“Banana Symbolism: Finding Pi’s Cultural Identity”
Symbolism and motifs are some of the most captivating and complex elements of any novel, as they are woven deep into the invisible seams of the author’s imagination, an egregious labyrinth of analytical anguish. In Yan Martel’s classic novel, Life of Pi, he not only infuses the plot with countless motifs, but also casts a paralytic veil of allegories like a coat with too many pockets over the mysterious plot. Of the vast oceans of symbolism and motifs, bananas, iconic, vintage fruit of zoology, afford a less obvious, yet strictly essential connection to the plot’s largest theme. Martel first slyly introduces bananas during one of Pi’s childhood retributions of his unctuous brother, Ravi.…show more content… Okamoto and Mr. Chiba. Pi relates his 227 day ordeal to the two Japanese skeptics who enthusiastically refute every ambiguous and indistinct notion Pi retells. When Mr. Okamoto erroneously claimed that “bananas don’t float,” because they are “too heavy,” Pi insisted Mr. Okamoto to fill a sink with water, and then test his theory. Shocked to find the yellow fruit bobbing on the tap water, Mr. Okamoto was mortified at being wronged by a natural, undisputable observation. Martel included this seemingly superfluous argument to demonstrate that Pi not only has constructed a solid foundation of his morals and ethics, but also reveal Pi’s conviction under peer pressure. Earlier in the novel, Pi would have likely crumbled under the harsh gaze of two men assuring him that bananas were not buoyant, even if he knew their invalid opinion was ludicrous. However, his extensively arduous and avaricious ordeal hardened his indecisive persona into a steely, resolute determination, which would accept all consequences, regardless of their benefits or penalties. This appearance of bananas suggests the climax of Pi’s character development, or when his religious and cultural identity is identified to have improved the most. As each appearance of bananas signifies a major change in Pi’s character development, this final event signifies that Pi’s emotional, cultural, and religious reformation is