Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is, among other things, strongly anti-agnostic. While the book offers atheists a small amount of leeway, it condemns agnostics, deciding them to be without imagination and artistry. Pi, being of numerous faiths is, of course, a wonderful storyteller and a dedicated artist which somehow proves that agnostics aren’t either of these things.
Agnosticism is different depending on whom you ask. Some say it is a belief in God, but a statement that we cannot know the nature of God. Some people omit first half of the former definition, saying that God may or may not exist. Or, to many, it's a claim that we can never truly know if a God exists. Either way.
During the beginning of the book, Pi describes agnostics as doubtful and ignorant saying that “To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation”. He feels that agnostics are weak and unable to move forward in life however, for many agnostics, it is not about doubt and not knowing. It is about being honest that it is impossible to claim to know.
Pi is designed to be an open-minded character, not discriminating against any religion. The authors voice does shine through as it should in any book but it seems as though, Pi hardly recognizes agnosticism as a religion at all. While Pi does compare it to other religions it is almost shown to be lack of religion. What Martel fails to see is that agnosticism is not lack of wisdom, but the beginning of it.
This piece really has the proper structure of an essay that takes a strong stance against an author's theme. Your intro and conclusion especially are affective in the way they are so direct, yet not emotionally involved. When writers get too emotional in an essay, the risk is that the voice simply comes across as combative, or reactionary. You are neither, which is excellent. Your voice is intellectual, and controlled which is especially difficult to do when you have strong feelings. I would say that as a criticism, having more text evidence will make for a strnoger piece of writing, and allow you to have more power behind your message. There are other parts of the novel where Martel slams Agnosticism, and those points could have been used to drive your thesis home.
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