A Study of Grief in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

Abstract

Yann Martel, a writer in Canadian literature, is known for his novel, Life of Pi. He was given the Man Booker Prize for the novel. The Life of Pi was brought out on September 11, 2001. Many concepts, such as perceptions, emotions, motivation, personality, and behaviors, are well depicted by the author. It is the story of a boy from his childhood. He was called Pi. He was in the ocean for 227 days with wild animals. Pi’s family was in Pondicherry, and they owned a zoo. They shifted to Canada due to the political issues there. They travelled in a Japanese cargo with some animals. In the middle of sailing, there was a shipwreck, and the only human in the lifeboat was Pi, with a Bengal tiger and some more animals. Grief is divided into many stages in the novel. Anger is a part of grief. Pi’s anger is seen from his childhood. He gets angry when his name is misspelled, when he asks to follow one religion, and he gets angry at Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, while sharing the lifeboat. Bargaining is a part where Pi bargains with God for his life. Pi is filled with depression to feed the tiger and form a territory for the tiger to live in the lifeboat. After the separation of Richard Parker, Pi feels the isolation and denial of the latter. Pi accepts whatever life has to offer and he overcomes all the grief of his survival. Pi enters the grief cycle and reforms himself in such a situation.