Life of Pi: How can restrictions be liberating?

Restrictions can be liberating in many ways. If you know what your restrictions are then you have don't have to worry about as many things and you have less choices to make. In some cases choices can be tedious and hard, but if you have restrictions you have limited choices and solutions to choose from, and you are forced to pick the best one.
In Pi's case, the restrictions are drastic. He was in the middle of the pacific ocean, on a lifeboat with a huge tiger and limited supplies for more than 200 days. Because of Pi's restrictions, he had to liberate his mind of the struggles of society and focus on surviving. He didn't have people to tell him to choose a god. Pi had enough restrictions that he had the opportunity to be free. He could pray to whoever he wanted whenever he wanted with out society or a person clinging to his back and dragging him down all the time.
Pi had to find out a way to liberate himself from the restrictions of Richard Parker(the tiger). With the small amount of resources he had and his mind he started training the tiger and he also made a raft to liberate himself the dangers of the tiger. Being trapped on the lifeboat let Pi pray to whoever he wanted.Because of Pi's restrictions, he learned more about himself, about animals, and the ocean. Restrictions can be liberating, mentally and physically.

LIfe of Piu

In "The Life of Pi", restriction was very liberating. Being stuck on the life boat in the middle of the ocean with no one around except for Richard Parker was very stressful, but I think the stress of wild tiger, Richard Parker, saved Pi's life. Besides living with this constant threat, having the tiger on the boat with him gave Pi something to take care of, feed, and train. If Pi had been alone for all that time without something besides himself to take care of he might have lost his mind. The restriction of having to be so close to a wild animal for such a long time, actually kept Pi going. By living through the stress, Pi survived to live his life. Richard Parker was Pi's main lifeline.

I think that having the boundaries that Pi has is actually very helpful to him. By having the restrictions that he does, such as the very small boat and the ocean and Richard Parker it helps him to stay sane on his long journey. For example he uses R.P as a huge distraction for him self. He uses the training and taming of R.P and fishing and praying and such to help himself keep boundaries and work through it.

Being limited and restricted in the Life of Pi is actually helpful to Pi. I think that because Pi had the restriction of first of all being on a small life boat, and  also Richard Parker being restriction it was easier for Pi to create his bounderies.Because he had these restrictions he is able to have an environment that it is easier to wrap his mind around and helps him to be able to concentrate on keeping himself sane. For example he uses Richard Parker as a huge distraction for himself with training R.P and keeping himself a live by fishing and praying and such.

Life of Pi

Restrictions in Life of Pi can be liberating because when Pi was in the boat with Richard parker he decided that he needed to stay away from him to stay alive, Because of this he built the other, smaller life boat and let it trail along behind the bigger life boat. This later came to save his life because it added anchor to the life boat making it so that it went the same direction as the waves. This restriction also allowed for Pi to look at Richard Parker from a distance, allowing him to later establish his territory and figure out ways to tame him.

The time Pi's father showed him the tiger being fed the goat also acted as another restriction to Pi. This added a greater sense of caution and fear when looking and interacting with the tiger later in the book made Pi liberated from the constant danger by being more cautious when taming Richard parker which then led him to surviving throughout the book.

Ristriction can be liberating in the life of Pi because his ristriction in the life boat teaches Pi that with every ristriction there is also an expansion. For example when Pi is ristricted on the life boat with Richard Parker he come up with some very creative ways of avoiding the tiger, and eventually teaching Richard Parker that he is the super alfa by makeing loud nouse. Also the fact that Pi starts out on the life boat very religous and when he ends he is not so religous.

Pi and Richard Parker

When Pi is out on sea he is stuck on the life boat with the Richard Parker. And Pi feels trapped so every day he prays one to three times a day. Praying helps pi forget his emotions about losing his family and having hope of surviving. I think even though Pi is scared of Richard Parker he feels that the tiger is helping him with his emotions and of being lonesome and trapped on the life boat. Pi having to spend time on the life boat gave him time to pray and helped him find a few moments to forget his worries and go to a place in his mind were he could be free.

August 29, 2010 12:48 PM

How Can Restrictions be Liberating?

In my own personal opinion all restrictions can be liberating in a way, consciously or unconsciously, because they can take the question and the choices out of certain situations. At the zoo the animals may be in captivity, but the choices about food, housing, water, ect.. have been taken out of their lives which liberates them from those questions and/ or problems in their everyday life. This is, in my opinion, why the bear that escapes comes back to the zoo after a little while. The bear cannot survive regular life in the wild anymore because as a result of being liberated from those choices they have been forced to accept a certain life style.

Later in the book when Pi is on the lifeboat he has his own liberation. To sum it up quickly he is liberated from his religions. After an extended time on the lifeboat he decides that god has left him and he is suddenly liberated from all the beliefs and rules of religion. He no longer has to follow the specific and concrete guidelines and is open to believe what he wants to.

First, I think that restriction is something that we in our mind create for ourselves. There are many stories of animals allowed out of their cages (by doors being left open ex) but choose to stay in their cages because it is their home. The animals do not consider them selves restricted. We can choose to consider ourselves restricted or free. So in that way, one could say that pi was never really restricted. If he had considered the life boat as his home ( as he eventually does) he would not have thought he was caged in. However one can not argue with the fact that pi was physically limited to the life boat. This could be liberating mentally because he is finally given time to think. As an effect pi's beliefs do change.

Also, in pi's youth his parents did not allowed him near Richard Parker. It makes sense, what father would want his son near a 400-pound tiger. However, on the life boat pi is free to interact with Richard Parker as he pleased. One could argue that being forced with Richard Parker was just another restriction but i don't think pi viewed it that way. In fact, pi says that he would not have survived with out Richard Parker. Witch brings me back to my earlier point that restriction and freedom change based on how one looks at it.

When Pi was growing up he had lots of freedom to roam around the zoo but he also had restrictions, like his dad showed him with the tiger and the goat. When Pi is trapped on the boat he realizes that he isn't the only one trapped in a cage, he is trapped just like all the animals in the zoo. When he is trapped on the boat he is restricted in the way that he cant leave, but he has the liberty to think and relax. he doesnt have anyone bothering him or telling him what to do. he has the freedom to just sit and do nothing. Also on the boat Pi was able to be all the religions he wanted, as to before he was restricted to his practicing's back home.

Life Of Pi

Although as a young child Pi was always introverted, his mental prospect in life was affected and produced by his upbringing. Pi's father, Santosh, knew little of Pi's personal aspects of life, he did, however, give Pi lessons at the zoo which affected him greatly. These lessons were coveted by Pi and shaped his thinking as he grew older. Pi grew up with the idea that animals were better off in the zoo than at the mercy of nature. He believed that within a territory supplied with all of the survival props that an animal will be content and will feel liberated from the task of survival despite the obvious restrictions. By carrying these ideas back from Pondicherry and onto the boat he was able to find liberty. Although it took him a while to fully appreciate the things that liberated him within the boat, he soon realized that within it he did posses liberty. However, his experience was quite unlike that of the zoo animals. He had no people to care for him, he had no instant gratification of hunger and in order to survive it was necessary for him to take on numerous amount of survival chores. Nevertheless he had a full supply of fresh meat within the ocean with complete economic freedom, he had the freedom from societal constraints and the freedom of religion.

The life of Pi - Restrictions

When Pi was a young child he was able to learn from the zoo that his father owned. He learned that animals had their own boundairies and he learned not to go over an animals comfort zone.

That knowledge helped him survive many months on a boat with a Bengal tiger. Pi was able to leave Richard Parker alone and keep out of the ferocious beast's way, that allowed Richard Parker to get used to Pi's presence. Once the tiger got used to a human, Pi made lots of noise and big gestures to show Richard Parker that he was the dominant male. Because Pi had worked with restriction of animals he was able to understand Richard Parker's boundaries.


Pi also faces many hard challenges when he is forced to go against his nature to survive. He must eat meat even though he is a vegetarian. However, being alone on this small ship made him free to question life, death and religion. Pi no longer had any restrictions, even though he was physically captive in a small area he was able to let his mind wonder over the vast seas.


Pi learned that to know your restrictions helps you learn and observe your freedom.

Life of Pi

While Pi was restricted in the lifeboat, he was liberated to be who he wanted to be. He was told that he couldn't be more than his religion, but while he was trapped on the boat, he was able to follow and religion he wanted, even multiple religions. It also liberated him to do whatever he wanted. As long as he didn't enter Richard Parker's territory, and didn't get Richard Parker angry, he could do anything he wanted without having any parents to tell him off.

The fact that Pi was able to survive for close to 2 years is absolutely amazing. But he wouldn't have been able to live that long, if it wasn't for Richard Parker,the fact that Pi lived on this lifeboat with a 400-pound bengal tiger is simply incredible. Pi was able to survive simply by his ability to think about how to create a survival tent and to create tools out the items that he could find in the lifeboat and sea.

Pi created a life raft so that way he could have more freedom,because while he was on the lifeboat he had about 12-15 feet of space because the rest of it was Richard Parker's area. And to increase the size of his space he made the raft. But eventually he started thinking "well if I'm going to share the same area with this tiger, then i may as well show him that I'm the alpha male. Then maybe I'll get some more space." So Pi took the whistle he found in the locker that he found, in an attempt to increase his restriction on the raft and boat. So eventually by doing this enough he train Richard Parker to allow him to stay and move a bit more around the boat without growling as much at Pi for intruding on his already small space.
The only way that Pi had made it so that he could have more space with the whistle trick is that he had remembered while he was at the zoo he had helped his father train these animals and he had lived with them. And while in the zoo the animals felt secure and not as frightened of what was going to happen to them or frightened of the outside world. But once outside demonstrated by all of the animals, they started doing things that they had been born to be.
So it shows us that the more restriction that we have, the better we feel, the less we have, the more insecure we start feeling about actual life, or a life that involves us living otuside of our parents care.

The fact that Pi grew up in a zoo is very beneficial to what happens to him. With the freedom aspect, the whole concept of a zoo is the opposite of freedom-restriction. Watching captivity and restriction in action makes freedom easier to understand. When you know the reaction of restriction, and what it does to something, you understand better what it means to be free and the difference freedom and restriction. And even us as humans are animals, and are so similar in so many ways to the creatures that live in captivity. This makes it easier for us to understand them. Because the more someone knows the less scared we are to learn more. So the more Pi knew about these animals and what captivity did to their heads, the more he knew how to deal with being in the same situation. So knowing the feeling of being free, taught him how to deal with being captive.
I think that the fact that Pi is exposed to so many ways of life in the zoo, through each kind of animal, he grew to realize that he should have a way of life. He also realized that everyone was different. So why should he just choose one way of life to follow? Why not explore many ways of life, and create one of his own? I think he realized that even if someone is captive physically, they can still shape how they react, live and think. So he thought that even though he isn’t captive physically, why be captive mentally? Then when he finds himself physically captive, he knows how to protect himself from becoming mentally captive, and chooses to not allow his mind to be seized by really pondering what he has learned throughout his life in the zoo and religious studies.

Pi lifeboat

Restrictions meant to keep the animals in in the Pondicherry zoo have the side effect of keeping predators out. For the herbivores this liberates them from having to look over their shoulder afraid of predators. For the predators since they can't hunt they have their food given to them and thus this liberates them from wasting energy hunting. Pi does somthing simmilar with the life jacket raft he imprisons himself to protect himself from Ricard Parker liberating him enough to fish and desalinate water.

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Life of Pi

Restriction is sometimes something that each of us creates for ourselves as a measure of comfort. No matter where are, we naturally try to adjust our situation to make it suit our needs and likes. Using Pi's example, what would you do if a stranger burst into your home, pushed you out, and said "you are free?" Most people wouldn't be happy about that since each of us instinctively searches for and claims a territory in which we may be at peace. Liberation can only come if you have some measure of tranquility. Pi found his when he had achieved a system to gain his basic necessities and a whistle-blowing procedure to alert Richard Parker of his alpha status. At that point he was able to take up his religious practices again, and reflect about his life. The restriction gave Pi something to push against to create freedom.

Life of Pi

During the period that Pi is stuck on the boat, he is physically restricted to an area of maybe 10 square feet, because he is in the middle of the ocean, and Richard Parker's "territory" is on the other side of the boat. He doesn't have the ability to exercise or do things he would normally do when not stranded, and hes is limited to the occasional turtle wrestling as a workout. Because of this limitation, he has much time to think about everything, so he is liberated in the mind, similar to how a monk or guru will find a sacred and hard to reach place where they can meditate, except Pi does not really have a choice in the matter. He starts to lose belief in a greater power such as god or allah, because he wonders what god would put him through such suffering.

Life of PI

By Pi being restricted from his living space, his familly and his religion through out this novel he changed. First he was resticted from his religion. He was told multiple times by multiple people he could not be a Christian, Hindu, muslim boy. But he was. That is what he realized, and this was a liberating experience for him. He found freedom in being able to choose his own beliefs and being supported by his parents.

Pi was resticted from his family by being stranded on a life boat with a 400 pound bangle tiger. Because his family wasnt on the boat to tell him what to do he learned more about him self. For example, his mother was a strict vegiterian and i think if she was on the baot with him he would never be able to kill a fish or turtle, even to save his life. when he killed that first flying fish it was liberating to him . he was forsed to kill another animal to save him self he felt like a "savage" but had to, to servive and he knew sevival had to come fisrt.

He was also resticted from not only his house but also was was restricted from the actual life boat. He stayed of a raft he made himself because of the fear he had from Richard Parker. He servived on the raft, but also knew he could not servive on it forever. He knew that the life boat was a much safer place. When Pi decided to train Richard Parker he felt liberated to make a choise for servival and he did not give up on that decision even when Richared Parked tried to attack him. By the end of the book he was the "alfamale" and was no longer scared of Richard Parker.

Life of Pi

Restriction in Life of Pi can be liberating because for Pi, being restricted is not such a bad thing. It allows him to imagine things beyond his upbringing, and broadens his mind and way of thinking beyond his age. For example, when Pi becomes a part of three different religions, it's not because someone had told him to do that or that that was a good thing to do, yet he still finds each one facinating and wants to become a part of them because that's his way of thinking. For Pi restriction is not only liberating, its intriguing for his mind.

In Life of Pi the restrictions can be liberating because although Pi has immaginary walls around him and is mentally restricted by these barriers, it is instinct and human nature that when people are born someplace and grow up there, that is their home, it has everything they need, and it is safe. The whole time Pi is in the boat he is thinking about his life and ways of surviving. He learns from his father that these animals are dangerous, but he also learns from the strories about the animals who didn't escape when their cage was open, and if they did thay came right back. They came back because it was home, after all the time they spent in the zoo, they weren't ready for the outside and the cages weren't restricted places anymore because they wanted to be there. Pi sees there is a trust bond between the owner or workers and the animals. The animal knows that if they escape they won't have a source of food or a home anymore and it would be disloyal to the owners or workers. It is a kind of give and take situation between them. After all Pi learns a lot from this experience and learns to survive in a boat with a 450 Bengal Tiger. The fact that Pi could go no where allowed him to see past doing and creating but opening his mind to thoughts, ideas and so much more.
So in the end i think that restriction is just a word for being free but in your own space.

In life of Pi, restriction can be liberating (especially in the boat) because even though the boat is a prison of sorts, it is also shelter from the elements.
In the zoo, Pi's father's rules and lessons, such as the tiger/goat incident, seemed harsh. However, they helped Pi be much more cautious of Richard Parker later in the book, probably saving his life in the long run.

Restriction can be liberating in Life of Pi because of the sudden change that Pi experiences. Pi had a fairly free and stable life before his whole world was turned upside down. The boat sank and he was stuck on a life boat with a tiger and could do nothing about it, he was restricted. During this time he had more time to reflect about his life and to accept new ideas. Restriction can liberating because it gives one time to pause, be still, and think of things differently. This could lead to redefining what one believes.

Question #1:

How can restriction be liberating in Life of Pi? Think of Pi's upbringing in Pondicherry, the lessons of the zoo, or Pi's time in the lifeboat when you are responding.