Life of Pi: A Journey to Self-Actualization

Author’s Note: This piece is a novel completion essay for the novel our Book Club read, Life of Pi. It is a lengthy piece, and took well over a month to complete. I worked on incorporating college level analysis on Sigmund Fraud and Abraham Maslow, Maslow being my main focus. As far as my organization, I used a specific method, the most advanced one of three methods, to organize my paper. As always, I continued to make smoother transitions, applying the A/B method.

Over the course of life's journey, we struggle to be better than we are, to be more than we are, to be the best we can imagine. Pi understood this challenge, but even more so, Pi understood that there is a need for us to be aware of the different types of motivation. Expressed as one of the many themes throughout the novel, Life of Pi, Yann Martel asks the reader to reflect on life itself; we are forced to become aware of what we are truly capable of as human beings.  We must understand ourselves and the various types of motivation that induce specific behaviors. We must understand our desires, which will lead us on the course to self actualization -- graduation to the mastery of the entire pyramid of human needs.

In order to better understand the different types of motivation, we must have a clear, defined understanding of what each level of the hierarchy of needs conveys. It is absolutely necessary according to Abraham Maslow that one must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs. The first level of Maslow's pyramid contains basic, physiological necessities such as food, water, shelter, and warmth.  These needs are also referred to as D-motives -- needs relating to survival and focusing on deficiencies. Needs relating to psychological growth and focusing on evolving into everything we are capable of becoming, being our true selves, are labeled as B-motives. Maslow's theory suggests that D-motives must be partially satisfied at the minimal before the more complex psychological needs, B-motives, influence our behavior. For example, when food and safety are difficult to find, Maslow proposes that beauty and understanding have little significance for us. The ultimate goal is self-actualization or realizing your full potential, however it is only attainable when these lower needs have been satisfied. As we travel up the pyramid, we grow and develop further as a person.

When Pi was stranded at sea, and food and safety were incredibly scarce, he was undoubtedly living in the lowest level of the hierarchy of needs; Pi sunk to extraordinary depths simply to survive. He even went as far to dismiss his religious principles as part of his decision making process. Pi was no longer a calm, innocent, vegetarian Hindu boy; he was a wild animal, who gorged on turtles and fish, beating their bodies to death with hatchets and drinking their warm blood. Pi progressively became more violent throughout the novel, as his id took over. "Tears flowing down my cheeks, I egged myself on until I heard a cracking sound and I no longer felt any life fighting in my hands … I was now a killer … I was sixteen years old, a harmless boy, bookish and religious, and now I had blood in my hands." (p 150) This was Pi's first kill, the first life he ended, yet it was not nearly his last. Pi remarked, the more kills he constituted, the easier the abolishing of innocent souls became. "You may be astonished that in such a short period of time I could go from weeping over the muffled killing of a flying fish to gleefully bludgeoning to death a dorado … It is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything, even killing." (p 198) Pi demonstrated the epitome of living in the bottom level of the hierarchy of needs; his religious beliefs became moot; beauty and understanding were far off of his radar, and life was a mere source of food rather than "sentient  [and] sacred  ... Lord, to think I'm a strict vegetarian … I descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible."  (p 161) Pi ascended from killing fish by a twist of their neck, to butchering sea turtles with his bare hands. Turtles' blood promised a nutritious, salt-free drink just like his survival manual had assured, and the simple thought of indulging on their blood tempted the now voracious Pi. His thirst began to grow exceedingly, and it was then Pi ruptured his first turtle. "As confidently as if I had done it a thousand times, I jammed the knife just to the right of the turtle's head, at an angle. I pushed the blade deep into the folds of skin and twisted it … Bright red blood shot out … I drank the blood to the last drop." (p 172)

Although every person is capable and commonly has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward a level of self-actualization, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs. Safety is a part of these lower level needs, and the main focus of the second level of the hierarchy. The second level of Maslow's pyramid contains aspects of safety including security, stability, and freedom from fear.  Maslow believed that these needs are the most basic and instinctive among the levels of the hierarchy because all needs become secondary until these physiological needs are met.  Examples of such safety and security needs include a desire for steady employment, safe neighborhoods, health insurance, and fundamental shelter.

In the novel, Pi was presented with a situation that did not provide any sense of security or safety; Pi was a helpless castaway surrounded by waves of unpredictability. However, given the standpoint, he reacted as any human being would: attempting to create a sense of order, an impervious environment where he would establish his own territory. Pi performed the precise norm of what we achieve as humans to adapt to an unfamiliar environment, to make us simply feel sound within our surroundings. "Oh, the delight of the manufactured good, the man-made device, the created thing! That moment of material revelation brought an intensity of pleasure -- a heady mix of hope, surprise, disbelief, thrill gratitude, all crushed into one … I was positively giddy with happiness." (p 205) Here, Pi finds the much hoped for emergency supply locker, and reacts with the utmost joy and pleasure. This was Pi’s reaction of satisfying, or partially satisfying, the second level of the hierarchy. Although Pi obtained safety to the best of his ability, a sense of order was still as lost as Pi was in the ocean. To meet this need, Pi made a conventional list complete with all the contents of the boat. This simple act of taking inventory was an attempt to find a sense of order. Pi's final attempt to satisfy the second level of the pyramid was to establish his territory within the boat. His territory was marked by his own vomit, feces, and urine. This action of marking his own separate environment provided a feeling of security, a feeling of prevailing a figure of authority.  By simple isolation from the dangers that surrounded Pi, execution of a fraction of the hierarchy was reached.

The next level Pi executed as he moved up the pyramid and through the novel was the need for belonging, acceptance, and love. Mastery of this level includes individualizing yourself from family and friends -- becoming your own person, and being comfortable with whoever that may be. The desire for being a part of a group, or constantly involving oneself in group based activities, is something one must overcome to satisfy the third level of the hierarchy. Other avidities present themselves in this level of the pyramid such as being involved in an affectionate relationship. When studied negatively, one becomes increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties. In everyday life, we exhibit these longings in our yearning to marry, have a family, or be a part of a community. This need is also scouted to be met when searching for a career.

Pi overcame the third level of the hierarchy through eliminating the desire to constantly please others, specifically his family. The act of practicing three religions, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, proved Pi was strong in his individuality. He was thoroughly dedicated to all three forms of religion, and practiced each regularly. "I challenge anyone to understand Islam, its spirit, and not to love it. It is a religion of brotherhood and devotion." (p 140) Although Pi grew up in a strict, Christian faith based family, he developed a variant sense of self, as expressed through Pi's proclamation. At a young age, Pi was already certain of where he stood as a person -- of what and who he believed in. "The presence of God is the finest of rewards." (p 141) And of this, Pi was certain.

When physiological, safety, and belonging needs are taken care of, a fourth layer starts to emerge.  One begins to feel the need to break away from individual groups, receive achievement recognition, and begins to respect one selves ethics and beliefs, no matter how contradicting. Within this level of the pyramid, esteem needs become increasingly important. These include the desire for activities that reflect on self-esteem, personal worth, social recognition, and individual accomplishment; esteem needs begin to play a more prominent role in motivating behavior.  Even so, satisfying this particular level involves defining who you are as a person, separate from any group you are associated with such as a career, academic groups, athletic teams, or personal hobbies.

During the beginning of the novel, when Pi is still at home in India, he begins to express his williness to separate himself from the religious motives of his family. Instead of remaining a strict Christian, Pi expands his horizons and converts to three different religions. At this point, Pi has seized the fourth level of the hierarchy by defining himself as an individual. Although his parents disapproved of the prayer rug, the worshiping of other Gods from numerous religions, and the quoting of Bapu Gandhi, Pi stayed true to what he believed in. "He seems to be attracting religions the way a dog attracts fleas … A Muslim! A devout Hindu, all right, I can understand. A Christian in addition, it's getting to be a bit strange, but I can stretch my mind … But Muslim? It's totally foreign to our tradition. They're outsiders."  (p 134) Despite Pi's parents' opinions, he continued to be an "outsider." It was not that he did not respect his parents' inclination, but rather that his personal ethics and beliefs were in a more prominent position.

This act of self service and fulfilling potential became a continuation of his growth, and therefore, PI executed the final level of the pyramid: self actualization. According to Maslow, a person is always becoming and never remains static in these terms. Even so, Pi obtained certain characteristics of a self-actualizer such as peak experiences that lead him to rise to this level of the hierarchy. Also, Pi was concerned for the welfare of humanity, capable of deep appreciation for basic life experiences, and obtained strong moral and ethical standards -- other characteristics of being, or becoming, self-actualized. In self-actualization, a person comes to find a meaning to life that is valuable to them; this is precisely what Pi achieved. Pi's accomplishment of becoming self-actualized is a life-long journey that many fail to complete; it is an execution many seek to attain, and an achievement that should not be underestimated. In fact, Maslow stated that less than two percent of the population procure self-actualization.

The act of discovering a meaning to life that is valuable to the beholder was partially represented through the character Richard Parker. Because of this wild figure, our animal side is so literally exposed in the novel:

I ate the bird’s heart, liver and lungs. I swallowed its eyes and tongue with a gulp of water. I crushed its head and picked out its small brain … The rest of the bird was skin, bone and feathers. I dropped it beyond the edge of the tarpaulin for Richard Parker … I watched sullenly as he loudly appreciated my gift and made a joyous mess of himself. (p 202)

The animal side to all of humanity is relevant because it is only when we reveal and express our true selves, our animal selves, that we reach our full potential, and become self actualized. One must realize we are all desperate, which leads us to do whatever has to be done in order to deal with the situation.

We are all violent, wild killers who operate out of fear. We are all passionate, strong, self-serving beings. We all struggle to be aware of our moral and ethical selves. Most of all, we are all animals trapped inside a civilized mind and body, trapped inside a conventional world. We tame the tiger inside of us to domesticize our id, to prevent us from doing what may be considered unethical. We are capable of anything as humans. We are far less innocent than we realize, however modern society and conventions tend to accredit us to believe otherwise. Richard Parker symbolizes the other half, the animal half, that each and every human possess, yet more often than not subdues.