Student Essay on Life of Pi: Determination

This essay looks at a possible theme of Life of Pi, written by Yann Martel. This theme is determination to survive. It gives quotes and facts from the book and talks about factors such as imagination, adaptability and companionship.

"The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination" -Tommy Lasorda. In the book Life of Pi, author Yann Martel plays with reality and the unfeasible when he sets up an audacious story about a young, religious, son of a zookeeper named Pi Patel. While the Patel family emigrates from India with a ship full of zoo animals, they encounter a slight problem when they find their ship rapidly filling up with the ocean water surrounding them. Fortunately, Pi makes it out of the sinking ship alive and on to a lifeboat. But unfortunately, he was the only Patel to do so, and additionally occupying his lifeboat was a 450-pound Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. This outrageous scenario creates a story of faith, anxiety, the unavoidable, and most.....