Characters and Plot
Drifting slowly in the calm winds, gently rocking, there was a small lifeboat. On one end of this small lifeboat lies a young boy, sixteen years of age. He was fatigued due to hunger and scared to stand, to face what was on the other side of the boat. In his mind, it was all, but a nightmare that never ends. Because he knew that on the other side of the boat, sat a hungry 450 pound Bengal tiger that could attack at any second.
Piscine "Pissing" (later known as Pi) Patel had worked in a zoo with his family in Pondicherry, India. Often times, Pi tends to describe his philosophies on animal freedom because he understood them by observation and religion. To him, locking animals in cages did not take away their happiness, but made them feel more at home, where food is served, no competition or worries of predators. Piscine also decided to take on three religions that conflicted each other later on. However, the significance lies after the introduction and into the main story. Pi, with most animals from the zoo and his family were on the way to Canada, on the ship called the Tsimtsum. During the night, Pi awakens with the sound of the ship's engine creaking and screeching and a large storm that had encountered. Pi rushes out to the deck where he meets the crewman shouting and suddenly throwing Pi down into the lifeboat. Confused on what was happening, Pi decides to save animals that were drowning in the ocean, saving a zebra, an orangutan, hyena, and a tiger. And within that twenty minutes, as Pi estimated, the Tsimtsum along with his family and everyone else, sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Piscine "Pissing" (later known as Pi) Patel had worked in a zoo with his family in Pondicherry, India. Often times, Pi tends to describe his philosophies on animal freedom because he understood them by observation and religion. To him, locking animals in cages did not take away their happiness, but made them feel more at home, where food is served, no competition or worries of predators. Piscine also decided to take on three religions that conflicted each other later on. However, the significance lies after the introduction and into the main story. Pi, with most animals from the zoo and his family were on the way to Canada, on the ship called the Tsimtsum. During the night, Pi awakens with the sound of the ship's engine creaking and screeching and a large storm that had encountered. Pi rushes out to the deck where he meets the crewman shouting and suddenly throwing Pi down into the lifeboat. Confused on what was happening, Pi decides to save animals that were drowning in the ocean, saving a zebra, an orangutan, hyena, and a tiger. And within that twenty minutes, as Pi estimated, the Tsimtsum along with his family and everyone else, sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Important Themes and Symbols (May include spoilers)
The theme that stands out in the book, "The Life of Pi" is doing whatever it takes to survive. Born a strict vegetarian, Pi swore to never take another life of an animal or consume its meat. However, slowly as his supply of biscuits ran out, he had faced hunger for several days. And within desire, Pi had succumbed to hunger and began eating raw meat. Overtime, the main character's behavior had also changed because of his adaptation towards the situation, for example, using turtle shells as a shield and a whistle to fend off Richard Parker. "TREEEEE! TREEEE! I had an effect on Richard Parker...very first blow he cringed and snarled...roared and clawed the air...it was fear I could rely on..." (167). Survival will always tramp morality is another key theme. Born and raised as a strict vegetarian, Pi swore to never take another animal's life or consume it. But hunger struck again when the supply of biscuits ran out, and eventually Pi had to turn to fishing for food and force himself to eat them. However, this very theme stood out when comparing both versions of the story, narrated by Pi. Unlike the first version, the second version had humans and depicted more human horrors or immoral actions, especially done by one of the survivors, the French chef. Pi told the story so it seemed like the chef represented the hyena, because in the animal version, the hyena had killed both the injured zebra and orangutan for food, but gets killed by the Tiger. In the second version, there was an injured crewman with a broken leg, representing the injured zebra. There was Pi's mother that had gone in a fight with the hyena and gets killed, so she represented the orangutan. The hyena represented the mad French chef, and in the end, the hyena gets killed by the tiger, or also known as Pi. Setting aside cannibalism and murder for survival, religion was also a main theme. Yann Martel had added three religions because it was unique how Pi had accepted those total different religions and ended up confusing his teachers and parents, Pi also used religion to make him feel more safe. After all, the sinking of the ship left him alone (in the animal version). Pi would say things like, "God's ear didn't seem to be listening...Despair was a heavy blackness. I thank God it always passed...I would go on loving (209).