An Undiscovered Strength

an essay on the novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel

Life is journey upon journey to find yourself. You grow older everyday, learning new things. You are exposed to situations that force you out of your comfort zone. In the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, a young man travels across the expanse of the earth discovering the strength he never knew he had. "The individual soul touches up on the world soul like a well reaches for the water table. That which sustains the universe beyond thought and language, and that which is at the core of us and struggles for expression, is the same thing." (48-49) This world that we live in has the ability to change us in ways we never knew possible. As Pi travels across the unknown he finds that he has skills and strengths that he would have never discovered as a small town boy.

Living in Pondicherry was quite modest and simple. As Pi grew older he grew more and more curious. He became exposed to religion on a trip with his father. His curiosity got the better of him and he found himself caught up in multiple religions; Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. In this area of the country and this generation we aren't exposed to very many religions. It is common for people to be Catholic, Lutheran, as well as any denomination of Christianity. They follow the same guidelines and read the same book. Some see religion as just part of their routine, while others live by it, spending day after day improving their walk with their God. Something Pi discovers that not many people see is that all religions have something in common; they all are on a mission to reach God. The only difference is the path they take to get there. Pi reaches a point where he is overwhelmed with understanding. "I was filled with a sense of peace. But more than the setting, what arrested me was my intuitive understanding that he was there--open, patient-- in case someone, anyone, should want to talk to him; a problem of the soul, a heaviness of the heart, a darkness of the conscience, he would listen with love." (52) He realizes the importance of believing in something, of having something to call his own. The relationship he creates with God is strong and unbreakable; a relationship he had never thought possible.

His family soon decides to part from Pondicherry and start a new life in Canada. He is ripped from his sources of religion; his ties are broken and he is forced to continue on his own without guidance although in reality he is still with God. Finding himself on a ship with men who find it funny to drink too much at night and lose control of the ship in the morning, Pi ends up as the only known survivor of a shipwreck. He then experiences hunger, loneliness, and fear. Adapting to these feelings becomes second nature to Pi Patel. He uncovers ways to provide for himself with limited supplies. Once living in a small town, getting everything handed to him as needed, he is now required to take care of himself and maintain his own wellbeing-- something he has never had to do before.

He begins with the simple concept of food. Slowly he begins to find ways to catch fish and collect water. From the little survival experience he's had, he begins to learn. Aristotle once said "One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try." This is what Pi was discovering. Though he had never really needed to catch food for himself or collect fresh water, he was now learning through experience. He was surprising himself with all that he knew how to achieve. As people in this world we learn of new skills we have everyday. And as we go on, those skills mature and grow. Pi finds his routine; he goes about the same things each day improving upon them. "A little bit of hope-- hard earned, well deserved, reasonable-- glowed in me." (176)

In our world today it is necessary to have a career in order to support a home and a family. As we work through school and onto college we acquire more and more knowledge. To do this we have to expose ourselves to different situations. We find out what we enjoy and that plays a huge part in what we do for the rest of our lives. When Pi is on this journey, it seems there is a representation of life. Pi begins to find himself and discover new traits that had never been uncovered before. When he lands on Mexico and eventually starts his life in Canada these discoveries affect his way of life and the person he becomes. In the novel, Life of Pi by Yann Martel, a young man finds his place in life after journeying from the discovery of God to a higher realm of self confidence and understanding.