of thinking, his religion,
and morality, and some of their lessons help Pi survive on the liferaft. For
example, Mamaji, a close friend of his parents, teaches Pi to swim intensely,
which comes of great help while he’s stuck on the Pacific Ocean. Another
example is the lesson Pi’s father taught him and his brother, to never
humanize animals, especially dangerous animals.

Pi’s father, Santosh Patel, is a very serious man. A past hotel manager turned
zoo owner, he had a great love for animals. He teaches Pi many lessons. One of
these, as mentioned before, was not to anthropomorphize animals, not to
humanize them. He does this by showing Pi, and his brother Ravi, how vicious
the Royal Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker is. This lesson is key in Pi’s story, as it
cements the fact that animals are dangerous, no matter how cute or fluffy they
look. This lesson, in fact, saves Pi’s life when he is stranded on the liferaft, with
only Richard Parker for company in the end. His father, maybe not directly,
also teaches Pi everything about animals, which leads to Pi studying Zoology.

Mr. Satish Kumar, the biology teacher, is an atheistic Communist that survived
polio in his youth, and because of that turmoil, he is an atheist. Mr. Kumar not
only helps bring a healthy dose of pessimism to Pi’s life, which serves him well
when he’s trapped on the liferaft. He hopes for salvation, in the beginning, but
eventually, he lets reason and a healthy dose of pessimism keep him alive. He
also respects Mr. Kumar, for being an atheist, because he believes in
something, instead of doubting, as agnostics do. Pi feels like belief, whether it
was in an actual spiritual figure, or just believing that there is no God, is better
than doubting. At least it is belief.

Mr. Satish Kumar, the Muslim baker, is one of Pi’s most prominent religious
figures. He shows Pi’s how to be humble, teaches him how to pray like a
Muslim, and they explore the Muslim texts together. Pi’s religion, and his faith,
is a big part of his life. All of the religious leaders in his life affect him very
strongly, but Mr. Kumar raises this fervor in Pi, a fire for his beliefs. Pi relies
heavily on faith, for everything, so much that Pi studies Theology as well as
Zoology.

Pi has great male role models in his life, and they shape his morals, knowledge,
his passions, and equip him for survival in one of the worst situations a
teenager could ever be in.

(456 words)