The novel Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, tells the life of Piscine Molitor Patel, an Indian boy who lived in Pondicherry in the 1970s. Piscine Patel also known as Pi Patel, strangely practices three religions at the same time; Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Piscine's father is a hard-working individual who runs a zoo and owns a wide variety of animals. At the beginning of the novel, Piscine's father has to sell his zoo to an American company, so they can move to Canada. The ship carrying the zoo animals capsizes and Piscine emerges as the only human survivor. The rest of the story is about Pi and his strenuous trials on a lifeboat, with an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger. The novel Life of Pi is sometimes compared to the film The Old Man and the Sea, directed by John Sturges. I can understand why, as there are similar elements present in both stories. The Old Man and the Sea recounts the solitary struggle of a Cuban fisherman with a gigantic Marlin. There are some similarities between Martel's novel and Sturges' film, including the loneliness both main characters experience during the journey. Both stories also depict the feelings of hatred felt by the protagonists towards the animal they were with; and indeed both Life of Pi and The Old Man and the Sea emphasize the importance of perseverance and show that without perseverance a person's life will surely end in defeat. As the only human survivor, Piscine Patel experienced a great sense of loneliness. Pi was traveling to Canada with his family when the ship he was on, the Tsimtsum, capsized and left Pi stranded in a lifeboat with zoo animals accompanying him. As Pi himself said "I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, han...... middle of paper ...... victorious in the end. Literary critics have found similarities between the novel Life of Pi and the film The Old Man and the Sea.These notions proved to be true as I also found three key elements present in both the novel and the film Loneliness, perseverance, and feelings of hatred that quickly turn into feelings of respect, are all very elements important that can be found in both stories. Pi and the Cuban fisherman face very similar trials and it is not surprising that they also have similar elements present in their characteristics. Yann Martel and John Sturges have done a great job of presenting these elements in their stories, as I believe they improved the overall quality of the stories. Works Cited1 Martel, Yann. Life of Pi United States: Wheeler, 20032 The Old Man and the Sea. 1958