Fear

Throughout Part 2, Pi had many moments where he had to overcome his fear in order to survive.

Point 1: After the Tsimtsum sank, the animals in the lifeboat were used to help Pi overcome his fear. After the Orangutan was killed by the Hyena, Pi says “I was next. With some difficulty, I stood up. I could hardly see through the tears in my eyes.” This quote shows that Pi feels that he will be killed next, so he is afraid. Pi felt that he would be next because he saw the Hyena kill both the Orangutan and the Zebra.

He knew the Hyena would need more food later on. He overcame this fear after Richard Parker killed the Hyena. Pi was also afraid of the sharks that were surrounding the lifeboat. The sharks were the reason of why Pi did not want to leave the lifeboat. This forced Pi to bond with Richard Parker.

Point 2: As Pi was on the lifeboat, he had to overcome his fear of Richard Parker. First, he was afraid of Richard Parker, but he figured out a way to train him so Pi became the Super Alpha and Richard Parker became the Omega. After Pi created the six plans to get rid of Richard Parker, he realized they were not going to work because he feared Richard Parker. He then came up with a seventh plan to keep him alive. Pi found the need to tame Richard Parker to have them both survive. By using the whistle to train Richard Parker, it made sure Pi was safe

in the future because Richard Parker was now afraid and dependant of Pi. The quote “He made a sound, a snort from his nostrils. I pricked up my ears. He did it a second time. I was astonished. Prusten?” shows that Pi became the Super Alpha and reassured Pi because Richard Parker became friendly with Pi. This also reassured Pi and his fear of Richard Parker.

Point 3: When Pi found out that the island of floating trees was carnivorous, he decided to leave because he feared death. He found out that the there was an unknown chemical reaction with the algae during the night time that caused it to be acidic. Pi found a set of human teeth inside the fruit that were attached to the trees. He was scared that the same thing would happen to him.

Media: The quote I chose was: “I must say a word about fear. It is life’s only true opponent. Only fear can defeat life.” This image shows that fears in our everyday lives limit our progress and over performance. Pi overcame his fears during his journey to ensure that he would survive for longer. 

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