Rough Draft

Lindsey Shields

Mrs. Sejkora

AP English 12

12 Feb. 2012

Martel and Human Nature

            When given various opportunities to change views or even>>>>>>>>HELP

Yann Martel, author of the classic novel Life of Pi, and lesser-known Beatrice and Virgil, allows animals to take place of people in order to depict human nature. Martel metaphorically portrays the non-stop human search towards satisfaction with life through these animals. In Life of Pi, the struggle between spirituality and practicality keeps Pi working to differentiate the ideas of reality from those of a story. Similarly, struggles between truth and deception, as well as responsibility and complicity are fought throughout Beatrice and Virgil. However different the characters stories may develop, Martel relies on the common exploration and acceptance that inside every human, lies an animal. Yann Martel’s use of animal characters uncovers human nature by revealing motivational factors in order to expose people’s animal-like tendencies and out human folly.

             In human minds, life is all about searching. Seeking guidance, answers and even new possibilities drives all humans to pursue a non-stop, lifelong search; however unfulfilling the process might be, people feed on curiosity. The animals in both Martel’s narratives serve not only to expose and guide the characters, but also to set nostalgia on natural human tendencies. Like humans, “…if there is one thing an animal hates above all else, it is the unknown” (Life of Pi 51), which further enables their natural curiosity and desire to expand their capacity of knowledge. Eliminating aspects of the unknown allows both humans and animals to feel at ease and secure with their surroundings.

            An initial spark of inquisitive thought begins the natural tendency of humans to exercise curiosity. Take for example, Pi’s irrational curiosity amongst various religions; Despite commonalities, society portrays various religions such as Christianity, Hinduism and Muslim as polar opposites and unacceptable to intertwine. Although obstacles caused Pi to question religion and God, he felt, “The more He bothered me, the less I could forget Him” (72), which illustrates his natural instinct to question and like the animals, seek the unknown in order to feel secure. FLEXIBILITY OF LIFE?

            With curiosity comes a level of aggression. Ingrained within both humans and animals lies various protective instincts. Seeking personal desire pushes aggression to a higher level; when a certain desire reaches an emotional peak, defense mechanisms bring out a forceful side of human nature.  All aggression begins inside, “For evil in the open is but evil from within that has been let out” (90), and when given the chance, release illuminates human’s animalistic inclination to protect and fight. Most people oversee “The main battlefield for good is not the open ground of the public arena but the small clearing of each heart” (90) which goes to show before resulting to hostility, one must look inside in hopes of changing what could be the initial root of all problems.

            While searching for truth and guidance, human determination tends to uproot personal hostile characteristics. Furthermore, “…our species’ excessive predatoriness has made the entire planet our prey” (36). Seeing the world as a prey within human eyes only refrains people from listening and questioning what is around them. Although “you are who you are, and then people project onto you some notion they have” (Beatrice and Virgil 5), people must not allow others to classify them or dictate their thoughts and actions. Animalistic aggression can allow humans to either stand up for themselves or ruin chances for questioning. Depending on the level of aggression and the target, humans tend to (expel?) antagonistic auroras (pronounced ora?) similarly to those of animals.

            Within the spark of curiosity also comes human ambition. Desiring higher knowledge, guidance or anything more than what one currently hold results from ambition. Most ambition is seen positively, although Pi wants to be “…[reminded] of the folly of human ambition” (Life of Pi 6), in which he recognizes humans tend to make the wrong choices when their desires reach a personal level. In allowing forces of nature to take a toll on their individual desires, each person opens their eyes to possibilities of reality amongst choice. Martel, within both Life of Pi and Beatrice and Virgil, illuminates the fact that reality is a story.

            Life is a story. Choosing the better story to tell, like Pi himself, metaphorically symbolizes choices people have the ability to make in life. Society’s fogged perception of personal experience and story telling deceives humans to believing their story is not worth telling, let alone exploring. Martel’s narratives work “to deconstruct this reason/imagination binary hierarchy” (Stratton) and expose, when given the chance to choose, why not tell the better story. Furthermore, do not simply choose a story to tell, but follow human ambition and live the story individually.

Accepting the idea of reality as a story allows questioning debates between fact and fiction. Deception along the lines of truth acts the same between fact and fiction.  “But behind serious nonfiction lies the same fact and preoccupation as behind fiction-of being human and what it means…” (Beatrice and Virgil 7). When questioning….

THIS PARAGRAPH IS A LITTLE LOST.  The “redemptive powers of fiction” allow humans to accept internally what they refuse to see externally. Fiction acts as an escape, to seek guidance and sanctuary away from judgment and hostility.

            Problems of struggle are held within a sanctuary. Humans search, just as animals do, looking for answers in hopes of guidance to seek freedom; “certain illusions about freedom plague them both” (Life of Pi 24) which fractures hope and causes unattainable expectation. Therefore freedom must attain a personal meaning within an individual. Pi sought freedom through religion and reality; His perseverance and “heroic struggle of a religiously devout man to overcome the impediments of material reality” (Stratton) lead to his achievement of self-actualization. Reaching a level of enlightenment or full understanding through the acceptance of struggles is to have succeeded. Perseverance and questioning are factors simple enough to “help understand [the] world a bit better” (Martel).

            Struggle leads to self-realization. With enlightenment comes thought and acceptance. Sometimes when all one searches for are answers, the truth of the matter may be there simply is not one. When “the matter discussed within has no resolution…”, humans “must think again in a different way and start all over” (Beatrice and Virgil 8). The cyclical cycle of life repeats although in different ways each time. Human nature behind seeking enlightenment can form people’s reality but it is up to them to transform their own reality, making the matter as individualistic as possible.

            Martel gives the reader “the democratic choice: the desire to believe rather than the belief itself” (Stephens), which in return allows people to explore all aspects of his narratives without feeling pressured for beliefs. Acknowledging chances and human’s capacity to choose their path of life makes progress unstoppable. Animals often times have no choice. Zoo animals, for instance, those in the Pondicherry Zoo are held in captivity without a choice. Although humans implement acts of animal tendency, in switching roles, both novels depict “the animal as seen through human eyes” (Life Of Pi 39). Seeing animals as any different from humans seems highly acceptable but the truth remains, inside every human is an animal. ADD CONCLUSIVE PARAGRAPH? *BETTER CONCLUSION NEEDED.

Works Cited

Martel, Yann. Beatrice and Virgil. New York: Spiegel & Grau, 2010. Print.

Martel, Yann. "How I Wrote Life of Pi." Powell's Books. Powell's City of Books. Web. 23 Jan. 2012. <http://www.powells.com/fromtheauthor/martel.html>.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Random House of Canada, 2001. Print.

Stephens, Gregory. "Feeding Tiger, Finding God: Science, Religion, and "the Better Story" of Life of Pi." Literature Resource Center. Gale. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.

Stratton, Florence. ""Hollow at the Core": Deconstructing Yann Martel's Life of Pi." Studies in Canadian Literature. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. <http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/view/12746/13689>.