In Life of Pi, what's a good thesis for the theme "Coming of Age?""Coming of Age": Defining moments in our lives.

The "coming of age" novel is called a "Bildungsroman."
This is when the main character matures, has moments of self-discovery and this can
involve a mental and/or physical journey.

In Life
of Pi, you have a situation where the main character finds himself in a
situation where he must “come of age” in order to survive. “Coming of age” frequently
means a progression from childhood to adulthood and usually takes place during
adolescence. It can refer to sexual maturity, the age of self-awareness and
responsibility or it is marked by some ritual or life event. In Pi’s case, his defining
moments are the events he endures subsequent to the ship sinking. His “coming of age”
moment is not just a typical progression of child to adult. If the ship had made it to
Canada, he would have had a difficult time at first, being an immigrant, but he would
have been faced with the typical rigors of being a teenager, dealing with his peers and
learning about himself and the world.

But Pi was forced to
come of age in order to survive; not just “fit in.” So, his defining moment is quite
different than the typical sexual, legal or responsible maturity. If you want to pursue
this thesis, the basic premise is that Pi’s development was based on survival and
finding meaning during that difficult time. I’ve often heard that kids who have tough
childhoods or trouble fitting in “survive” high school. This is hyperbolic because their
lives were not in danger. It’s just that certain pressures can seem overwhelming and
this is a period of physical and mental change in a person’s life, so this period is
just downright dramatic. Pi’s case is just atypical. His defining moment has nothing to
do with social pressure or pressure from his parents to be a certain way as a young
adult. In fact, any and all pressure during his time at sea comes from himself. He must
rely on what he’s learned (from his parents and teachers) in order to survive.
Ultimately, he must rely on himself and he must in fact pressure himself, keep himself
on his toes in order to survive. His “coming of age” has nothing to do with conformity
or dealing with social and cultural rules. It has everything to do with
self-preservation and finding meaning in the act of
survival.

I suppose, in a sense, he has to get along with
Richard Parker, to stay alive. But this is not the same as “fitting in.” Whereas most
kids learn their niche or reach some level of maturity that is recognized by society and
their peers, Pi learned how to survive on his own. This defining moment doesn’t really
have the socially recognized status that one gets when one loses their virginity, gets a
driver’s license, votes, gets married or buys a house, but I would argue that defining
moments like Pi’s trumps all of these.