Life Of Pi Vs Hamlet

Zaid Suhail
Ms. Hudson
ENG4U
Thursday, May 12, 2016
Life of Pi vs Hamlet
Many people experience a tragedy or an event that greatly affects their lives in one way or another. However, there are many different ways a person can cope with them. In the end, it comes down to people that can flourish through the tragedy and live or people that cannot handle it at all. In the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Matel, it is shown that Pi struggles through his devastating situation but after all of the troubles he ends up staying alive, in other words, he is able to survive. It is shown in many different novels and plays, that throughout the texts, the characters seem to suffer at one point or another. This is shown in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, as well, …show more content…
Pi acts smart and ends up ignoring and forgetting all of his emotions and just focuses on what he needs to do in order to survive. He uses his fear, Mr. Parker, to allow him to survive, "The one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness" (Martel 179). Pi's ability to overcome his fear and emotions allowed him to survive at sea for 227 days, whereas Hamlet was taken over by madness throughout the play. This shows how important it is to overcome barriers like fear and emotion to survive and live …show more content…
The theme determination is shown in the novel, Life of Pi, when Pi's family is killed at sea. Pi is then forced to turn his survival instincts on and to somehow tame the beast. "I had to tame him. It was at that moment that I realized this necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me" (Martel 164). During this time, Pi realizes that he cannot kill Richard Parker. He has to tame the beast and show the beast who is in charge. This was important for both of their survival. This is evident in Hamlet as well, when Hamlet is told the story about Hecuba by the traveling player. Hamlet is determined to become a hero like Hecuba and get revenge for his father's death. He is set on his path and won't let anything come in his way to gain revenge. Both Pi and Hamlet are determined and have a set goal and will do whatever it takes to succeed, for Pi it is to tame the tiger and for Hamlet it is to get revenge on

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