The saying "desperate times call for desperate measures" is true to a point. In Yann Martel's award-winning novel Life of Pi, characters take drastic measures to survive while stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. During his journey, the main character, Pi Patel, endures many hardships and witnesses numerous deaths. Significantly, the death of the zebra accompanying Pi and the other animals establishes a generalization of human nature as sophisticated but inherently vicious in terms of methods of survival. Being the least threatening of animals, the zebra has a connection with all organisms on earth. boat therefore his death provokes mixed reactions. When the hyena kills the zebra, it does so in a barbaric and cruel way. Although the hyena killing the zebra can be seen as an action driven by the desire to live, the zebra was “eaten alive from the inside” by the hyena and lived painfully for days in “an attempt] at self-preservation” (Martel 125). ). The zebra suffers a long, drawn-out death caused by the hyena. Although Elsie Cloete wonders "if animals can suffer", it is obvious that the zebra does through its actions. The animal even "lifts its head upward, as if appealing to heaven" to take away the pain it is feeling (Martel 126). Because the hyena kills the zebra in such an unconventional way, it is easy to see the cruel side becoming predominant in the hyena's character, due to its ruthless and ruthless actions towards the zebra and its ways of consuming it. Furthermore, once the zebra finally dies, the orangutan, Orange Juice, becomes violent towards the hyena. Since Orange Juice acts as a mother figure and tries to defend the zebra, the death of...... middle of the paper. .....human ability to be rational and civilized by not using violent means in the situation in question Thus, Pi is humanity's subconscious will to remain passive and ultimately good, when broken down into human forms, the passengers exemplify different levels of reaction to the sailor's death and also the complexity of the human mind found throughout humanity. Survival versus death triggers various subconscious reactions. In the zebra's death scene, all the characters react and transform in different ways due to the power and control over their minds. When dissected, each character's actions give insight into the rational and cruel factors of the human mind. Ultimately, death is a component that alters the mind and behavior of human beings. Works Cited Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. New York: Harcourt, 2001. Print.