Life of Pi Essay
A Bildungsroman is a type of novel that tells the story of the spiritual, moral, psychological, or social development of the protagonist either from childhood to maturity or as the result of an extraordinary experience. An example of this is the novel, “Life of Pi” because Pi grows from boy to man. He had to mature very quickly by having to take care of himself in order to survive. Pi protects himself physically, mentally, and emotionally. Pi believed in faith throughout the book to get through the situation that he was in. Pi uses an allegory of himself in the form of Richard Parker throughout the novel. Pi protects himself physically by scavenging. An example of this is,
“It was the source of food and water. Richard Parker had been a zoo animal as long as I could remember, and he was used to sustenance coming to him without his lifting a paw . . . he saw no jungle that he could hunt in and no river from which he could drink from(223).”
In this quote, Pi is acting the way his mother would have acted to Richard Parker. Before Pi had gotten on the boat to move to
India, Pi’s mother had always given him food and water without him having to lift a finger. After Pi’s mother died on the life boat, Pi then had to work for his own food. While having to work for his own food, Pi began to become animalistic.
“It came as an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed, with a pinching of the heart, that I ate like an animal, that this noisy, frantic, unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate(225).”
Pi did not eat like this because of the appalling hunger, but because of the rush. Pi did not have time to consider what was in front of him. Since Pi was a vegetarian, if he would have thought about what he was getting ready to eat; he would not have ate it. Pi needed to eat in order to stay alive, so he ate it before he realized what he was eating. Pi also mentally and
“It was the source of food and water. Richard Parker had been a zoo animal as long as I could remember, and he was used to sustenance coming to him without his lifting a paw . . . he saw no jungle that he could hunt in and no river from which he could drink from(223).”
In this quote, Pi is acting the way his mother would have acted to Richard Parker. Before Pi had gotten on the boat to move to
India, Pi’s mother had always given him food and water without him having to lift a finger. After Pi’s mother died on the life boat, Pi then had to work for his own food. While having to work for his own food, Pi began to become animalistic.
“It came as an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed, with a pinching of the heart, that I ate like an animal, that this noisy, frantic, unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate(225).”
Pi did not eat like this because of the appalling hunger, but because of the rush. Pi did not have time to consider what was in front of him. Since Pi was a vegetarian, if he would have thought about what he was getting ready to eat; he would not have ate it. Pi needed to eat in order to stay alive, so he ate it before he realized what he was eating. Pi also mentally and