Life of Pi Pre-Read Socratic Seminar

Pi reflects on religion constantly, but he does mention that he always goes back to his Hindu customs and rituals that he grew up with. Do you believe that religious or people with strong belief systems growing up always have that religion as their bases for many decisions in their life? Does that religious belief ever change? I feel as though the religion will always be the base for decisions. Even if the person may stray away from that religion, the foundation that was put into their mind by that religion will stay. I know that for me, I grew up in a Christian environment.

I went to all the Sunday school classes, VBS activities, volunteered at church, but I remember soon getting very agitated with the very people who I knew to be Christian. My family were leaders within the Christian community: pastors, musicians, teachers, wives of pastors, so it didn’t quite make sense that I saw them in acts of betrayal, dishonesty, and anger toward one another. Despite my becoming Atheist at that point in my life, I couldn’t relinquish the morals that I had grown up with: unconditional love for others, forgiveness, non-violence and conservation of the body and mind.

I may not have sensed God’s presence then and there, but the religion was still there. In all instances of my life, I still find myself trying my best to follow the morals I grew up with no matter what I come to believe. I see that today in society it is important to raise our children in a well-mannered household. If a parent wants them to grow up well, they must teach them first the morals they want their family to uphold. But they must also place a certain amount of importance on it and let the child understand that it IS important and MUST be followed or it won’t stick with them.

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I don’t think that the religion or morals change, however meld themselves to fit the new beliefs of the person. If they believe so strongly toward something, they WILL keep it and honor it. Pi states that the compulsion to make life more livable by inventing a better story is natural instinct both to mankind and animals alike. Is this so of society today? Do we still have the need to conform? How much of a “better story” can one make before it becomes too unrealistic? Psychologically it is a need to make ourselves look and feel good. It is a way for us to maintain an image of ourselves.

It’s a way we attract our mates and a good self-esteem booster. Confidence and consistency is key in this world for us to achieve our desires. We want to be agreeable, make a social situation run smoothly, and avoid disagreement and discord at all costs, yet we do that with the price of breaking the intimacy and trust that holds a bond together. I believe that in order for humanity to survive it needs to face the facts and deal with the blows as they come. Then and only then will true strength of an individual and that individual’s relationship will come forth.

I feel that if humanity continues to lie to themselves, things will not get done. Global Warming for example is considered a myth by many because we don’t want to accept the reality that it will cause our Earth great harm; that it will cause US great harm. The same with the re-invention of stories to make a person more appealing. We don’t think they will cause harm, but they do. We break down trust and make in the end lose our loved ones and ourselves in the process. I believe ir is at this point we begin to question who we actually are and what we can truly achieve.

However, I do also feel that as humanity grows deeper into crisis we need a way to escape from the harsh reality of the world. I think that as long as we are in our confines of our own mind, we can keep altering ourselves for betterment. In Pi’s case he seems to want to escape the past and pass the burden of his story to another person. When Orange Juice fights the hyena, the almost human-like nature of the orangutan disappears and she becomes violent. Pi realizes that personality that one shows does not always beat natural instinct.

Name examples where this is true or provide evidence of where it doesn’t. Can personality triumph over instinct? Personality is a big part of how we shape ourselves. The similarities and differences are shown through how we react to the diversity in the world and how we create or destroy relationships with one another. When a person feels threatened by something, or similarly with an animal, they will react almost instinctively in order to protect their being. If a person feels threatened they will yell, kick, and go bat-shit crazy. So will an animal.

There is a fine line between instinct and personality. Over the years we have learned to overcome it, but in times of stress it comes out no matter how hard a person or animal has trained to keep it within. It’s like in the Jungle Book: “You can take the boy out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the boy. ” The instinct is our body’s natural way of protecting ourselves. I do feel though that over time and through much work a person and an animal can overcome their fears and obstacles to becomes a less threatening being. So yes, personality will triumph both in my heart and in Pi’s.

I think that Pi saw this fine line of personality vs instinct and knew full well how even though society has become more modern, there are still things in this world that offset the balance: natural disasters, politics, and religion. That is why I think Pi puts so much stress on the detail that to him religions were based off love and compassion toward everyone and everything. He is confused with how people react like animals when it comes to their beliefs. Simply put, they are threatened. Scared that the balance will now be leaning more towards one side and that another will gain the power and become the “Alpha” being.

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