Arc of Pi

I believe that Pi has changed in some ways from the person he was at the start of the story, to becoming a different person at the end. Pi undergoes his own hero's journey, just as we talked about in class. Not only is it a story technique, it also reflects life. Any time a person makes some sort of significant "journey" that person is usually changed in some way when it is over. Given what Pi went through, how could he not be changed?

At the end of the story when Pi was talking with the two Japanese men, he acted more adult like, in that he displayed wisdom beyond what you would expect from a teenager. Often at the completion of the hero's journey the hero usually returns with more wisdom, which can be a boon, or gift to his fellow men. Pi attempts to share his wisdom with the two Japanese men, but they are men of the "dry, yeastless factuality."

One way that Pi is still the same by the end of the book, is that he still retains his kindness to other people. Essentially Pi is still the same core person that he started out as. I would say that his core is built around Love. He did have to do some hard and grusome things to survive on the ocean, but he also mentions during the story that he still prayed for the first fish that he killed. After his ordeal it is Love that keeps him praying for the animals that he killed on his journey. I think Love is the one trait that Pi had at the start of the story and still retained later in his life.

For me, using the hero's journey model is a good lens in which to see the arc of development of Pi throughout the story.