Lets do this Presentation!

Nayef:

Human Psychology: How Pi’s mind and will power allowed him to survive in his time of crisis.

After discussing with my group members, we decided to divide the work of the presentation in to three different pieces. I will be talking specifically on the idea of how the power of the mind works in this novel. Pi’s journey across the sea is not an easy one. Being put in a boat with a Bengal tiger and with no food but the sea’s population, this was going to be one up hill battle.  One would assume that an ordinary human being would just cave in under the pressure of the situation but Pi defies the odds and actually does survive this experience. But how did he do it? What drove him to live? What drove him to survive and be able to tell his story to the world?

            This is the question I will try to answer in my part. The human mind is a strong tool in the body, if used properly it has great power.  One instance where Pi’s mind shows strength his simply when faced with the hyena and Richard Parker, he does not breakdown. Most people in this situation would simply cave in under the pressure of having predators in such a near proximity that it would put them out. However, Pi shows mental strength in marking his territory and staying strong. My instinct is that because of the traumatizing experience Pi’s father put him through by making him watch a tiger eat a goat, that made him stronger subconsciously. In the novel, we are made to question that act, but we come to realize that indeed that was an act, which would teach him a lesson: the lesson to survive. In my time with the class, I hope to shed light on the question of the will to survive, but looking through the lens of human psychology.

Cheers