Richard Parker Religion

“I have a story that will make you believe in God.” (Author’s Note, XIII, l. 24-25) “Life of Pi” is a story that puts into question the unbelievable, the magical, and the absurd. Throughout the novel, Pi discovers different religions and begins to set his own values to Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. The journey that follows describes events that to many will seem very unrealistic, but to a few, may spark that belief in God. Both atheists and fundamentalists will perceive these events from very different angles. But a story filled with magical islands, dream state like nights on sea, a human tooth enclosed within petals of a flower? When Pi is later questioned by journalists, he is forced to tell a second, more “realistic” storyline. The first in which he is stuck in the middle of the ocean with a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena, and then is left to survive with a tiger - Richard Parker; and the second in which all the animals are in fact

Parker is the grown bengal tiger that accompanies Pi on his boat journey across the ocean, and as many would say, helped Pi stay alive and somewhat sane during the time they shared on board. Here, one could argue that to atheists, Richard Parker represents the human id to a certain extent, the part of the human body and mind that contains a human's basic needs and instincts, skills for survival. Through the tiger, Pi learns to stay cautious and aware of his surroundings, and later his id even reveals the inner drive for survival, as he begins to hunt and learn in order to survive. From a religious perspective, Richard Parker is seen as a sign from God. An example like such would be King Aslan, as seen in the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. In both cases, Richard Parker and Aslan can be seen as a sign from God, possibly a prophet, someone who is regarded as a teacher of the will of God. However, Richard Parker is essential for Pi’s survival either