All throughout Yann Martel's Life of Pi, religion is explored and the idea of believing in something is greatly emphasised. The story follows Pi Patel, a young boy struggling with his spiritual wellbeing and looking for confirmation from a higher power. Because of his name, he is ridiculed at his school and therefore seeks a relationship with 'God.' Because of his ambition and desperation he ends up finding God, in three different religions; each of which has a different meaning to him. Both Pi and the reader explore the importance of religion throughout the many perils he faces at the heart of the Pacific Ocean. The story brought to life by acclaimed director Ang Lee still has many of the same elements that made the book so popular but the theme of religion has almost been 'censored.' Many of the hidden meanings that made the book so intriguing have been removed in an attempt to accommodate the broader audience. The story of a boy lost both physically and spiritually has been 'Hollywoodized' into a story of survival alongside a ruthless Bengal tiger. The transformation of religion in Pi's perspective and in his life is drastically different in the book than the movie.
Author Yann Martel retells the story of where he found the inspiration to write Life of Pi. He tells the reader that the elderly man he meets at the café talks to him about a story that will 'make him believe in God.' Following many meeting with Mr Patel, he agrees that it is indeed a story to make you believe in God. While there is no ample opportunity in the film to incorporate this prequel, the movie does little to compensate for the obvious lack of religious ideas and concepts, which arguably is the most prominent theme throughout the book, that it does not necessarily matter what you believe, as long as you believe in something. The film does not seem to promote this ideology and this attempt to receive acceptance from the Hollywood audience leads to the meaning of the original story suffering.
Shortly following the submergence of the Tsimtsum, Pi is determined to find to search for any survivors from his lifeboat. The only one of these survivors is Richard Parker, who against all the odds has managed to survive a shipwreck and is now on his way to Pi....
