Life Of Pi Bildungsroman Analysis

Life of Pi as a Bildungsroman
By definition, a bildungsroman is a coming of age story. There are many great examples of bildungsromans throughout history, such as The Odyssey, by Homer. They show how a journey can cause a character to mature in several different ways without the character noticing it. When viewed through the correct lens, Yann Martel’s Life of Pi could be considered to be a bildungsroman because throughout the story, Pi grows and matures as a character, both socially and psychologically. At the beginning of the story, it would appear that Pi is trying to determine the kind of person he wants to be as he grows up, to find his identity, so to speak. This is first hinted at when Pi discusses his struggles throughout grade school, especially being nicknamed “Pissing” Patel. Displeased with this nickname, Pi sets out to create a new identity for himself at Petit Seminaire by demanding that everyone shorten his name to Pi, instead of Piscine. As Part One progresses, Pi’s attitude of rebellion stays strong. Some could argue that Pi takes part in three religions at once out of rebellion. His approach is to combine the elements he found important from Islam, Catholicism, and Hinduism. As one would predict, this causes much distress among Pi’s parents and the religious personnel involved from each religion when they ended up converging by accident. When he and his family are ready to board the Tsimtsum, Pi is a little rattled due to his family having to leave