Faith In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

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Faith provides answers to the perplexity in existence and of the afterlife and thus helps give a sense of significance to life itself. Martel’s protagonist, Pi Patel in his Mmartel’s novel, The Life of Pi, exhibits durability, intelligence, and enlightenment all honed by his spiritual and philosophic knowledge. It can also bring about hope and comfort within the utmost dire of truths, as it allows one to bend reality and visualize an embellished version of it. Those who do not explore, and leave their beliefs shrouded in doubt, ultimately are prone to weakness as they carry the burden of living with distressful realities. The stories within scriptures are far from completely plausible, but people are drawn and commit to believing religions for the sense of ease. Martel’s conveyed message is to not limit ourselves to the factual and reasonable, and instead embrace the imaginative elements of beauty faith can implement into our lives. …show more content…
Eventually, however, Pi overcame and learned that not every question and qualm, especially in regard to religious texts, could be answered with factuality alone and developed spiritual maturity. Pi said that “I can well imagine an atheist's last words: 'White, white! L-L-Love! My God!" - and the deathbed leap of faith. Whereas the agnostic, if he stays beholden to dry, yeastless factuality; might try to explain the warm light bathing him by saying, 'Possible a f-f-failing oxygenation of the b-b-brain,' and, lack imagination and miss the better story” (Martel 64). As social scientist James Fowler notes, “Faith is a dynamic, evolving pattern of the way our souls find and make meaning of our lives” (Fowler). Martel’s aim is to steer readers away from only believing when there is no doubt for if they do, they would fail in finding meaning where reason and evidence cannot and thus ‘miss the better