A Jornuey That Changed the Life Of Piscine Molitor Patel

When one faces an inescapable, life-threatening situation, how can they find the ambition to survive? Life of Pi by Yann Martel depicts the treacherous, life-changing journey of Piscine Molitor Patel. Pi’s family, who owns a zoo in India, makes the decision to move to Canada. The boat to Canada is inhabited by the Patel family, the ship’s crew, and a handful of animals; only Pi, his mother, and two crew members survive the fatal ship-sinking. Pi finds himself in a situation unlike any he has ever experienced, “torn between the awareness of human dignity and beastly desire to survive” (Hsu, The Heroic Pattern 102).

Symbolizing humans as animals, practicing his religions, and experiencing a hallucination are the major factors that contribute to Pi’s survival.

When Pi describes the events of his journey, an animal from the family zoo takes the place of each shipwreck survivor; this symbolism helps Pi process his situation. In his story, there are four main figures; Pi’s mother is an orangutan, the ship’s sailor is a zebra, the cook is a hyena, and additionally, Pi himself is represented by a tiger (Martel 311).

Pi describes in immense detail the day-to-day life on the boat and the conflicts he and the animals face. He is constantly fighting for his life and forced to witness the gruesome deaths which every animal faces, except the tiger. The simple reason Pi symbolizes humans as animals is “to see a more morally ethical approach to face the tragic conditions that were thrust upon him” (Lok-Yee Lee 340-341).

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It can be clearly interpreted that the animals are creations of the Pi’s terrified mind. One argument to support this claim is when he blatantly expresses his lonesome state, saying, “‘I looked out at the empty horizon. There was so much water. And I was all alone.’ … The two words ‘all alone’ reveal the fact that the tiger is an imaginary creature” (Hsu, A Story of Suffering 206).

Perhaps the most crucial animal to understand is the tiger, who is named “Richard Parker.” Pi creates the tiger from his “need to morally acknowledge his tiger-like, violent character” and “animalistic nature” (Lok-Yee Lee 341). Before the shipwreck, Pi never experiences this side of himself, who will partake in violence to survive; he previously knew himself as only “a bookish and religious vegetarian” (Hsu, A Story of Suffering 204). He does sometimes succumb to his “tiger” side, such as when he kills a fish for food. This action is greatly unlike Pi and causes him to feel terrible (Martel 183). During the beginning of his journey, Pi seems to despise Richard Parker. At one point, he states, “I hatched several plans to get rid of him so that the lifeboat might be mine” (Martel 157). After a short time, Pi realizes he cannot separate himself from the tiger; he creates multiple plans, but deems them all unsuccessful (Martel 158).

After contemplating which direction to take, he realizes that “[i]t was not a question of him or me, but of him and me” (Martel 164). Pi then attempts to at least dominate the tiger, which represents him acknowledging and suppressing his violent behavior. Although Richard Parker does not physically motivate Pi to survive, he encourages Pi’s true self to survive the challenges he faces. When thinking back to his time with the tiger, Pi states, “He kept me from thinking too much … He pushed me to go on living. I hated him for it, yet at the same time I was grateful. … [W]ithout Richard Parker, I wouldn’t be alive” (Martel 164). There are multiple scenarios which show that Pi is aware the animals exist only in his mind. Many years after the journey, two investigators who have been curious about the shipwreck visit Pi and inquire about any memories he has (Martel 289). Pi goes on to discuss the animal story with them, but they are not persuaded that it is true. He then states, “You want a story that won’t surprise you. … You want a flat story. … You want dry, yeastless factuality,” and proceeds to tell the human story (Martel 302). This situation reveals that the story with humans is indeed true. In summary, Pi creates the animal story to lessen the severity of the events that take place (Lok-Yee Lee 342). Another factor that contributes to Pi’s peace of mind is religion.

Practicing religion is crucial in motivating Pi to move forward with peaceful intentions. Pi follows the religions of Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. He is curious about religion throughout his youth, simply stating, “‘I just want to love God’” (Martel 69). This curiosity leads Pi to learn about and love each religion, and incorporate them into his everyday life. Throughout the beginning of his journey, Pi is deliberate in maintaining a faithful lifestyle. When describing his entire daily routine, he lists “prayers” under his morning, afternoon, evening, and night activities (Martel 190-191). Pi describes his situation by stating that “[t]he lower you are, the higher your mind will want to soar. It was natural that, bereft and desperate as I was, … I should turn to God” (Martel 283-284). When Pi feels overwhelmed by his situation at sea, his faith comforts him. During one night, Pi observes how massive the ocean and night sky seem. He relates his feelings and observations to Hinduism: “I felt like the sage Markandeya, who fell out of Vishnu’s mouth while Vishnu was sleeping and so beheld the entire universe, everything that there is” (Martel 177).

This moment diminishes his stress and changes his perspective about the journey. He even states, “[M]y suffering was taking place in a grand setting. … I saw my suffering for what it was, finite and insignificant, … [a]nd I could accept this. It was all right” (Martel 177). Once Pi becomes increasingly concerned with survival, his actions begin to contradict his religious values, such as when he kills the fish. Ultimately, though, Pi does not allow the negative events that take place on his journey to define him. In fact, “[a]though Pi learns to kill in order to live, this also seems to reinforce the value of religious teaching for him” (Stephens 53). He believes in his ability to regain and maintain his peaceful and faithful state. In summary, religion both encourages and comforts Pi during his journey. Along with having faith, another source motivation is a hallucination he experiences.

Having a hallucination is the final push that motivates Pi to survive. Far into Pi’s journey, when he is alone with Richard Parker, he comes across an island. He finds plenty of food and water, but as he he spends more time there, he discovers increasingly strange qualities about it. His first observation is that “[t]he island had no soil. Not that the trees stood in water. Rather, they stood in what appeared to be a dense mass of vegetation … Who had ever heard of land with no soil?” (Martel 257). Pi contemplates this but eventually disregards it, for it does not seem to concern him. The next peculiar thing he witnesses is that there are “hundreds of thousands of meerkats–more, a million” on the island (Martel 266). Although both of these situations are extremely peculiar, they seem to be harmless to Pi. He adapts to life on the island, and through utilizing its resources, feels that he “returned to life” (Martel 269).

Despite the benefits Pi receives, there are two final experiences that push him to leave. The first is when he discovers a tree that appears to bear fruit. He picks one and finds that it is actually “a dense accumulation of leaves glued together in a ball” (Martel 280). As he unwraps it, he discovers that there is a human tooth in the center. He proceeds to unwrap the rest of the “fruits” hanging off the tree, and discovers that they come out to be “[t]hirty-two teeth. A complete human set. Not one tooth missing” (Martel 280-281). That night, when Pi steps foot on the strange ground of the island, he feels immense pain and steps away quickly; even though he barely makes contact, the “searing pain” lingers for hours (Martel 281). After contemplating the teeth in the tree and the pain he experiences, he comes to realize that “[t]he island was carnivorous” (Martel 281). This is the breaking point for Pi; he departs from the island, for it has too many suspicious qualities. He feels “inclination to avoid danger” on the island (Hsu, The Heroic Pattern 107). This sudden desire to leave translates through to his physical state, where the true threat is dying at sea. The island that Pi “visits” is truly a message, motivating him to continue striving for survival. Without the hallucination, Pi may not have survived at sea.

Replacing animals with humans, practicing religions, and having a meaningful hallucination are the main factors that give Pi ambition during his journey. The symbolic animals allow Pi to view the violence and deaths differently from the truth, in a slightly less terrifying way. The presence of the tiger helps Pi come to know his aggressive side and even learn to dominate it. On his journey, religion provides a routine for his daily life and comfort when he is distressed. The hallucination stands as the final push for Pi’s survival, giving him drive to find a true place of safety. Pi’s journey is truly a “transformative experience” (Stephens 48). He learns something about nearly every aspect of himself, and in the end, he is almost a different person. But, without his sources of faith and motivation, he may not have made it through at all.