Boat & Island & God



Boat = w/God



Symbolism Alert!!



Boat = with God



Island = without God



Island = w/o God



?????????



     As we are reading through chapter 92 and 93, we realize a fact that after all that had happened, Pi went back to God again. In the very beginning of chapter 92, we see how Pi's boat was getting close to an island, and Pi was really excited about this discovery. He yelled out "My God! My God!" and then fell overboard. He thanks God a lot for bringing him to this island, although it wasn't at what he expected in the beginning. Later on the story went on talking about Pi and Richard Parker's interaction with the island. We learn a lot of creepy and amazing stuff as we read on and we see how each night Pi will go back to the life boat and pray. Then Pi starts to sleep on trees on the island and basically spending all of his time on the island after a few days. But it is the more you spend time with the more you understand about it, Pi realize the danger and the deceptive comfort of this island as he explore more each day. He was so afraid to the point that he sail his lifeboat away with Richard Parker without a hesitation. Then on chapter 93, we see Pi's emotion and his final decision in "turning to God".

     Chapter 93 contains a quote that I really like, "The lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar." We can see how reluctant Pi is feeling now about surviving; he is weary and loss, it seems he is loosing all his hope. From the end of the previous chapter there is this sentence that say, "The sea was heavy, the sky grey," then at the start of chapter 93 we hear Pi describing his situation "as pointless as the weather." So Pi is like saying his situation is like the color "grey".

     Color has a significant meaning in literature (-by Mr.Webb), and when a color appears in the story, it is like an imply from the author to the reader. And the color grey means boring, decay/decline, and drains physical body. Pi, after describing the weather, connects it to his situation, it is like telling the reader that he's tired and his body is slowly decaying and draining away. But life would not leave him, although he is not expecting any hope to come alone, he still have to live on. And it is at this low point of his life, he turns to God again. His mind is desporate to leave his physical weariness that he turns to a spiritual support. The reality that he has to face in keeping alive is so heavy that he decide to reach for another source of salvation, on faith and on God.

     It is interesting how Pi comes up with this conclusion on the boat, he didn't put his whole focus on this source of life until he went through all these horrific tragedy, but I think it is common to human. It is not until we experienced and found out that "there is really nothing we can do to change", for we to turn to a supernatural power. It is interesting how after Pi turns to God, he landed on a beach in Mexico. Probably the author is trying to emphasis the fact that spiritual support can be surprisingly effective in self-preservation. And it is verly likely that this is the reason that human would want to soar higher in their low point.

     Religion can really play a great role in rescuing human from their misery. And in Pi's story, the boat is like a stable shelter where he experience the importance and true meaning of God and religion.