Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the book "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. The paper discusses the main themes in the book and discusses how these themes are expressed through Martel's writing. It discusses the themes of positive thinking with the process of mental control, popular religion and how the "Life of Pi" fulfills the characteristics of popular religiousness and the theme of privatization.

From the Paper:

"Lastly, I want to discuss another important theme seen in the Life of Pi. Privatization as described by Thomas Luckman in the Lippy text may be what is meant by popular religion. The two, private religion and popular religion seem to inter-link. Society today is bombarded with many different belief systems, which all claim to deliver human life with true meaning. Pi like society has this religious imagination that needs a myth or a story in order to become self-fulfilled. This may be what is popular today, needing to believe in something. Privatization is individuals choosing and picking among a mixed pot of different beliefs from different religions and creating a meaningful system that works for that individual. In other words privatization is making your own private religion that has beliefs based on other systems. Pi demonstrates privatization by choosing to be not only one religion but three. Pi discovers that he wants to practice Christianity, Islamic, and Hinduism. Since he is almost forced to choose one, Pi comes to the conclusion that each practice has something in common, they all love God. So he becomes all of them because he finds interesting beliefs and practices within each one. This is perfect proof of privatization."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. Canada: Harcourt, Inc, 2001.
• Oswalt, Conrad. Secular Steeples: Popular Culture and the Religious Imagination. Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 2003.
• Lippy, Charles H. Being Religious, American Style: A History of Popular Religiosity in the United States. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 1994.

Visitors who viewed this Book Review also liked these:

• Analytical Essay # 50625 : "Yann Martel's "Life of Pi"
• Book Review # 148540 : "Religion and Truth in "Life of Pi"
• Research Paper # 75065 : "Dissecting Pi: An Analysis of Yann Martel's "Life of Pi"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: