Life of Pi; Literary Analysis

...

Alike to Ernest Hemingway’s novel: The Old Man and the Sea, both novels talk about a quarrel between beast and man, where Pi and Richard (The tiger) struggle to survive and control the lifeboat. The novel shows that Pi and the fisherman learn to get along because they each have moments of suffering, strength and of resolution. The novel also accentuates a great choice: endurance until the last moment or destruction and to face the inevitable; this ultimatum proves Pi’s status as heroic. The book is divided onto 3 parts. Part one is set in 1996 where a Canadian writer decides to head to Bombay, India. There, he plans to write a novel. At first he doesn’t succeed much, so he continues the search in order to find a better story to write. He ends up in a town named Pondicherry, at a coffeehouse, where he meets an old man named Mr. Adirubasamy. The old man tells him that he has "a story that will make you believe in God." Of course intrigued, the man decides to listen to Mr. Adirubasamy’s story and go to Pi Patel. Pi was a 42-year-old Indian man, who was a scholar residing in Toronto, Canada. Pi tells the writer his story through a narrating matter. Pi recounts his studies in religion and zoology; he also talks about his past and bizarre childhood. He claims that he was the son of a zookeeper in India. Pi begins talking about the many animals that had surrounded him, how his father showed him how dangerous animals were, and the bullying he’d been through in his school years because of his original name, Piscine. Pi says that he renamed himself later on after the math symbol (π.) Pi tells the writer about his interest in different religious views that had involved many encounters. When Pi was younger, he’d visited a temple that made him fall in love with Hinduism, then that he visited a church and became interested in Christianity, and finally after encountering a Muslim, he’s lead to Islam. Pi then begins to practice each religion, feeling that he has a desire to understand God. When Pi reaches the age of 16, in the year 1977, his parents decide to flee the country and take along with them the zoo animals.

The writer also tries to narrate Pi’s current content adult life, where Pi is happily married, has two children, still is strong toward his religious beliefs, and is a vegetarian. Pi shows the writer some pictures of his family and a picture of Richard Parker, the tiger.

Part 2 starts off with the narration of Pi in the midst of The Pacific Ocean. Tsimtsum, the ship that carries Pi, his family and animals, suddenly sinks without a warning. After the storm, Pi ends with animals on a lifeboat: A hyena, zebra, orangutan, and tiger. The animals kill each other, until Pi is left alone with Richard Parker, a 450-pound Tiger. Pi is left feeling afraid and alone, having just lost his entire family.

As Pi’s first week out at sea passes, he begins to lose hope of being rescued. He finds some supplies and begins constructing a raft, in order to avoid Richard, although, he finds himself having to tame him if Pi wants to survive. Luckily some of Pi’s expertise in animal life guides him. Although, Pi is a vegetarian, having finished all food supply, he finds himself having to slaughter fish and turtles for food.

As months pass by, Pi becomes more lonely, hopeless, thirsty, and extremely hungry. Pi begins relying on his religious faith to keep him company. Pi takes account for the beauty and danger of the ocean. Feeling that he is near death, plus feeling that he was temporarily blinded by malnutrition, he begins to hear voices and responds to them. The voices are of two other castaways, of which one (a blind Frenchman) attempts to kill Richard for his supplies. Richard Parker ends up killing the man.

A few days later, Pi and Richard come across an algae island. Pi is overwhelmed and excited by the land’s vegetation and water. They find many meerkats residing on the island. Having felt happy, Pi later comes across a horrifying discovery. The algae ponds killed someone because they are carnivorous. Pi decides to leave with Richard on the Boat again.

Days pass again; Pi and Richard reach a coast of Mexico. Richard ends up running far away. Pi is a bit sad, but feeling thankful that he’d finally found land. Pi comes across some village women who take care of him up until two police come and take him to a hospital. Part 3 begins at Pi’s hospital room, while being interviewed by two men about the shipwreck. Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba ask Pi about what happened. They don’t believe him, so Pi tells them another version where instead of having animals on the lifeboat, he survived with a cook, a sailor, and his mother, who all get murdered. The interviewers realize that his second story seems very similar to the first. Pi asks them which story they believe is better, so they chose the original version with the animals. Mr. Okamoto then applauds Pi on his official report, for surviving with a tiger.

Yann Martel introduces a set of great symbolic characters, but most important is Pi (Piscine Molitor Patel) the main character whom has his name on the book title. He is raised in India, then later heads too Canada. During his time spent in India as a child, his family had owned a Zoo. Having endured poor economic and political states in the country, his family tries to immigrate by ship to Canada. Along the way, a terrifying storm hits, the ship sinks. Days after, Pi wakes up on a lifeboat with a few animals, including a fully-grown tiger. As time passes and he survives, Pi eventually lands in Mexico and tell his story.

Throughout the story, the second most important character, The Author (narrator) speaks. The Author is a Canadian man residing in India, after he’d heard about Pi’s story; he decides to interview him then later considers him as a friend. By the end of the story Pi retells his journey.

In India, The Author meets a character named Mr. Adirubasamy at a coffee house who tells him about Pi. This was The Author’s incentive in order to go and meet Pi. Mr. Adirubasamy tells The Author that Pi’s story will make him believe in the existence of god. He also tells him Pi’s full name and the origin behind it.

During Pi’s journey, he shares the lifeboat with Richard Parker (aka Thirsty.) Richard is a fully-grown tiger that had originally came from Pi’s family Zoo. Initially, Richard was named Thirsty, but due to a clerical error on Richards’s official form, his name was obviously written differently. Along the ending of the novel, when the boat reaches Mexico, Richard runs off into the wilds and is never seen again.

Santosh Patel was the owner of the zoo and Pi’s father. He is an affectionate and reasonable man. He sought to cultivate his children,