'“Life of Pi” vs “The Odyssey” Comparative Essay Essay\r'

'Life standed on the ocean is very grueling and risky. Only a few are able to type the ch each(prenominal)enging proletariats of such a piazza exploitation their wits and persistence. In the admit Life Of Pi and the film The Odyssey, the journeys of the briny fibers are surprisingly parallel, considering the works were pen over 20 centuries apart. Both of their journeys wait stages similar to the archetypal wizard journey, including the judicial separation/Departure, Initiation and The Return. Although two(prenominal) Pi and Odysseus incline extraordinary gainsays, Pi’s character is more than intriguing because through his com custodyce workforcet ceremony per male child narrative, the reader is drawn to his minute nature, his vulnerability and his unique individualality time Odysseus is inte tranqu ailingitying because of the hero stereotype re represents.\r\nIn the Separation/Departure stage, both(prenominal) men are loath(p) at first to step forward their journeys, and out-of-pocket to forces beyond their control, they depart for phenomenal seeks at sea. For instance, when Pi’s family reveals that they are paltry to Canada, Pi is reluctant and does non indigence to leave. Pi shows his hesitation when he says â€Å" whitherfore enter this jungle of foreignness where everything is smart, strange, and trying?” (Martel, 86). He was â€Å"thunderstruck” (Martel, 88) at the model of moving by in any case look â€Å"It was like Timbuktu, by definition a place permanently far away(p)” (Martel, 88). Pi has created a familiar existence of family, alter with religions, his mentors and peace, just now is now point of intersection to an unknown territory far away.\r\nLikewise, Odysseus did not indispensableness to leave for the trojan horse state of war as he would be go away his family. He is mentioned to the battle just by and by his son Telemachus was born, and he is hesitant. Odysseus lov es his family, make up though he is seen as a radiation diagram brawny warrior. This shows that he wants to stay laughingstock to care for his son and wife but nonetheless carried out his duty because he is a brave soldier at heart. The resemblance betwixt those two here is that they both enjoyed support at home, but had to embark on their journeys due to governmental turmoil †For Pi it was Ghandi’s takeover of India that caused\r\nhis family to leave, and for Odysseus it is the declaration of the Trojan War. In the start of their journeys, Pi crosses the verge when the Tsimtusm sinks, and this forces him to get on a raft to start his adventure at sea. This can be seen when Pi describes the sinking of the boat which â€Å"…made a sound like a ridiculous metallic burp” (Martel, 107). Pi withal expresses his terror when he says, â€Å"Tell me it’s a bad dream. Tell me it’s not real. Tell me I’m unsounded in my bunk on the Tsim tusm and I’m tossing and turning and briefly I’ll wake up from this nightmare” (Martel, 107). This shows the crossing of the verge for Pi as he is the only human subsister who enters this unfamiliar place. This crossing from his familiar life to a much more insecure one creates a struggle for him to precipitate to his ordinary world. Similarly, for Odysseus, he crosses the doorsill a few times and it starts subsequentlywardwards the Trojan War when he angers Poseidon. This is seen when he boasts that he defeated the Trojans by himself, thus angering Poseidon who makes him suffer. His hauteur creates a much more arduous journey home because Poseidon repeatedly sends him aside course preventing his return home for umteen years.\r\nBoth character cross the threshold in different ways, It is forced upon Pi whereas Odysseus brought it on himself. This is considerably accurate since Pi is innocent and did postal code to incur his mint and the struggle that he had to endure. However Odysseus’s crossing of the threshold is because of his ego which he has to pay the price for boasting just about himself survivening the war. In short, both characters were reluctant to cross the threshold, but in Pi’s case his situation seems more devastating as he is allay young and has to bear with the total spill of his family. Throughout their initiations, Pi and Odysseus must demo legion(predicate) challenging trials on their lane to survival and eventual reward. Pi’s main trials are the danger of the tiger and the overall risk of surviving from hunger, liking and nature. With Richard Parker, Pi has to constantly find a way to train him, as he several(prenominal)times describes: â€Å" permit the trumpets blare. Let the drums roll. Let the show begin” (Martel, 182). This shows the immensity of training to him. He will call himself â€Å"THE PI PATEL, INDO-CANADIAN, TRANS-PACIFIC, FLOATING CIRCUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSS!! !” (Martel, 183).\r\nAlso in order to avoid starvation he must eat meat, as he recounts it for the first time by truism â€Å"It was a great discovery when I set up that a forward-lookingfangled-tasting fluid could be sucked out not only from the eyeball of larger fish but besides from their vertebrae” (Martel, 235). He describes turtles as â€Å"…a curl of hot soup †became my favourite steady” (Martel 235). These quotes show Pi’s trend to train the tiger and using his wits to outsmart him along with the discovery of using aquatic creatures for meat / food sources. moxie to Odysseus, subsequently be cursed by Poseidon his journey keystone home consists of nothing but horrific trials such as the Cyclops and Lotus eaters. For example after Odysseus sets sail Poseidon creates a fog causation them to meet a trouble or so foe, by trapping them in the Cyclops’s cave. However Odysseus gets the Cyclop drunk and stabs him in the eye, allowing them to escape. This portrays his silklike bravery which saves most of his men and himself. hotshot similarity for both character’s road of trials is that they are all larger than life. None of their scraps are ordinary or even realistic. However Pi’s challenges are constant throughout the original and there is no real break or change of pace for him.\r\nOn the new(prenominal)wise hand Odysseus’s comical challenges are constantly changing and creates an occasional storyline. Also he stands with many of his pack and watches them die during some of those trials magic spell Pi nervuss his challenges alone. Many months later, after Pi hold up on the sea for 227 days he is rewarded a chance for recovery at an algae island before the last(a) slug of his journey. When he sees the heavenly island at first, he expresses that when he â€Å"…take in green, after so much blue, was like symphony to my eyes” (Martel, 285). Also when he grub the green vegetation he comments â€Å" spitting forcefully oozed through… â€Å"I bust at the algae around me” (Martel, 288). After surviving on the sea for so long, he is finally given fresh food and water, allowing him to stay alive until he reaches mainland. Odysseus also receives a break when he drifts along to Calypso’s island, after all the terrors he endures. There he is taken care of by a beautiful woman named Calypso and she gives Odysseus the put down and treatment he needs.\r\nThis shows that by overcoming all the challenges thrown at him, he is rewarded a chance to take a break, even though Calypso intended to keep him there forever. The similarity here between the two is that both rewards offer some kind of recovery, allowing them to take a breathing spell before arriving at their destination. Yet Pi’s reward is generally lower-ranking / less satisfying compared to Odysseus because Odysseus unflurried knows his family is back home while Pi still has to bear the loss of everything. All in all, while Pi had a carry on and prolonged struggle with the tiger and starvation, Odysseus’s road of trials is more varied and fire to watch. Both heros did, however, get a rest near the end. When a hero is culture to cosmos home, though grateful for be alive, their return usually contains one final caper that he/she needs to complete. Pi crosses the return threshold when he is run aground on the shore of Mexico and while being helped by the local people, he tinges with the un blessedness of the loss of his tiger. He states that he is rescue when â€Å"…a member of my own species found me” (Martel, 316).\r\nExpressing his release from hell, he also says â€Å"I wept like a child” (Martel, 316). So although relieved to be cared for, he is still grieving the loss of his family and Richard Parker. For Odysseus’ crossing of the threshold it occurs when he arrives home by boat, happily, with genus Athene changing his appearance to help him. He is seen happy when reunited with his old friend (the goatkeeper) and his son Telemachus. However he finds out he has one more obstacle to face in order to achieve happiness. though he is cheerful to be home, his happiness is a bit diminished when enquire if his wife had kept their promise. He becomes kind of angry angry and fired up with what he sees back in the village, surely not the peaceful reunion he had hoped for with his wife. There is not much similarity between their crossing of the return threshold except that they both return on land, but Pi is very ill and fatigued while Odysseus seem not. thus far Odysseus still has his family, while Pi’s is certainly dead. Also Odysseus has another challenge to face at home while Pi has no somatogenic challenge but must now construct his immaculate life from scratch. After being saved, Pi’s last small obstacle is in the hospital when interrogated by investig ators from the sunken ship.\r\nAs Pi describes his story, they challenges his rehearsal by saying â€Å"Mr. Patel, we don’t believe in your story” (Martel, 324). They also says â€Å"It doesn’t hold up” (Martel, 324). at long last Pi says, â€Å"I know what you want. You want a story that won’t surprise you” (Martel, 336). Because his adventure is so bizarre, these men did not really accept it. just now since he had very vivid imagination, he makes up a completely new version of the journey to say to them and makes everyone satisfied. substantiate to Odysseus, when he arrives back at his country of origin Ithika, he finds one more task which he directly confronts in disguise. When he reaches back to his village, there is many men causing chaos fighting to win over his wife.\r\nThere is a fence to determine the future husband and he joins to end the madness. Odysseus has to engage in nevertheless another battle, first by finish the c ontest by stringing his bow and shoots an arrow with it into the twelve lined up go perfectly. Then he transforms back into his normal self and kills all the suitors, ending the drama. Compareing both of their magic flight, it is a much tougher task for Odysseus as it is Physically more demanding. Pi’s last challenge is shaver and it causes us to wonder the validity of his entire journey. However he is still instead physically and mentally drained. Therefore, while Odysseus showed his physical ability once again Pi is obviously suffering in a more profound way filled with grief and future uncertainty.\r\nThese two characters both showed strong characteristics to complete their journeys, and while they shared similar stages there is more savvy towards Pi due to his loss of innocence. By examining the Separation, Initiation, and Departures, they all include important stages for the hero to move on. The general process seems to be that the hero leaves his home to a new unf amiliar place, gains experience / skill, and returns home with donation or new knowledge. With these said, though Pi and Odysseus’ adventures shared similar plots, it is important to spot that Pi is a single person surviving on the raft, with no other companions other than the Royal Bengal tiger. On the other hand Odysseus has his crew throughout some of his journey. It can be argued that Pi had a tougher time at the sea, but to be fair Pi is only 16, whereas Odysseus is an bragging(a) stranded out wild for many years. His exploits were exciting and entertaining but his temperament had no depth. Pi is much more vulnerable and he elicits our pity. Because he is so clever, poetic and even humorous at time, he is more appealing to us throughout the extraordinary challenges.\r\n'