In this essay I will discuss the functions of the carnivorous island in Life of Pi (2001) by Yann Martel on the level of main character and on the level of the plot. I will mobilize psychoanalytical approach to argue that the carnivorous island symbolizes Pi’s loneliness during which he regains his faith and therefore survives. These functions are summarized by Pi in his conversation with representatives of the Maritime Department. Pi says: “Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived” (Martel 219). Carnivorous island is also a point in the novel where readers are invited to make a choice whether they believe in God or not. I will make a reference to the interview with Martel to state that appearance of the island is a culmination of the novel. Readers are offered the choice between faith and atheism.
I will refer to the article “Doing–Being and Relationship–Solitude: A Proposed Model for a Balanced Life” by Hadassah Littman‑Ovadia in order to prove that the island symbolizes solitude. The article explores communal and individual realms of social life in order to propose a method to find balance between the two. Specifically, I will highlight the similarities between the features of loneliness presented in the paper and those in the novel. Among these features are inner harmony, lack of concerns, and contradiction of loneliness to human nature. I will discuss how Pi and Richard Parker illustrate these features.
According to the article, mindfulness is “the self-regulation of attention in the present moment” (Littman‑Ovadia 5). It is achievable if consciousness obtains control over subconsciousness. To show how it happens on the carnivorous island with Pi, I will first prove that Richard Parker symbolizes Pi’s subconsciousness. In the final of the book Pi retells the story of his survival without animals to representatives of the Maritime Department who try to find out the reason behind sinking of the Tsimtsum (Martel 200). Mr. Okamoto notices similarities between animals and people: “Both the zebra and the Taiwanese sailor broke a leg, did you notice that?” (219). Following this logic, Richard Parker represents Pi’s subconsciousness: “selfishness, anger, ruthlessness” (219). When Pi gets on the carnivorous island, he tames Richard Parker: “I came to the conclusion that I had to step into the circus ring again” (189). Pi succeeds in training the tiger to jump through a hoop (190). Arguably, this scene symbolizes one of the benefits of loneliness for Pi – harmony within himself and presence in the moment. Another positive aspect of solitude, according to the article, is that “individuals are liberated from social and other constraints” (Littman‑Ovadia 8). I argue that this feature is illustrated by the island’s resistance to sea storms. According to Pi, he “would have trusted staying on it [island] during the worst hurricane” (Martel 188). The weather catastrophes represent problems that people face in the external world of social life. On the island of his isolation from people, Pi is liberated from hardships of living with others, such as arguments, contradiction of interests. It is also evident in one of Pi’s observations: “it was impossible to hurt myself” (183). I interpret pain here in metaphorical manner as spiritual pain sometimes experienced in society. Additionally, the lack of cultural constraints is shown by how Pi gorges with algae: “perhaps fish ate the algae as gluttonously as I did” (195). Islam and Christianity resent gluttony as a sin. The fact that Pi engages into committing this sin daily on the carnivorous island symbolizes his betrayal of ethical systems that guide people’s behaviors. To summarize, Pi’s actions on the carnivorous island support the claim that the island symbolizes Pi’s loneliness.
Further exploring the figure of Richard Parker, I will show how his actions on the carnivorous island depict the artificiality of solitude for people both in biological and social contexts. To begin with, Richard Parker starts “searching for a female” (189) on the island. Mobilizing psychoanalytical approach, I argue that such tiger’s behavior symbolizes Pi’s instinct for reproduction. Furthermore, discussing the social context, according to Littman‑Ovadia’s article, “as human beings, we are social by nature” (Littman‑Ovadia 6). Therefore, a prolonged solitude is unhealthy for people. It is visible in Richard Parker’s behavior. When the tiger starts killing the meerkats, Pi notes that “he [tiger] killed beyond his need” (Martel 187). Such actions symbolize the loss of culture by Pi, since ethical systems of Pi’s world condemn irrational murder. To begin with, as a Hindu, Pi was a vegetarian before shipwreck. According to his description of Hinduism, “Brahman [is] expressed not only in gods but in humans, animals, trees, in a handful of earth” (36). Therefore, Pi can not kill creatures that have divine power in them. Both Islam and Christianity condemn murder of innocent creatures. It is possible to suggest that solitude ruins cultural values that have previously controlled Pi’s subconsciousness. Moreover, the fact that the carnivorous island heals Richard Parker and turns him into “a magnificent animal” (183) he had been prior to sinking of Tsimtsum, reinforces the scale to which Pi’s subconsciousness becomes unrestrained. To summarize, Richard Parker illustrates the negative aspects of solitude for people both in terms of nature and society.
I will use an article “The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle during the College Years” by Alyssa Bryant and Helen Astin in order to prove that Pi’s decision to leave the carnivorous island symbolizes that he returns to his faith. The study explores factors, such as inability to understand why people have to suffer, that lead to spiritual struggles among young people and consequences of such challenges on “physical well-being, self-esteem, and levels of psychological distress” (Bryant, Astin 2). According to the article, spiritual struggles are important in propelling personal growth and they also correlate with decline of spiritual growth. I will use this information to show that Pi is on the verge of losing religion, however, his decision to escape from the carnivorous island helps him to return to God. In Pi’s words, the presence on the carnivorous island or solitude inspire him to turn to God.
To begin with, I will prove that Pi enters the metaphorical island or literally succumbs to loneliness having lost his faith. It is evident in the description of Pi’s arrival on the island that underlines the illusive nature of the island, its detachment from reality. The main character’s attempts to get on the island resemble the Biblical account of how St. Peter was walking on water. Pi says: “I slowly brought a leg down. My foot entered the sea” (Martel 180). This allusion raises the theme of disbelief. In the Gospels, Peter starts sinking because he cannot believe his experience of walking on water. Even though Pi does not sink, he also doubts the existence of the island. Furthermore, the loss of faith is evident in how the religious experience is substituted with attributes and performance. In the beginning of the novel Pi describes his religious experience by emphasizing its spiritual nature:
Tree took account of road, which was aware of air, which was mindful of sea, which shared things with sun.
(46)
When Pi sees the island, he shares the following observation: “Green is a lovely colour. It is the colour of Islam” (179). In comparison to Pi’s prior religious experiences, this encounter with Allah is superficial. I argue that the shallowness of this phrase, Pi’s attention to attributes, rather than spiritual changes, proves his distance from faith at this point. It is further supported by the fact that Pi continuously mentions his physical healing on the island, neglecting his spiritual state. It can be demonstrated via the following excerpt:
My running became smooth and unselfconscious, a source of euphoria. My skin healed. My pains and aches left me. Put simply, I returned to life.
(187)
Furthermore, the fact that Pi lacks faith during the first weeks on the carnivorous island is supported by the comparison of meerkats with monks:
To see so many beings bending down at the same time reminded me of prayer time in a mosque.
(185)
Once again, the substitution of spirituality with external attributes of faith, in this case, the ritual of bending down during prayer, reveals Pi’s spiritual struggle, him having become distant from faith. To sum up, the illusive nature of the island apparent to Pi at the moment of first encounter and many features of religious performance convey the loss of faith by the main character.
Now I will prove that Pi regains his faith after realizing that solitude is murderous. The fruits with human teeth that the main character discovers on the island allow Pi to understand that loneliness kills the spirit. According to the narrator, prolonged presence on the island will leave him with “broken spirit” (196). Pi describes loneliness as equivalent to hopelessness and lost dreams:
How much hope come to nothing? How much stored-up conversation that died unsaid? How much loneliness endured? How much hopelessness taken on?
(196)
Consequently, I will employ research from the article to prove that this spiritual struggle helped Pi to return to his faith. According to the paper:
Many developmental frameworks assume in fact that “crisis” is both necessary and instrumental in promoting personal growth and maturation
(Bryant, Astin 6)
Pi decides to leave the island and by overcoming his religious struggles this way, he obtains a strong spiritual orientation.
Lastly, I will explore the function of the island on the level of the plot. During the interview Martel said that the island was the point in the novel where readers were required to either make the leap of faith and accept the implausible island or remain atheists. To prove this point, I will outline the features of the island that contradict laws of nature according to representatives of the Maritime Department. To begin with, lakes on the island are “evenly scattered, identically sized ponds” (Martel 184). There is no precise design in nature. Next, the description of a subspecies of meerkats that are capable of swimming is unbelievable because meerkats are adopted to living in deserts (185). Furthermore, the description of how algae turn salt water into fresh and digest marine fish is unrealistic (186). All these details lead the reader to face the choice of whether to believe in Pi’s narrative and thus, accept God, or reject the fantastic story and turn to atheism. From the point of view of the plot, the island carries out the promise given at the beginning by an elderly man who said, “I have a story that will make you believe in God” (4).
To conclude, the carnivorous island in the novel Life of Pi symbolizes solitude experienced by Pi in the ocean. This period of solitude gives him full harmony with himself and liberates him from all concerns. However, it also makes him face such struggles as inability to follow his instinct of reproduction and alienation from lifestyle prescribed by his culture. The loneliness is a challenge for Pi that he has to overcome in order to return to his faith in God. For Pi, failure to overcome the solitude imposes the risk of both physical and spiritual death. On the level of the plot the island serves as the point where readers are required to choose whether they believe in the unrealistic story told by Pi and accept religious accounts, or they remain skeptical and choose atheism.
Works-Cited
Bryant, Alyssa N., and Helen S. Astin. “The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle During the College Years.” The Journal of Higher Education 79.1 (2008): 1-27. CrossRef. Web.
Littman-Ovadia, Hadassah. “Doing–Being and Relationship–Solitude: A Proposed Model for a Balanced Life.” Journal of Happiness Studies (2018): 1-19. CrossRef. Web.
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. 1. publ. in Great Britain ed. Edinburgh: Canongate, 2003. Web.