A Story that makes you Believe

I think this post may actually address two different prompts with the same answer, so it's like a double post! In "The Things They Carried" Tim O'Brien makes the statement, "It comes down to gut instinct. A true war story, if truly told, makes the stomach believe" (Pg 74). I think this could be used to analyze "Life of Pi' as well, which could be seen as a war story--a personal war against death and insanity and extreme human suffering. The story of Pi is outrageous and fantastic; is it true? There's no way to know. But does the story move us? Does it get into our guts and make us feel it and hope it really is true? For me, yes definitely. This is a story to make one feel hope and pride in the power of the human spirit and what is possible in all of us. This story makes me want to believe it because it inspires me and elevates me, and if I didn't believe it I wouldn't have that feeling. I think that's also the point of the statement "And so it goes with God." We could choose to not believe in God because there's no proof, or we could choose to believe in something higher than ourselves, something that can be magical and fantastic and awe-inspiring, because it enriches our lives to believe so. If we have the choice to believe or not believe--in Pi and in God--I think this book is saying Believe!! And I do.