Pi first explains to the Japanese investigators the story with all of the animals, however the investigators do not believe his story. They ask Pi for the real story, and Pi then tells them a story with all human characters. This story replaces the animals from the first story to a human character; Orange Juice is replaced by Pi’s mother, the hyena is replaced by a cook, the zebra is replaced by a sailor, and Pi replaces Richard Parker. The investigators find this story more believable because this story seems to be more realistic and because this story seems to match some of the investigations that they had already discovered. There are moments when people find a story hard to believe, but the moment some contents in the story are changed they can become so much more believable. For example, when a student tells their teacher that their dog ate their homework which is most likely not the real reason as to why their homework is incomplete. However, once the student changes the story and explains that their younger sibling has drawn on or misplaced their homework, their story seems to be realistic and is therefore more likely to be believed. It is often hard to determine which stories we hear are real and which are not, however it all ends up to how much of the story seems to be realistic which affects the overall outcome of people believing the story or not.
97-100: The Real Story
Pi’s Conversation With The Unknown
From the lack of food and nutrients, Richard Parker and Pi lose their sight. Pi hears a voice and begins to talk to the unknown. They begin to talk about food, and Pi first assumes that it is Richard Parker he is talking to because the unknown seems to likes meat; however Pi soon realises it is not Richard Parker because he would not have a French accent. I think Pi was talking to the cook from the second story. It cannot be Pi’s mother because she would also have an Indian accent like Pi and because the unknown mentions Pi’s mother from a third person perspective. Also, the choice of the sailor can be eliminated because if the sailor is paralleled to the zebra it would not make sense to what the unknown tells Pi. The unknown tells Pi that he has killed two people, a man and a woman. It would make sense if the unknown is the cook because the cook is described as being a foreigner which may explain the French accent and because Pi explains that the cook had killed his mother and cut off the sailor’s leg which led to his dreadful death. What the unknown is telling Pi seems to match the cook in Pi’s second story. This scene may have been added to strengthen the idea that the second story was the real story. This was also the beginning to his real moral suffering. The cook was not actually there, it was a hallucination. When Pi gains back his sight he is very confused and cannot distinguish if the conversation he had just had was real or not. This is similar to how people are often confused after waking up from a dream because they cannot identify if it had happened in their dream or if it happened in their real life.
85-89: Natural Phenomena
Throughout the journey on the boat Pi encounters several life alternating situations; however, Pi always seemed to overcome them. There are several examples of God helping and keeping Pi alive with natural phenomena. For example, when Pi and Richard Parker were in starvation a group of fish began to swim around and over Pi’s boat. When a tanker appeared in front of Pi and Richard Parker, readers as well as the characters themselves assumed that that they would get saved, however the tanker missed them. God intentionally had the tanker miss Pi and Richard Parker. He wanted to test Pi and Richard Parker, and for to Pi realise and bring out his inner strength that lay hidden within him. God believed that Pi did not need the help from him yet and was testing Pi’s faith. The journey for Pi could not be over yet, there was more that God wanted Pi to learn and realise from this tragedy such as his identity, his faith, and the limit to his strength. There are other real life examples of God not lending a hand to those in unfortunate situations. An example is Terry Fox, and what this young man was forced to go through. At the age of eighteen Fox lost his leg to cancer. No one deserves to go through such a hard life, especially at such a young age. Pi felt that being stranded on a boat with horrific animals was enough pain until the tanker misses himself and Richard Parker, this is similar to how Fox was diagnosed with bone cancer and then later on diagnosed with lung cancer. Why had God made such a young man go through pain after pain? God must have done this to make Fox realise his true inner strength, but also to make those in Canada and in the world learn something from this man’s life experience.
62-65: Praying
In chapter 63, Pi mentions how he kept himself busy and how it was the key to his survival. Being left on the raft and seeing the same scenery of the Pacific Ocean every day, Pi had to keep himself busy so he would not think about any possible torturing or horrifying incidents that may occur to him and Richard Parker. Also, staying busy made time feel like it was going by faster. Pi had a daily routine that he followed, and what he never failed to do was give his prayers five times a day. From previous events that happened to Pi throughout his journey on the raft reinforced his beliefs on God. Praying was Pi’s way of maintaining his hopes and faith both in himself and in God. For example, it is similar to when people are nervous for their presentation. Before the presentation they may keep saying to themselves “I can do this, I can do this” , knowing it will not make any direct difference at all. However, praying can ease one’s anxiety and provide them with a sense of hope and faith. Pi’s daily routine praying was psychological. There is no evidence that the praying was what directly helped Pi and Richard Parker survive 227 dreadful days, however it certainly did help Pi maintain his emotional strengths.
58-61: The Role of God
In these chapters, Martel includes some of the natural wonders that Pi encounters when he is in a time of need. In chapter 61, right when Pi is in need of food for Richard Parker and himself, a group of dorados comes jumping out of the water towards Pi. The sudden appearance of these fishes filled their hunger and helped Pi and Richard Parker survive. Throughout the story, there were many other unexpected events that occurred to Pi and Richard Parker. Martel may have done this to show the connection between faith, God, and nature. Martel is showing how God purposely makes people go through a challenging moment to test one’s true inner strength. Therefore Martel does make theological point that God comes for us in the time of need. After the unexpected source of food that Pi and Richard Parker were supplied, Pi thanks Lord Vishnu, the God in Hinduism. Pi says “Thank you, Lord Vishnu, thank you! Once you saved the world by taking the form of a fish. Now you have saved me by taking the form of a fish. Thank you, thank you” (Martel, 204-205). This can be related to people in real life, many people who are religious tend to thank God when they feel that “someone” has helped them in their time of need. Pi believes that it was nothing but God that assisted him. This dialogue by Pi shows how his beliefs on God has gotten stronger throughout his extraordinary journey on the ship.
Richard Parker was first introduced when the Tsimtsum sunk and Pi was calling out his name trying to save him. At this point most readers would assume that Richard Parker is another person who has survived. Also, Pi said things such as “Richard Parker, it’s a bad dream” (Martel, 107) and “What are you doing Richard Parker? Don’t you love life?” (108) while trying to help him. This made it sound as if Richard Parker was someone whom Pi truly cared for and trusted. However, it gets confusing to the readers because the next second Pi is trying to drown Richard Parker. It is not until chapter 41 that Martel reveals that Richard Parker is a 450 pound tiger. Until this point, I imagined Richard Parker to be a boy around the same age as Pi who is physically built, scary, and mean. I got this impression from how Pi described Richard Parker. Pi did not seem to want to associate with him. He seemed scared of his presence, especially right after he had helped him get up onto the boat. The personification of Richard Parker may be foreshadowing how Pi creates a relationship with the tiger. Perhaps Pi is starting to see the tiger not as a scary vigorous companion, but as a friend. It may also have been to create a sense of Anthropomorphism to the readers. Richard Parker seems to be an important character in the novel, a character that may affect Pi’s survival.
Pi is very faithful and always seems to have a positive outlook on life. However, when Pi is left all alone on the boat he says a speech about losing everything and being “in hell”. Pi also says “But nowhere on it could I find my family. Things floated in the water but none brought me hope. I could see no other lifeboats” (122). No matter how faithful or positive a person may be, there is always a point where they lose their hope and faith. Pi is only sixteen years old, he is still too young to be able to make his own decisions and survive on a ship alone with dangerous animals. This does not indicate that Pi is weak or unfaithful; he was just a point in his life where he could not maintain his natural emotional standards.
From a young age, Pi practised three religions. By having Pi alone, Martel was trying to make a theological point that although we may feel like we are alone God is always looking out for us. Pi was the only human being on the ship, however he was never emotionally alone. Although Pi may not have realised, God had lead Pi throughout the entire journey and had been creating a path for him to follow. This was a lesson for Pi and the readers to show how God is always looking out for us, and when in desperate time of need God will shine a light over our path helping us overcome our obstacles.
16-23: Philosophy of Faith and Happiness
Like many of the characters in Life of Pi, many people instantly believe that we are to have one belief and just that one belief only. Many people did not agree with what Pi claimed to believe; Pi practised Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. Pi was very open minded individual, he felt the need to combine all of the three religions for the belief that he truly believed in. For Pi, the philosophy of faith was very important. Pi never seemed to give up, he was always the optimistic, challenging, and positive one in his family. He never doubted that he did not have faith, having faith was his motivation throughout his childhood and also in his further life. If Pi lost his faith at any point, he would not have been able to make his commitment to moving to Canada, and he definitely would not have survived 227 days at the sea in such hard situations.
As a young child, Pi was forced to face and suffered to overcome many obstacles. Pi’s beliefs and views on religion was not understood not only from those around him but also by his parents. It is hard for a child to live happily and freely when they cannot be understood. At this point, Pi was still very young to be able to fight for his own beliefs and was rather forced to believe what others believed in and was not able to make many choices of his own.
I believe Pi will be able to find happiness. What one considers happiness is based on their own values and standards. However, after being able to overcome 227 horrific days, Pi must have developed into a physically and emotionally stronger individual. In chapter one, Pi mentions how he attended University of Toronto. He also mentions how he loves Canada, he says: “I love Canada. I miss the heat of India, the food, the house lizards on the walls, the musicals on the silver screen, the cows wondering the streets, the cows cawing, even the talk of cricket matches, but I love Canada … Anyways, I have nothing to go home to in Pondicherry” (Martel, 6). This shows how we has been able to find a place where he feels comfortable and accepted. It also seems like a big improvement for Pi to be able to attend university since his family was forced to close down their zoo because they could not make enough profit. As people get older, people have more say in what they believe and what they wish to carry on in their future. This may be having a say in the goverment, being able to choose your career, or even just being able to choose where to live. Simple things, like having this kind of freendom that Pi once never had will allow him to become happier than he was when he was a child.
In the story Life of Pi, Yann Martel makes many references to the habits and behavior of animals. Martel may have focused on the story of animal habits to support the idea of how Pi acquired knowledge on the natural aspects of life. Two of the several animal habits that are mentioned are related to their territory and routine. Pi explains how animals like to claim their own land, their ‘territory’. Animals tend to feel more relaxed when they are in their territory because they know they have less to fear of. Also, Pi explains that having a routine helps animals understand what is essential for their survival. Interestingly, these two habits can also be recognized in humans. Although we may not realize it, humans also try to find an environment in which they feel comfortable and safe. If this area is taken or has to be shared with another person, it can cause one to feel uncomfortable, angry or even threatened. We may not take it to the extent of animals and kill the person; however we may give them a dirty look or say something offensive. Just like animals, those who have a higher social status tend to be in a more stable and less threatening environment. Also, humans also tend to follow some sort of a fixed routine. For example, I normally follow this same routine mostly every day: I wake up at a certain time, go to school, come home, have a little snack, relax for a bit, do homework and go to bed. When one’s routine is disturbed, it can make them feel disoriented or make the day feel longer. There are many similarities that can be recognized between animal and human habits and behaviors, Therefore, Martel is not only explaining the habits of animals, but he is also indirectly referring to the habits of humans that Pi learned through observing the animals.
Pi’s father teaching Pi that an ‘animal is an animal’ was an important lesson for Pi. Being raised in an environment where he was always surrounded by animals caused Pi to become unaware of the dangerous sides of these animals. Pi’s father was trying to help Pi realize that although animals and humans may be similar in many ways, we are also hazardous to one another. We are to not enforce human emotions or our ways of living on animals. Pi not being able to draw the line between animals and humans is similar to how little children can not distinguish the difference between real life animals and their stuffed animals. This is why many children cry when they see the real animal of their stuffed toy, because they are not aware of the size of the real animal or how they really act. Children are naive, hence why they struggle to understand the truth hidden behind what they may have initially seen or thought.
Pi’s father tries to strain to teach Pi that Anthropomorphism is bad; however, Anthropomorphism can be good in the marketing industry. If the company can make the buyers feel bad for not buying their product, they may be able to increase their sales. For example, a cute stuffed animal may catch the eyes of children. That child may tell their parents that “the teddy bear’s lonely and wants to come home with us”. This may make the parent feel guilty and may be able to convince them in buying the product. A teddy bear has no emptions of course, however sometimes we can feel as if they do and sympathy towards them. Making the buyers feel a certain way by making them feel as if the product has emotions is an effective way for companies to sell their products.
1-4: Relationships Fostered as a Child
The relationship we foster as a child can greatly influence how we are as an adult both positively and negatively. These relationships can influence one’s beliefs, character, and behaviour. The relationships Pi had with his uncle, nature, and animals were very unique.
His uncle Francis Adirubasamy, also known as Mamaji was the one who taught Pi how to swim. They spent many days together at the ashram swimming pool to practice swimming. Who would have expected that this would later on not only help him to survive a shipwreck, but also help him discover himself. The influence he received from Mamaji changed his outlook on life, gave him the courage he needed, and taught him how to overcome any obstacles that he may face throughout his life.
The relationship Pi had with nature and animals is a one that people rarely get to experience. His father being the owner of the Pondicherry Zoo gave Pi the opportunity to grow up in an environment where he was always surrounded by nature and animals. The interest and curiosity Pi had towards animals never faded throughout his entire life. Being raised in this environment also taught Pi many lessons as a child that helped him even after becoming an adult. It taught Pi the power that nature and animals holds and what they are capable of. Pi also learned the relation and similarity of behaviour among humans and animals. These relationships allowed Pi to have a wide knowledge on animals which not only lead to his confidence that he held throughout the rest of his life, but it also taught Pi how to handle and cope with animals. This is very similar to my personal experience. Since my father loves music ever since I can remember there was always music playing in our home. This influence from my father has made me interested in music from a young age, and now music has become a very big part of my life. Similar to how nature and animals taught Pi many lessons, music has taught me many important lessons which will help me throughout my life.
The relationships Pi had as a child with his uncle, nature, and animals greatly affected him as an adult. They lead Pi to become a stronger, independent, and a wise mature man. Unlike this story which showed how relationships in our childhood can positively influence how a person becomes an adult, there are always the negative influences. Relationships a person had in their childhood can cause one to change them negatively. The experiences or lessons they learn within the relationship can cause them to have a trauma, or even cause them lose their hopes or dreams. For example, a girl who had a father who is controlling and abusive is more likely to create an image of all men being this ‘cruel’ figure. This may affect how this girl will proceed relationships with men in her future. During the early ages when a child is developing both mentally and physically, the impacts and influences they receive from their surroundings is tremendous.
Like in any story, our lives are filled with alternating periods of good and bad fortune which triggers our different emotions, thoughts, and actions. As much as we wish we could understand the true inner thoughts of others, the only thoughts we can fully understand is our own. We see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and feel with our heart. These are essentially the only tools that help to guide us in our lives. Regardless of how long a person may know another individual, no one understands a person better than themselves. The story that I have been writing is written based on my life in first person narrative, therefore my story only explains the thoughts and actions of my own.
Only being able to see and understand one side of a story can be very confusing and even sometimes frustrating. From my experiences, these emotions are highlighted and most recognizable when interacting with others. From what they may say to how they may feel or react are all unpredictable and cannot be fully understood by the other person. My story can only see and explain my side of the story, the same way that I observe and take in situations in my life.
The extraordinary story people create of their lives should not be able to include any outside information or perspectives. Just like in life, after reading a story, readers are often left with many questions and often times the answer remains to be undiscovered. This is what makes life and a story more enjoyable and interesting, they both awaken our imagination.
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