In the novel The Life of Pi by Yann Martel, Piscine "Pi" Patel is forced to tell the story of his life to condescending Japanese skeptics who refuse to believe his tale; they refer to it as nothing more than a fictional invention. Pi somewhat agrees with the men, but challenges their disbelief by saying, "Isn't telling something—using words, in English or Japanese—already an invention?" Isn't just looking at this world already an invention? (Martel 302). Through this statement, the reader is reintroduced to a theme of the novel: the overall power of storytelling. Life is truly a story, the invention of one's own mind; Pi knows this, and the events of the novel show that his life is certainly a colorful, if seemingly hard to believe, story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay If life truly is a story, then the different aspects of that story are surely a matter of perspective. One of the biggest debates young Pi Patel faces concerns the nature of his religious practices. Instead of following one set of religious principles, Pi finds solace in three completely different religious sects: Christianity, Islam, and the religion somehow instilled in him by his overly non-religious family, l Hinduism: “This is what happened the first time I saw a Muslim prayer – fast, necessary, physical, whispered, striking. The next time I prayed in a church – on my knees, motionless, silent before Christ on the cross – the image of this calisthenic communion with God among the flour sacks came to mind” (60). When confronted by local leaders of his three religions over why he feels the need to practice multiple belief systems, Pi asserts, “I just want to love God” (69). Being as young as he is, Pi sees nothing wrong with worshiping in three different ways; he only feels a desire to have a connection with a higher power by whatever means allows this to happen. At first, Pi is fascinated by the many stories that different religions have to offer. In this regard, the religious themes of the novel seem to play into the powerful influence that the narration has to offer. Although these stories are widely accepted as the factual basis on which religion is based, this was certainly not always the case. Through these stories, told countless times to countless people, an invention was created: a complete religion with devoted followers. Another aspect of Pi's life that is powerfully affected by the influence of the stories is his relationship with animals. Growing up in a zoo run by his father, exotic animals were commonplace for young Pi and he formed his own relationships with them. These seemingly simple and childish relationships are put to the test by his father: I learned the lesson that an animal is an animal, essentially and practically distant from us…” (31). By showing Pi how violently a tiger kills a goat for food, his father instills a sense of fear in his son in the hope that he will never take a situation with a potentially dangerous animal like a tiger lightly, because they are “very dangerous” (34). During his time stranded on the ocean with the Bengal tiger, humanized as Richard Parker, Pi is able to form a sense of mutual respect with the tiger. This could potentially be due to his father's extensive training with animals over the years. A..