Author's Note: This Essay, written earlier in the year about Life of Pi by Yann Martel, is meant to demonstrate my knowledge on dash construction and semicolons.
When trapped on a boat with a hungry Bengal Tiger, just what kind of actions are acceptable in order to live? Pi Patel struggles to battle insanity while sharing a 26 foot long lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific ocean. His clothes have disintegrated, his skin is burned, he has no weapons at hand, and he is weak; fighting is not an answer. Most teenaged boys would have given up by now, acknowledging their fate and letting death take them, but Pi has a strange will to live. In the long run he does fight -- but not the tiger. He fights to live, and keep his furry enemy alive as well.
The manual Pi finds on the boat lets him know that an idle mind sinks. He interprets this that without entertainment, he will literally die of boredom. Pi creates a schedule for himself to follow everyday until his rescue arrives. It consists of fishing, praying, observing Richard Parker, and tending the lifeboat. Pi did not count days, he had no calendar, he survived on repetition and reminding himself that time was an illusion. He showed death that he was not an easy victim, even with a 450 pound tiger lying beneath him.
There wasn't a reason to keep the tiger alive; Pi simply figured he couldn't kill it, and it would serve as entertainment. A tiger symbolized confidence to his fellow Buddhists, and security in the Hindu world. Besides its claws teeth and prey drive it couldn't be too much of a problem. As the days danced by, Pi began a comparison of himself and the tiger. He had transformed from an avowed vegetarian to a merciless killer. When situations became rough and food was scarce, the tiger came first. Its importance was greater than Pi's and they both knew it. The tiger became a part of Pi, and in times of need Richard Parker, the tiger's name, came out from under the boat for Pi's needs. However, in times of peace and filled bellies, Pi found he could tame his tiger. Once the couple reached the island, where food, water, and shelter were all available, Richard Parker disappeared. He was no longer needed; Pi could survive on his own, and so could Parker. Eventually they knew society needed to once again be searched for. Pi packed up his tiger and returned to sea.
When Pi arrived at the safety of land and civilization Richard Parker ran into the jungle, hopefully never to be needed again. Pi then had the tough job of explaining what had happened in the last 227 days to men interested in the sinking of his original ship. They could care less about his story about a "tiger" aboard the lifeboat, nor did they believe it. Now, only Pi had survived the sinking ship. His mother, the chef, and an additional sailor had all killed each other on the journey, so there was no one to tell opposing stories. Pi could make up a world of lies and these men would have no choice but to trust him! Luckily for them, Pi spared their innocent ears from the gore and terror that he had experienced by making up a story about zoo animals. Whether he doubted their belief in the cruel acts humans are capable of, or he couldn't take the pain the real story brought him, we may never figure out. But in the end of the story Pi confirmed that Richard Parker was his alter ego, never having existed at all. The bengal tiger was merely Pi's animated survival mode.
Thinking back to his days on the boat, Pi realizes what Richard Parker did for him. His tiger saved him from many deaths--a death of boredom, insanity, carelessness, and even depression. We all have an inner tiger, just waiting to spring when our lives are jeopardized, however it only appears when we are in danger. From Life of Pi I learned that where ever and whenever I seem to be trapped in my lifeboat, I will be more than greatful to have a tiger by my side.
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