Survival in the face of extreme adversity exposes individuals to the raw and brutal nature of existence, often leading to profound personal transformations and moral dilemmas. Life of Pi by Yann Martel follows the journey of Pi Patel, the son of a zoo keeper who survives a shipwreck and is stranded on a lifeboat with Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger, leading him to confront the brutal realities of survival and the limits of his faith and humanity. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque follows the harrowing experiences of Paullisteneder, a young German soldier during World War I, as he confronts the brutal realities of warfare, leading to profound psychological trauma and a loss …show more content…
The phrase "suddenly feel nauseated" highlights Paul's immediate physical response to the act of killing, emphasizing the intense shock and repulsion he feels. The imagery of his "sticky and wet" hand, and then his attempt to cover the blood with earth, underscores his desperate need to physically distance himself from the violence. Both characters experience a profound and immediate repulsion to their actions, linking their psychological trauma through their visceral responses to killing, and highlighting the intense emotional toll of their experiences. The enduring images of the people they have killed continue to haunt both Pi and Paul in different ways. In Life of Pi, Pi recovers from his blindness and describes a horrifying scene left by Richard Parker killing the castaway “I saw such a vision that I nearly wished I had remained blind. His butchered, dismembered body lay on the floor of the boat. Richard Parker had amply supped on him, including on his face, so that I never saw who my brother was” (Martel 226). His gruesome reality, where Pi will never know the person Richard Parker killed, reflects Pi’s ongoing struggle with the loss of his humanity and the necessity