Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Throughout the novel, Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, unreliable narrator Pi Patel offers many situations that not only defy common knowledge, but also force doubt, provoking the question of how the plot is even possible. This leads readers to believe that the content being presented is not able to be trusted, as it is hard to imagine it as a reality. Although the plot consists of questionable aspects, the character of Pi Patel is written in an untrustworthy way in order to emphasize the underlying message of Pi’s internal conflict faced when at sea. He must call to his survival instincts which goes against his morals, so he disguises these wrong doings within Richard Parker.
Pi first confuses the reader when he relives living with a tiger for

The narrator admits his understanding of the seemingly deceitful plot, stating that “[He] made an exceptional botanical discovery. But there will be many who disbelieve the following episode” (Martel 256). Pi later goes on to describe the island as floating on no soil, but just water. The floating island represents the easy way out of a situation, as Pi later discovers human teeth pointing towards a man dying on the island. Pi explains how the island itself is the cause for the humans death, which communicates the idea that the easy option will ultimately destroy someone in the end. Martel uses Pi’s description of an island to demonstrate the concept that those who chose the simple solution when faced with a difficult decision will actually be harming themselves in the process. The book conveys further disbelief through one of the Japanese men interviewing Pi, who questions Pi’s knowledge of how the geological makeup of the planet is formed, through which Pi explains that he knows, “...enough to know the possible from the impossible” (Martel 294). The author attempts to convince readers the legitimacy of the island, but is actually portraying a deeper representation. Martel emphasizes this during Pi’s long journey where he always had the ability to give up and die. This internal battle is seen when Pi finds human teeth on the island and concludes that the island eats whatever touches it as, “The island was carnivorous” (Martel 281). The author utilizes this representation of internal conflict that all humans endure when making decisions to communicate that even in the most difficult of situations, the easy solution will eventually destroy those who chose it. The easy solution is a commitment to a slow and sad death. One has to fight past the easy way in order to achieve the glory of accomplishing a challenging situation. In this case, the hard way involves Pi