“The lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar” (Life of Pi, page 283). In “Life of Pi” Pi grows up in Pondicherry, India, as a little boy who is the son of an owner of the Pondicherry Zoo. They set an immigration to Canada, after selling their Zoo, and their ship sinks. Leaving Pi on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, an orangutan, a zebra, and a hyena. In the novel “Life of Pi”, the author Yann Martel develops the idea that when individuals are faced with a time of struggle, they may find a great opportunity to find faith and perseverance, resulting in discovering a meaningful life.
Pi comes from Pondicherry, India, and he has immigrated to Canada as an older Pi. His father Mr.Patel is the owner, founder, director, and head of staff, of the Pondicherry Zoo. Pi loves Canada, but he feels like an outsider, to him it's like paradise on earth. Pi survived 277 days on the lifeboat and it felt like an illusion to him. Until being rescued by the Japanese military. “I did not count the days or the weeks or the months. Time is an illusion that only makes pant. I survived because I forgot even the very notion of time” ( LOP page 192 ch. 63 1 para). Pi at his first school got negative comments about his name, either calling him Piscine or playing around with his name really meaning pissing. “Why do people move? What makes the uproot…” (LOP page 77). Not only did Pi have negativity in his childhood, but he survived an endless amount of battles. “The cruelty of children comes as news to no one…” (LOP page 20). Pi perseveres and uses his faith to overcome his childhood trauma just as he uses his faith when he is faced with his struggles on the ocean which leads him to look toward a more meaningful life.
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Pi survives the crash and gets onto a lifeboat he struggles to survive with barely any food and water, it's harder for him to survive. “Life on a lifeboat isn't much of a life” (LOP page 217). Pi stays on the boat alive with, Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger. Richard Parker influenced Pi because he saved his life from the other animals that were trying to kill each other, which allowed Pi to gain his trust in Richard Parker. “Without Richard Parker, I wouldn't be alive today to tell you my story” (LOP page 164 ch: 57) because the tiger encouraged Pi to persevere, as Pi had to look after, care for, and tame Richard Parker, which gave meaning to his life and encouraged Pi to not give up. There were two stories told by Pi, The first was about when the ship sank, and Pi survived with the Zoo that was on the boat. The second story is the story that was told as an illusion that Pi was created to give his life more opportunity and meaning because he was afraid of being rejected by the reporters survived on the lifeboat with his family imaging his family as the animals that survived from the crash.
When PI is faced with the battle of his life, he turns towards faith. Pi sees miracles, where he would have been a struggle before. He sees the lightning bolt as a miracle instead of a disaster because he has overcome the fear in his life by his faith in god. “Praise be to Allah [(SWT)], lord of all words…” (LOP page 233). Pi changes slowly in the novel, from being a very stubborn little boy to a fearless boy who believes in Allah (SWT), and that creates his guidance towards success. “The lower you are, the [more] your mind will want to soar” (LOP page 283). Pi becomes aware that time has built his patience for survival, just as the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) had patience and he used it to his advantage. Pi discovers that large opportunity to get rid of his fear and stay closer to his faith more than anything else. Pi notices that finding a meaningful life has built his connection between others and Allah (SWT). In the end, Pi doesn't give up and finds meaning on a small lifeboat in the middle of an endless sea by putting faith in god.
Pi has defeated his fear in his life by believing in his faith, believing in Allah, and surviving this disaster was like a dream that came true. Time and opportunity impact Pi’s ability to find faith and persevere in order to seek a meaningful life. Pi has succeeded in finding time and opportunity, to show the readers that repenting back to Allah (SWT) for forgiveness, and making du'a protects you and guides your way to beat his struggles to show his glorious perseverance in his faith. In Islam to seek a great meaning in life is accomplishing the time of struggle and finding opportunity and seeking for meaning in his life.
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