The Value of Life

In my life, I have often been told that life is a gift.  It is something you shouldn't waste, but a thing to make the best of.  I have been told that all life has value, from the smallest to the largest of animals.  However, something I always wondered was how we determined the value of life.  Often, humans think that our lives are more important or more worth saving than those of other animals.  This is shown in the book, Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  This book has caused me to look deeper into the value of life and helped me understand society a little better.

In the book, Pi's father takes Pi and his brother to the tiger's cage to teach them a lesson.  He makes them watch Mahisha the tiger tear apart a defenseless goat in order to show a his sons how dangerous tigers and other animals can be and teach them not to try and go near dangerous animals.  Later, Pi's father tells his wife, "Gita, my bird, it's for their own sake.  What if Piscine had stuck his hand through the bars of the cage one day to touch the pretty orange fur?  Better a goat than him, no?"  This line stood prominent to me because he is implying that his son's life is more valuable than a goat.  And for this, I agree and disagree.  I agree that it would be more heart-wrenching for Pi to die than for a goat. So many care about him and he affects so many lives, while the goat may not.  However, who are we to say that the goat's life is inferior?  If life is a gift to all, then shouldn't we treat it equally for all?

Overall, this makes me think that we judge the value of an organism's life not by cherishing the gift, but by determining the impact the plant or animals has on our own lives.  The connection or love for something may be the difference between saving or diminishing it.  For example, would you choose to save the pretty purple flower or the ugly thorny one?  And for humans, would you choose the hated murderer or the kind earth-loving child?  In conclusion, I think that many weigh the lives of creatures based on our personal connection or feeling towards them.  This is why Pi's father would obviously choose him over a goat.