Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

The Novel, Life of Pi, tells of Piscine Molitor Patel and his journey across the Pacific Ocean. Pi’s journey starts when the cargo ship that he was aboard with his family and all the animals from his family’s zoo sinks while on route to Canada. Pi survives on a lifeboat with one sole companion, a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker for 227 days at sea. Then Pi finds himself in a infimary in Mexico telling his story to two Japanese officers from the company who owned the Tsimtsum. Pi tells them about being at sea with a tiger, and the officers do not believe that Pi is telling the truth, so they ask for the real story. Pi gives them a second story with no animals to appease the men. Before the officers leave, Pi says that they should take the better story as the true story. The story with animals is the true story because

Pi describes Richard Parker as “the one who scared [him] witless,” but also someone as the one “who brought [him] peace, purpose, [he] dare even say wholeness”(162). At the beginning of his journey, Pi is terrified of Richard Parker, but he soon becomes grateful to have Richard Parker with him. He realizes that Richard Parker gave him something to live for, and he was a companion to keep him company when Pi thought that all hope was lost. In this story every day is different, the presence of Richard Parker gave Pi fear, but Richard Parker gave Pi the chance to overcome his fear. Pi recalls his “close encounter with electrocution … as one of the few times during [his] ordeal when [he] felt genuine happiness”(233). During his time on the lifeboat, Pi experiences what it truly means to survive. Pi views the life and death situation of being electrocuted and a thing of beauty. He sees the strength and grace of the lightning rather than cower in fear to