Search for Purpose

A person's purpose in life can be hard to discover, yet everyone goes through the search. Pi's whole trip is symbolically his search for purpose and meaning in life; it's his journey from childhood to adulthood. Pi discovers himself on the ocean, and, in a more literal sense, finds a purpose through Richard Parker. Richard Parker keeps Pi busy one the boat and distracts Pi from his other hardships. "I started thinking seriously about how I was going to deal with Richard Parker... I couldn't always be running away from him... It was my rights I needed, the sort of rights that come with might. It was time to impose myself and carve out my territory." (Martel, 255) Here, Pi decides he how he must fulfill the purpose of taming Richard Parker.  By doing this, the sense of purpose allows Pi distraction from the fear and struggle of his journey.


 Pi's search for purpose is similar to those of many characters from other stories. In the novel, The Pursuit of Happyness, author Chris Gardener writes a story of a man who is living on the streets with his young son. The man's sense of purpose in life is to provide for his son and make his son happy. This is a difficult task for him, as he fails to find a job, despite his intelligence. It is his sense of purpose that allows him distraction from his own challenges and enables him to continue searching for employment. In the end, he fulfills his purpose by finding a well-paying job and is overcome with happiness. Similarly to how Pi feels when he tames Parker.

"... to be truly happy, we need a sense of purpose or meaning that is outside of ourselves." (Sense of Purpose) Different people have different goals in life. For instance, some people feel the need to help others and may become doctors, human rights activists, scientists, human aids workers, etc.  Personally, I am still trying to find out what my sense of purpose is. Soon I will need to decide what I want to do in the future, but with so many options it is hard to figure out will make me happy. In the past year I've wanted to be a veterinarian, a real estate agent, an architect and business women. Obviously I am still very indecisive. However, since it is in our nature, everyone goes through this struggle, Pi included.