Introduction
Ah, Survival - that innate drive pulsating within all living creatures, urging them forward through existence with a singular focus: endure. What a marvelously myopic mistress is Survival, peering through her foggy lens only to the next horizon, unable to comprehend the panorama of life spread out before her. Yet without her, where would we be? For Survival is the flame that fuels Life's wick, and her story is woven into every fiber of every living thing. This is ever apparent in Yann Martel's epic novel Life of Pi, where the thread of Survival stitches together the fantastical fabric of Pi's journey from boy to castaway to man. Through Pi's travails at sea, Martel explores the extremities of Survival - how it pushes one forward, grounds one in primal instincts, and ultimately shapes one's very humanity. This essay traces the sinuous path of Survival in Life of Pi, following its currents to discover how it changes Pi, changes us, and connects us all in the great tidepool of Life. By diving deep into Survival's waters, we surface with a richer understanding of Martel's seminal novel and the strands that bind living beings in a common destiny.
Survival in Literature: From Jack London to Robert Falcon Scott
Survival has lurked in literature's shadows since Og crushed the skull of Grog outside the community cave. But it emerged from the literary mists in full form at the turn of the 20th century through Jack London's stark stories of men battling the elements. In his 1908 memoir My Crowded Solitude, Scottish explorer Robert Falcon Scott underlined Survival's growing prominence, writing "It is hard that often such men as I should survive". Martel clearly drew inspiration from these survival sagas in crafting Life of Pi. First published in 2001, Life of Pi gained immediate notoriety for its fantastical premise: a boy and a tiger adrift at sea for 227 days. But Martel's novel stands out for making Survival a central character in its own right - one that profoundly shapes young Pi as he struggles to endure. Unlike classic survival tales, Pi's story becomes not just a fight against nature, but a fight to hold onto his humanity. Thus Martel spins literary gold from Survival's straw, transforming it from a situation into an insight on life itself.
Survival as Pi's Singular Obsession
From the moment the hulking Tsimtsum sinks beneath the Pacific waves, Survival becomes Pi's singular obsession - as it must for any castaway. When Pi first finds himself alone on the lifeboat with a ravenous Bengal tiger, Survival shrinks his world to one all-consuming goal: stay alive. As Pi declares, "I must survive." Immediately he relegates all other concerns to the back of his mind, focusing only on fishing, water collection, and tiger taming. He dwells in a constant state of alertness, every sense primed to keep him one step ahead of Richard Parker. This absolute focus on immediate survival leaves no room for distractions like reflection, relationships, or dreams. It is a brutal, essential existence. Yet as Martel writes, "So long as Richard Parker was alive, I was alive." Though stripped of all human complexities, Survival gives meaning and purpose to Pi's life when he has lost everything else. It is the raft that keeps him afloat through his darkest hours at sea.
Survival Evolving from Bulwark Against Death to Source of Life
However, Survival soon evolves from Pi's bulwark against death into a source of life itself. As the months wear on aboard the lifeboat, Pi's relationship with Survival grows more nuanced. While it still commands his attention in order to remain alive, Survival also pushes Pi to reach beyond himself. He progresses from instinctively killing fish to carefully preserving them. He studies the habits of seabirds to understand the workings of the ocean. Survival shifts from being a situation Pi endures to a teacher he engages with. Most profoundly, his interdependent relationship with Richard Parker - where each protects the other - unlocks deep wells of empathy and purpose within Pi. As critic David Sugarman wrote, this symbiotic tie "forms the life cord that tethers Pi to life." Survival lifts Pi from just surviving to living fully even in the most constrained circumstances. Through Survival, Martel suggests, one finds meaning not despite adversity but because of it. Life depends on Survival, yet Survival also points the way to life's richness.
Challenging the Romanticized View of Survival
Some critics argue that Pi's story romanticizes Survival, casting it as an enlightening force rather than the dire struggle it often is. Survival scholar Tim O'Brien contends that while such a view makes for an appealing narrative, in reality Survival often dehumanizes rather than uplifts, turning people feral in their quest for existence. Literature professor Amy Tan asserts that stories like Life of Pi overlook how socially marginalized groups face extensive systemic barriers to Survival every day. Their arguments highlight important perspectives on Survival that moderate its inspirational effects. Yet Martel does not shy away from depicting the brutality of Survival in moments when Pi is reduced to drinking urine, eating feces, and descending into delirium - hardly a romanticized condition. Furthermore, Pi's story is one of individual Survival, not that of societies, so while Tan's points remain valid, Martel's more limited scope allows space to explore how Survival can expand as well as constrain human experience.
Conclusion
In Life of Pi's 400 some pages, there lies an epic journey that navigates not just the Pacific, but the extremes of the human condition. While on its surface a fantastical tale of a boy and tiger adrift at sea, Martel's novel dives much deeper to probe the primal force of Survival. Survival emerges as more than just the struggle to persist against a hostile world, but a vessel for comprehension - of nature, of others, of meaning itself. Through Pi's transformative odyssey from castaway to fulfilled man, Martel suggests Survival can surface the very best within us even when cruel circumstances try to drown it. And is this capacity to bloom amidst adversity not the very definition of Life? If so, we have much to learn from Survival and Life of Pi about how to live, buoyed by the knowledge that we all float on the same sea.
