In the novel, Life of Pi, the normal everyday life of a Hindu/Muslim/Christian boy is turned upside down when he finds himself stranded on a sparce lifeboat with only a Zebra, a hyena, an orangutan, and a Bengal Tiger. The author later descibes his inspiration for the book in these words-
"The idea of a religious boy in a lifeboat with a wild animal struck me as a perfect metaphor for the human condition. Humans aspire to really high things, right, like religion, justice, democracy. At the same time, we're rooted in our human, animal condition. And so, all of those brought together in a lifeboat struck me as being... as a perfect metaphor."
Yann Martel, the author, also states that he coincidentaly released his book on the actual day of 9/11/01, when the superficialities of the human race and their beliefs were the most exposed.
I believe that Martel was truly, underneath all the tiger and ocean drama, was trying to teach the reader how the exaggerations of certain beliefs causes people belonging to that belief to act in ways that in no way coordinate with their reliegion. Martel clearly exposes the superficial flaws of humanity by comparing how, no matter this being seemingly impossible, a young boy survives 227 days on a lifeboat stranded in the middle of the ocean, with only a tiger for company. And although the instincts of the tiger and the knowledge of the boy are not made to mix, they abandon all opinions of one another in order to achieve a common goal, survival.
You made a good point. I like how you backed up your ideas. I agree with what you said, where they have to forget about their opinions and just survive.
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