How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
I was giving up. I would have given up – if a voice hadn't made itself heard in my heart. The voice said, "I will not die. I refuse it. I will make it through this nightmare. I will beat the odds, as great as they are. I have survived so far, miraculously. Now I will turn miracle into routine. The amazing will be seen every day. I will put in all the hard work necessary. Yes, so long as God is with me, I will not die. Amen." (2.53.5)
Each day Pi survives is a miracle. We watch as Pi's daily routine of survival takes on the quality of spiritual exercises like prayer or fasting. His feasts, especially turtle blood, become sacramental. The everyday – at least if you're on a lifeboat for 227 days – is miraculous.
Quote #5
It was Richard Parker who calmed me down. It is the irony of this story that the one who scared me witless to start with was the very same who brought me peace, purpose, I dare say even wholeness. (2.57.1)
Richard Parker, the creature who constantly threatens Pi's life, eventually provides Pi with rich companionship. Pi takes a major tribulation and turns it into a spiritual gift. It's as if Pi is also saying: God, who has a very, very forbidding presence, can be peace, wholeness, and a lot of other happy things.
Quote #6
I had to stop hoping so much that a ship would rescue me. I should not count on outside help. Survival had to start with me. In my experience, a castaway's worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little. Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one's life away. (2.58.9)
You can imagine reading a slightly altered version of this passage in a mystical text: "Reside in your own soul. Peace is within. Keep to the task at hand and the spirit will follow. To do what is immediate and close at hand is to experience God." OK. We admit we're getting a little carried away. But Life of Pi does at times seem like a survival manual for the spirit. And this is one of those times.