Life of Pi: The Symbolism of the Color Orange Shrabonti Bhowmik 12th Grade

In Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, Piscine Molitor Patel, an Indian boy who is living in Pondicherry, is the main character of the story. From an early age, he is exposed to three different religions: Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Due to political problems, his father's business, a zoo, can no longer provide income for the family. Therefore, the family plan to move to Canada. En route to Canada, Pi's family is in a shipwreck. Unfortunately, the sole survivor is Pi. He survives for two-hundred-twenty-seven days while stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean, with only a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker as a travel companion. During Pi's travel, the presence of orange objects gives Pi hope to survive. Secondly, he forms a close relationship with two orange animals that help him give the endurance to live and emotional support. Lastly, the color orange represents faith which enables him to feel that he's not alone. In the story of Life of Pi, the color orange is used repeatedly in physical, relational, and spiritual ways to symbolize hope, which results in Pi's survival.

As Pi drifts on the Pacific Ocean, he is in contact with several objects that help him survive and are all of the color orange: lifeboat, lifejacket,...