Preview

Comparison between Life of Pi and Brave New World

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
464 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison between Life of Pi and Brave New World
They’re More Afraid of You Than You Are of Them

By Kieran O’Connor

The heroes, Piscine Molitor Patel in “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel, and John in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley view their fears as an obstacle that they must overcome. Both heroes were faced with immediate challenges in their life.
Through challenging their fears, personal or community morale benefits from their perceived success. In such a way, the hero’s success manipulates the situation as the feared become afraid.

Each hero battled their fear differently and thus discovered a hidden truth behind the challenge they were faced with. John was born into his fear. He had no say or no choice. He had to find the positive out of every situation throughout his life. “Never put off till tomorrow the fun you can have today.” John did what he could to service happily with himself. Adversity was a struggle for him. His hidden truth was his ability to feel and show affection, of which no one was able to understand. This proved to be difficult for John being somewhat isolated. On the other hand, Pi was a quick and decisive learner. His fear was conquered through his self-determination. Fishing and taming Mr. Parker (the tiger) revealed much of his hidden truth. Pi revealed, “The presence of God is the finest of rewards.” To him, it was as if his fear now became the feared. Pi was rewarded with self-empowerment.

With the conquering of the hero’s fears, different aspects of their lives were affected with their efforts. Individually, Pi was rewarded. Pi quoted, “Can there be any happiness greater than the happiness of salvation?” This can be related to the Warden from “Shawshank Redemption” saying, “Salvation lies within”. For Pi this meant he had the power in saving himself from any terrible circumstances. Being considered an anti-hero, John did not necessarily individually benefit from his fight against his fear from the world state itself, but he may have influenced others who

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It makes people feel confident in your abilities. An example of bravery in the book is when Jim ran towards Ben Gunn in the woods, even though he was scared. It was extremely brave of him to do so, especially because it was right after he saw Tom Redruth get shot. He was scared at first…

    • 965 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Pi at first is terrified when he saw Richard Parker on the boat. He thought he would die, and most of the time Pi spent time outside the boat on his other little raft he made himself. Pi began to gain confidence, and would use his religious thoughts. He never gave up, like everyday on that boat he always had something to do. Whether it was for himself or for Richard Parker. Pi didn't let anything or anyone bring him down. God was his guidance through his survival voyage. Joe gains positive mental attitude when he made it out of the crevasse and saw Simon was no where near and told himself he has to make it to the base camp before they leave in a couple of days. Joe was making it through everything with a messed up knee. It didn't stop him from making it, he kept going knowing he'll make it to them with the condition he was…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Considering the whole span of earthly time…only within the briefest moments has one species – man – acquired significant power to alter the nature of the world. This power has now increased to one of disturbing magnitude.” (Rachael Carson)…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “In The wild” pertains to the naturally occurring world, therefore to be “In The Wild” is to maintain naturally occurring rhythms and process and to uphold a natural state of being. The novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Blade Runner directed by Ridley Scott explores the consequences of the destruction of a natural lifestyle when the lifestyle of the individual is being dictated by totalitarian power intent on manipulating and controlling the natural environment.…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The movie “The Island” takes place in the year 2019, where rich people can buy a “life-insurance” in form of a clone. The clones live separately under the earth in an old military site, where they have no acces to the real world. They have been told that they are the only survivors of a catastrophy that contaminated the whole world.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pi sees Richard Parker as a companion and not an enemy. So, an emotional need of Pi is companionship and having a sense of purpose. “ It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare even say wholeness” (Martel 162). With this said, although Richard Parker may be the one that scared him witless the whole entire time, it kept him alert and gave him a purpose to keep living and stay true to his goals and faith. Next, Pi also needs something to keep his mind busy and sane. So, he creates a schedule. “I kept myself busy. That was one key to my survival. On a lifeboat, even on a raft, there’s always something that needs doing” (Martel 190). Every human needs something going on in their head because if not, they would be dead. Pi acknowledges that and creates a schedule for himself to keep him busy and sane. This goes along with the sense of purpose and not giving up on what he set himself to…

    • 1073 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novels Lord of the Flies and Life of Pi the sensation of fear is a prodigious presence, fear is inflicted in Lord of the Flies mainly because the boys’ sense of judgment and behaviour ultimately changes when fear conquers and fear is encountered in Life of Pi because Pi experiences genuine terror once his ship has sunk and several acts of violence are committed before his own eyes. Fear is all-encompassing in both novels and this can be proven through exploration of the characters Richard Parker and “the Beast”. To begin, Richard Parker symbolises fear for the simple reason that he is a tiger and Pi is a boy who is terrified of this tiger. Pi “..expected to see Richard Parker rising up and coming for [him] any second” (Martel 120).…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There is not one key to survival; no it’s more like the key ring to survival. The first key I want to talk about is strength, but there is more to strength then just the physical strength there is also a need for emotional strength. “Its life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life.” Martel, Yann. "56." Life of Pi: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. 203. Print. This is why the mastery of fear can help you survive. Love which is almost an exact opposite of fear but goes hand in hand with hope; alas there are many forms of love that can bring about the needs to survive, this helps Pi and Chuck near the end of the trials. Knowing you are at the top, or that you are the alpha gives you strength and courage to carry on, both Chuck and Pi need to come to this realization in order to survive. This key ring of characteristics does not stop here; I have only a chosen a select few. Although both Pi and Chuck survived they accomplished this feat using the same characteristics but in a unique way differing from the other. Emotional and physical strength will determine your ability to survive as it did in the stories of Pi and Chuck.…

    • 1582 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    How Are Heroes Brave

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Heroes are motivated to help others. It doesn’t matter what their motivation is- whether it be love, greed, guilt,…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    People learn to face their fears and become braver. On certain ocassions it is more difficult than others, "By this time I had peed my pants" pg. 47. In Sarah Ellis' short story, Ken faces a problem that involves great amounts of fear and bravery. "She slipped. She knocked her head. Child drowns in four inches of bath water.... I have to go in" pg. 48. He finds it difficult to cope with this problem, though it is a matter of great importance and he focuses and tries his best to avoid these fears and find the strength within himself. "I happen to suffer from claustrophobia." pg. 48. He eventually manages to take a deep breath and forget all about these fears as he heroically plunges into an attempt to help the possibly endangered Ib, who is fortunately found "crouched at the edge of the stream" pg. 49.…

    • 670 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Pi's Masks

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages

    "I looked Richard Parker dead in the eyes. Suddenly his brute strength meant only moral weakness. It was nothing compared to the strength of my mind…Richard Parker licked his nose, groaned and turned away" (Martel 281). Without the mask that Pi had on, he probably would not have lived through the lifeboat experience. It had saved his life from being destroyed by Richard Parker by showing a fake side but enough to make the tiger leave him alone. "But enough was enough. I had suffered so much. I was so hungry. There are only so many days you can go without eating" (Martel 280). This is what drove Pi to come out and go out against the tiger; he was backed by his will to survive hunger. This is what had triggered the mask on him was the will to continue on in life and without it; he could have been stuck in Richard Parker's stomach. "Because it makes me feel, stronger, smarter, or better than the person I'm bullying." Richard Parker became the aggressor from this; he thought that he could beat Pi. What he did not know was Pi's will to survive was greater than Richard Parker's will to kill. "Because it's one of the best ways to keep others from bullying me." Which was one of the ways Pi had come to the though of intimidating his for Richard Parker. Pi did not want to be bullied around by Richard Parker because then he…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Pi begins to realize that he and Richard Parker are the only survivors of the sunken ship, and his survival mode takes a few days to kicks in. “I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging about me” (133). He knows he is alone with a 450-pound Bengal tiger, and that’s all he can think about. When survival mode kicks in, he begins to search the lifeboat for supplies and food that he would need in order to survive. Pi also realizes that he must make it clear to Richard Parker that he is the alpha male on the lifeboat in order for his life to be spared by the incredible cat. Pi is extremely alienated from all things on this lifeboat. Obviously he is alienated from his homeland while being stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He is also alienated from his family, seeing as they have all drowned from the ship sinking. He has never been stranded on a boat before. He has no idea what to do. Everything he has been accustomed to at his home on land no longer applied to his life now on the ocean. As Said had said, the sadness of being exiled could never be surmounted. Pi felt this sadness. “That second night at sea stands in my memory as one…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi Rough Draft

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fear, another dominant theme in the novel also gives Pi the will to fight for his survival. Fear is a human emotion that sometimes prevents humans or any animal to be successful.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life of Pi Critical Essay

    • 1623 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Pi survives. Some of the most difficult conditions imaginable, yet he endures. More than that – his spirit remains unbroken, his mind intact. Faith and companionship gave Pi the strength he needed to keep going. His love for God gave him faith that he could survive. And his love of Richard Parker gave him the reason to hope for…

    • 1623 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Quotation Analysis

    • 537 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At this moment of this story, Pi has lost all his food and has slowly started to starve. Pi not only having to worry about how he is going to get proper nourishment but Pi also has to deal with a now malnourished tiger. Without food Pi soon worried that he would become to weak to defend himself from Richard Park or simply die from starvation. Thus causing Pi betray his vegetarian ways to keep himself alive, slowly pi begins to fish and gather sea turtles. Once Pi familiarized himself with hunting, he starts to think over what has brought him to this point. Reflecting over his old values and staying alive, while trying to remain sane in the middle of the ocean.…

    • 537 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays