Life of Pi: Chapter 1- Summary & Analysis

The novel’s main text begins with the adult Pi speaking of his life after the story’s main event. His
suffering left him “sad and gloomy,” but he continued his religious practices and zoological studies
and slowly became happy again. He attended the University of Toronto. His religious studies thesis
involved Isaac Luria’s cosmogony theory, while his zoology thesis was about three-toed sloths.
Pi’s brief mention of Isaac Luria introduces an important religious idea. Luria was a Kabbalist
teacher whose theory of creation involved the concept of tzimtzum, which was basically that God
contracted his infinite light in order to create the universe, hiding himself so that his creation might
become independent of him. This concept will be important later, as the ship the Tsimtsum sinks,
giving Pi “room” to create his own universe and independence. Themes- Religion and Faith
Pi found studying sloths to be comforting because of their slow, calm lifestyles. Sloths are kept safe
by being so slow and blending into the background. Pi found his two majors to be related, as the
sloths would remind him of God. Pi excelled at school and won many awards, and he is currently
working, though he doesn’t say where. He says that he loves Canada but misses India, and he
especially misses Richard Parker.
Martel frames Pi’s ordeal by describing Pi both as a child and as an adult, not giving details of what
happened in between but hinting at great suffering and the mysterious being of Richard Parker. Pi’s
unique philosophical blending of zoology and theology, science, and religion, will be threaded
throughout the novel. Themes- Religion and Faith, Storytelling, Boundaries
Pi describes his recovery in Mexico after the events of the story. He was treated well at the hospital.
He had anemia, dark urine, and his legs retained fluids and swelled. After a week he could walk again.
The first time he turned on a faucet he fainted at the abundance of clean water. When he made it to
Canada, he went to an Indian restaurant but was offended when the waiter criticized him for eating
with his fingers.
Martel gives more hints about Pi’s undescribed ordeal to build up suspense and draw the reader in.
We wonder how Pi ended up in Mexico if he is from India, and what kind of memories of India he has
that were trampled upon by the rude waiter. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 2 - Summary & Analysis
The narrative switches to the author’s point of view, and he describes the adult Pi as a small, gray-
haired, middle-aged man. He wears a winter coat in the fall and speaks quickly and expressively.
These sections remind us of the book’s “nonfiction” framework and also introduce the adult Pi even
as we learn the events of his youth. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 3- Summary & Analysis
The story then continues in Pi’s voice. He reflects on his name, which is Piscine Molitor Patel, and
says that he was named after a swimming pool. Pi’s parents did not like water, but they had a family
friend who was a former champion swimmer. This man was named Francis Adirubasamy, but Pi
called him Mamaji, which is similar to “uncle.”
Martel immediately shows the connection between Francis Adirubasamy, the story’s initiator, and Pi
himself. Pi’s unusual name also foreshadows his experiences with water – Piscine is the French word
for “pool,” and in English it means “relating to fish or fishes.” Themes- Storytelling
Mamaji and Pi became very close, and Mamaji taught Pi how to swim. Pi came to share Mamaji’s
love for the water and for the meditative practice of swimming. Pi’s father never wanted to swim
himself, but he came to idealize the world of swimming. Mamaji’s favorite pool in the world was the
Piscine Molitor in Paris, which was clear, pristine, and perfect. Pi got his name from this swimming
pool.
Pi has not named himself “Pi” yet in the story but is still technically “Piscine.” Even at a young age
Pi seems to have a slow, patient soul that finds swimming relaxing and peaceful. This looks forward to
his religious devotion and contemplative inner life. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 4 - Summary & Analysis
Pi’s father ran the Pondicherry Zoo, which was founded soon after Pondicherry entered the Union of
India in 1954. Pi describes the wonders of the zoo and compares it to a hotel with especially
uncooperative guests. As a child he felt like he was living in paradise, surrounded by such amazing
animals. His daily schedule was marked by an alarm clock of lions roaring and the regular routines of
other animals.
Pi’s upbringing at the zoo is both an important part of his life and sets the stage for the events of the
novel. Without his extensive knowledge of wild animal behavior Pi never could have survived as he
does. Martel places the Patels in a historical setting, Pondicherry in the 1970s, but they still seem to
exist in a unique universe. Themes- Storytelling
Pi defends zoos against people who feel that animals in the wild are happier. He argues that in the
wild, animals are at the mercy of many dangers, but in the zoo, they have safety and security. He also
argues against the idea of zoos as “prisons” – he says that animals prefer to have a set territory and
rigid boundaries, so they will be happy if they accept the edges of their cages as their territory. He
cites instances of animals who had the option of escaping but refused to do so. Pi says that now both
zoos and religion have fallen out of favor. The Pondicherry Zoo is shut down now.
These digressions are the adult Pi reminiscing, but also setting up the story of his ordeal. Pi here
introduces the important idea of boundaries and animal territories. Animals, like humans, generally
like comfort and ritual, so a good zoo provides a sense of order that they have no desire to escape
from. In the wild, however, animals (and soon Pi) have to struggle constantly to maintain order in the
midst of danger. Pi and Martel are clearly both fascinated with the intersection of religion and
zoology, as Pi associates them here and will study both in college. Themes- Survival, Boundaries,
Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 5 - Summary & Analysis
Pi reflects further on his name and all the teasing he got as a child because of it. The other children
called him “Pissing,” which they took from “Piscine.” Eventually Pi decided on a nickname, and
when he moved to a new school, he trained the teachers and his classmates to call him “Pi.” In each
class on the first day, he wrote “Pi” on the chalkboard, as well as the first few digits of the number pi.
The name stuck.
Pi then shows how similar humans are to animals, as he basically trains his teachers and classmates
to accept his new name. Rote repetition and confidence are the most important elements of this
“training.” Pi’s nickname refers to the number π, representing the ratio of a circle’s circumference to
its diameter. The number is irrational and unending, an interesting contrast to Pi’s love of harmony
and order. Themes – Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 6 -Summary & Analysis
The author interrupts again to say that the adult Pi is an excellent cook, and he makes very spicy
vegetarian food. The author has noted that Pi’s kitchen is very well-stocked with spare canned goods,
as if preparing for a disaster.
The author gives more hints of Pi’s ordeal. Clearly Pi suffered great deprivation, as he now seems
prepared for any calamity and has a special appreciation for food. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 7 - Summary & Analysis
The narrative returns to Pi’s voice. Pi describes his biology teacher, Mr. Satish Kumar. Mr. Kumar
was an atheist and an active Communist. He used to come to the zoo to watch the animals and wonder
at the natural world. Pi, who had been religious since a young age, was at first shocked by Mr.
Kumar’s atheism, but soon they formed a deep bond. Pi respects atheists for choosing a certain
worldview (one without a God), but he dislikes agnostics, as they must live in a constant state of
doubt or indifference.
The Satish Kumars (1) of Pi’s life provide symmetry in their influence. Pi’s digression on atheists and
agnostics is very important –clearly, he accepts that the existence of God is inherently unknowable,
and so it takes faith to either affirm or deny it. When the truth is unknowable, we can only choose
which story we find more beautiful. Pi prefers a worldview with God in it, but he respects those who
do not. What he does not respect are those who refuse to choose, who linger in doubt. Pi respects
those who choose a story. Themes- Storytelling, Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 8 - Summary & Analysis
Pi relates the saying that “the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man,” and describes different ways
zoo visitors have tormented or injured the animals, sometimes in bizarre ways. Pi says that this saying
(which was on a sign at the Pondicherry Zoo) was not quite true though. He says more dangerous than
humans themselves is their tendency to anthropomorphize animals, giving them human feelings and
motives.
Martel starts to show the animality in humans and the humanity in animals, as they will soon come
together in Pi’s lifeboat. The human tendency to anthropomorphize (ascribe human traits to) animals
refers back to Pi’s claim that zoos and religion have both “fallen out of favor” – people assume that
animals desire freedom, just as humans think that religion constrains liberty. Themes – Boundaries
One day Pi’s father decided to show Pi and his older brother Ravi about the dangers of wild animals.
He took the boys to the Bengal tigers cage and fed the tiger a wild goat in front of them. The boys
were traumatized by this sight, but their father continued by listing other ways even seemingly docile
animals could hurt or kill them. Pi remembered this lesson forever and always recognized the
“otherness” of wild animals.
While Pi loves animals (and will come to love religion) and Martel starts to blur the lines between
human and animal, this traumatic scene serves as a constant reminder of the wildness and
“otherness” of animals. Pi’s father’s choice of a tiger is especially pointed considering the rest of the
novel. Themes – Survival and Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 9 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes the idea of “flight distance,” which is how far away a human can be before an animal
runs away. An important part of zookeeping is reducing the flight distances of animals so that they are
comfortable with humans nearby. Zookeepers can do this by providing good shelter, food and water,
and personal attention. Pi says that his father was a natural zookeeper.
Pi expands on the ideas of territory and boundaries. The training of animals is basically a slow
rearrangement of their territory, and in zoos the animals must accept humans living on adjacent
territories to their own. Themes – Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 10 - Summary & Analysis
Pi admits that there are still some animals who escape or try to escape from zoos. He says that this is
usually the result of bad care or the animal experiencing sudden stress, especially if it feels that
something is invading its territory. Pi curses the bad zookeepers whose animals want to escape, saying
that they give all zoos a bad name.
Pi’s lament of bad zookeeping prefigures his lament of bad religious practitioners – bad zookeepers,
like narrow-minded, hateful religious people, give zoology and religion bad names, making people
think that both zoos and religion restrict freedom. Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 11 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes the case of a black leopard who escaped the Zurich Zoo and lived in the area undetected
(with the whole city on alert) for ten weeks. Pi wonders that such a huge predator could live secretly
for so long, and uses this to prove that animals are always just trying to fit into whatever environment
they find themselves in. Pi thinks that cities are full of big wild animals, and references someone
trying to find an animal in the Mexican jungle.
These anecdotes seem like simple digressions at first, but we will later see that Pi has been using them
to buttress his argument the whole time – he will refer to the Zurich panther when trying to convince
his interviewers of his story’s believability. Later it will become clear that Pi’s story really does result
in a large animal living in the Mexican jungle. Themes- Boundaries, Storytelling, Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 12 - Summary & Analysis
The author interrupts again to explain how the adult Pi’s tales are still interrupted by his own
memories. The author says that “Richard Parker still preys” on Pi’s mind. The author made the
mistake of telling Pi that he liked spicy food, so now Pi always serves him painfully hot food on his
visits.
We still don’t know who Richard Parker is, but the novel’s end forces us to look back at scenes like this
and see that Pi’s musings on zoology have been referencing Richard Parker the whole time and
reinforce the effect that Richard Parker has had on Pi. Themes- Storytelling

Life of Pi: Chapter 13 - Summary & Analysis

Pi expounds on the idea of territoriality in animals. He says that if you fall into a lion’s pit, the lion
will kill you not because it’s hungry but because you have crossed its boundaries. Lions (like most
animals) respect the territory of others as well as their own, which is how lion-tamers work. The lion-
tamer enters the cage first, so the lions see that it is his territory. They are not afraid of him, but they
know that he provides them with food and so they prefer to keep up the order of their group.
Pi’s knowledge of taming dangerous beasts will take on a major role later. His ideas about animal-
training center on boundaries and confidence in the trainer, and a “suspension of disbelief” in the
lions themselves. The lions know they could easily overpower the trainer, but they accept his
leadership because he provides food, security, and order. Themes- Storytelling and Boundaries
Pi describes the concept of alpha animals and beta animals (the rest of the group). He says that most
animal violence is the result of “social insecurity,” or the animal not knowing whether they are alpha
or beta. The lion-tamer reinforces his alpha status with the whistle and whip and a calm, forceful
stare.
The other Greek letters (alpha, beta, and omega) used in the idea of animal-taming refer back to Pi’s
own nickname. Alpha, beta, and omega have ordered places within the alphabet, but pi is unending
and irrational. Animals prefer clear boundaries and will take order over ambition. Themes-
Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 14 - Summary & Analysis
Pi says that the lowest animal, the “omega,” has the most to gain by having a close relationship with
the alpha. This is the lion that tamers will use for their special tricks, as the omega lion is willing to do
more to increase its social standing. It is the same in zoos, where omega animals are the easiest to care
for.
This foreshadows Pi’s training of Richard Parker. Omega, as the last letter of the Greek alphabet,
represents a harmonious and final ending, unlike Pi’s namesake—π—or his “botched goodbye” with
Richard Parker. Themes- Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 15 – Summary& Analysis
The author returns to describe the adult Pi’s house in Canada. He says the house is like “a temple,” as
it is filled with religious icons and objects. The author notes paintings, statues, books, and
photographs pertaining to Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. Pi keeps a Bible on his bedside table.
Martel and Pi now shift from animal rituals to human religious rituals. The overlap of religion and
zoology is again emphasized. Based on the contents of his house, Pi’s religious beliefs seem muddled
and unfocused. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 16 - Summary & Analysis
Pi’s voice returns. He explains that he was raised a Hindu, mostly encouraged by his mother’s sister
Auntie Rohini. He grew up with Hindu rituals starting as an infant, and he immediately felt a
closeness to the Hindu gods and stories. Pi describes all the sights, sounds, and smells he associates
with Hinduism, and how he embraces the deeper Hindu philosophy of Brahman, the world soul.
As with his discussion of animals, Pi begins with the surface trappings of religion, associating
Hinduism with its rituals and sensory effects. But Pi soon delves into the spirit beneath the ritual, as
he finds a deep affinity with religion. Themes- Religion and Faith
Pi describes the beautiful aspects of Hinduism, and how its followers seek to become liberated over
the course of many lifetimes. He declares that he has always been and always will be a Hindu, and he
sees his “place in the universe” through the Hindu schema. At the same time he does not cling to it as
the only truth. He references a story about the god Krishna belonging to each of a group of milkmaids
at once, and disappearing only when one would become possessive of him.
For Pi, religion will be about choosing “the better story” in a chaotic, unknowable universe. This
begins to develop a major theme of the book, which is that religion (like stories, and through stories)
is a way of ordering life and making it bearable. Unlike many religious practitioners, Pi tries to avoid
being possessive of religious truth – already he accepts that truth can be relative. Themes- Religion
and Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 17 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes his introduction to Christianity. When he was 14,he was on a holiday in Munnar and he
came across a church. Pi had never been inside a church before, and he stepped inside when he saw
that the doors were open. Inside he met a priest named Father Martin. Pi expected to be kicked out for
being a “heathen,” but Father Martin welcomed him into the clean, quiet space.
At first Pi starts with knowledge only of Christianity’s ritual and the self-righteousness of many of its
practitioners. He is fortunate to meet Father Martin, a Christian who is kind, patent, and appreciates
the love behind Christian dogma. Themes- Religion and Faith
Pi began returning to visit Father Martin, and the priest told him the story of Jesus. Pi wondered at the
strange psychology involved in Christ’s sacrifice, and he asked for other stories. Father Martin said
that there is only one story in Christianity, and the whole basis of it is God’s love. Father Martin
answered all of Pi’s questions with “love.” Pi compared this strange new religion to Hinduism’s
fantastical tales, but he was moved by a God who would give up all power and glory.
Pi starts to learn that he too is looking for something deeper than ritual and tradition, and he finds
different aspects of that thing – God, or universal love, or “a better story” – in Hinduism and
Christianity. Only when Pi looks past his stereotypes of Christians does he see the similarities in the
religions, and he asks us as readers to do the same. Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
After three days Pi found himself thinking constantly about Jesus. At first he was angry at the idea of
him, but soon Pi decided to become a Christian himself. Just before his family left Munnar, Pi went to
Father Martin and asked to become a Christian. Father Martin told Pi that he already was. Overjoyed,
Pi went into the church and prayed, and then went off to thank Krishna for introducing him to Jesus.
The idea of boundaries returns here as Pi starts to blur the lines between different religions. Most
people cling to one religion exclusively or no religion at all, but Pi starts to embrace three of them at
once. He has shown that he accepts metaphysical truth as relative, so he chooses religions as a
moving and beautiful way to view the universe. Themes-Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 18 - Summary & Analysis
Less than a year later Pi converted to Islam as well. He was exploring the Muslim quarter of
Pondicherry, and he admired the beautiful mosque. He went into a Muslim baker’s shop. The baker
started a conversation with Pi but then excused himself to go pray. Pi was intrigued by the
“callisthenic” prayer routine.
As with Christianity, Pi has only an outsider’s knowledge of Islam and so first sees the ritual without
the faith’s essence. This is similar to the people who blithely assert that zoos are “prisons” for
animals. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 19 - Summary & Analysis
Pi went back to see the baker and asked him about Islam. The baker described the religion, which Pi
found elegant and beautifully simple. The baker taught Pi the Muslim prayer routine.
Instead of living with his stereotypes, though, Pi seeks to learn the essence of religion. He clearly
finds another aspect of his God reflected in the Muslim worldview. Themes- Religion and Faith and
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 20 - Summary & Analysis
Pi says that the baker was a Sufi, a Muslim mystic. His name was Satish Kumar – the same name as
Pi’s atheistic biology teacher. Pi found this dichotomy fitting, as both men taught him about the way
the world works. Pi started going back to (the Muslim) Mr. Kumar’s house, and they would pray
together. One time as Pi biked home from one of these visits he felt a blissful closeness to God and
universe. Pi says that the only other religious experience he had like that was as an adult in Toronto,
when he saw the Virgin Mary among some falling snow.
The two Satish Kumars create a pleasing symmetry in their influence on Pi’s life, especially as they
offer a harmonious duality in comparison to the unending π. The first Mr. Kumar inspires Pi to study
zoology in college, while the second Mr. Kumar inspires him to study theology. Themes- Religion and
Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 21 - Summary & Analysis
The author sits in a café after talking with the adult Pi, and he thinks about their conversation. He
notes Pi’s words about “dry, yeastless factuality” and “the better story.” The author feels that his own
life seems mundane compared to Pi’s. He considers Pi’s religious philosophies, which value moral
truth above intellectual truth, and elevate love above all else.
These two quoted phrases are some of the most important in the book, and they will be repeated
again. “Dry, yeastless factuality” is the boring reality of doubt, the agnostic’s universe (to Pi), while
“the better story” is a reality brought to life through the imagination and faith. Themes- Religion and
Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 22 - Summary & Analysis
Pi goes back to narrating. He imagines an atheist’s deathbed moments and describes the atheist taking
a final leap of faith. He then describes an agnostic clinging to his “dry, yeastless factuality,” trying to
scientifically explain the white light he sees and missing “the better story.”
The phrases are immediately repeated to show their importance. The need to improve and order
reality through storytelling (or religion) is a natural human instinct, and something similar even exists
in animals – referring back to Pi’s explanation of the “fiction” the lions live with in accepting their
trainer as their alpha. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 23 - Summary & Analysis
Pi explains that he had kept his religious activities quiet, and his parents had no idea that he was now
a Christian and Muslim as well. One day Pi was out with his parents enjoying the weather on a
seaside esplanade when they were confronted (by coincidence) by Pi’s imam, priest, and pandit, the
religious leaders with whom Pi had been practicing his Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.
Pi’s parents are culturally Hindu but not personally religious, so even Pi’s devout Hinduism is of his
own doing. This scene is comic and almost silly in its coincidence, as Martel brings all the religious
leaders together to bicker with each other. Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Pi’s parents were culturally Hindu, but they were secular in their personal lives, so they were
surprised to suddenly find out how religious their son was. The priest, imam, and pandit were also all
shocked to find that Pi was not just a Christian, Muslim, and Hindu, but in fact all three at once. They
each protested that it was not possible to believe in all three religions simultaneously, and they argued
with each other and demanded that Pi choose between them.
Just as the adult Pi heaps spices onto his food, so young Pi enriches his “dry, yeastless factuality”
with the “spices” of religious stories and myths. The idea of boundaries returns, as each religious
leader has his own “territory” and bristles when its edges threaten to overlap another’s territory.
Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Pi became embarrassed and quoted Mahatma Gandhi, saying that “All religions are true” and
explaining that he was just trying to love God. The religious leaders were embarrassed by this, and
Pi’s father took advantage of their silence to hurry the family off to get ice cream.
The religious leaders are each concerned with protecting the sole, exclusive truth, while Pi is more
concerned with the beauty of each religion, and the different paths they take to loving God and others.
Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
 Life of Pi: Chapter 24 - Summary & Analysis
After this episode Pi’s brother Ravi would tease him mercilessly for his religious activities, suggesting
that Pi also become Jewish so he could have more days of the week off for religious holidays.
Martel steps back to place Pi within the “real world,” which takes a dim view of his religious
activities, but Pi still seems to exist in his own “magical realist” universe. Themes- Religion and
Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 25 - Summary & Analysis
Pi reflects on how the episode with the religious leaders was symbolic of the problems with many
religious practitioners. People become so concerned with exclusivity and defending God that they
forget to love other humans. Pi declares that when people defend God with violence or anger they are
misunderstanding religion. Pi himself had to avoid zealous people who tried to condemn him for
practicing more than one faith at once.
Pi condemns narrow-minded, judgmental religious practitioners in a similar way that he condemns
bad zookeepers – they give both their lifestyles a bad name. As an adult he starts to recognize that
everyone constrains their “liberty” in some way, the question is just which worldview one chooses.
Themes- Region and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 26 - Summary & Analysis
A few days later Pi asked his parents if he could be baptized and buy a prayer rug. They were both
flustered by this request, and they tried to distract Pi with books (including Robinson Crusoe). When
he persisted, they tried to convince him to choose among his religions, or to take their route and reject
all religion as “old-fashioned.”
Just like the religious leaders, Pi’s parents try to put boundaries on his worldview, making him choose
one religion or none at all. Pi’s mother mentions Robinson Crusoe, the famous shipwreck narrative
that in many ways parallels Pi’s own story. In that novel, Crusoe too finds God in his isolation.
Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 27 - Summary & Analysis
That night Pi overheard his parents talking about his new faiths. They then discussed Mrs. Gandhi, the
current prime minister, and lamented her “foolishness” which they hoped would soon pass. They
wished aloud that Pi would get some more “normal” interests, but eventually they decided to indulge
him, assuming religion was just a phase.
This part of the story is set in a period of political turmoil called ‘The Emergency,” when the Indian
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency for the country, effectively suspending all
constitutional rights so that she would not be expelled from office for electoral fraud. Themes-
Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 28 - Summary & Analysis
Pi got his prayer rug and came to cherish it. He liked to pray on it in the back yard, surrounded by
birds, and his family would watch him curiously. Soon afterward Pi was baptized as a Christian with
his parents in attendance.
Pi’s parents relent to his religious devotion, assuming it is just a phase and he will get “normal”
interests soon. His childhood will soon be anything but normal though. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 29 - Summary & Analysis
Pi explains the political climate of the time – the 1970s were a bad period in India, when Mrs. Gandhi
suspended all constitutional rights to avoid being expelled from office. Pi was not affected by the
political troubles at first, as his world consisted of the zoo’s daily routines, but soon Pi’s father came
to worry about the zoo’s future.
Martel places the Patels in the political climate of the Emergency, but this mostly serves as a plot
device to inspire the family’s cross-Pacific move. Pi continues to live in his contemplative world of
animals and religion. Themes- Storytelling
Eventually Pi’s parents decided that the zoo could not remain profitable in such a political climate,
and they grew outraged at the government’s actions, which destroyed their hope for the “New India.”
Finally they decided to move the family to Canada, which seemed an inherently foreign place to Pi
and Ravi.
Pi has now become one of those animals being displaced from his “territory,” and he will experience
all the chaos that comes with such a shift. In Pi’s world zoos are delicate things that cannot survive
heavy-handed governments. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 30 - Summary & Analysis
The author interrupts again to describe his meeting with Pi’s wife, Meena. The author had been
meeting visiting Pi for a while without ever hearing about a wife, so her existence first came as a
shock to him. The author wonders at how protective Pi is of the things that are precious to him. The
author wonders if Meena is the one who has been cooking so much spicy food, but then he confirms
that Pi is the cook.
The same post-deprivation mindset that leads Pi to stock up on canned food also causes him to guard
his family closely. The author returns to Pi’s spicy cooking, a reminder that Pi was once without food
at all and so now has a special appreciation for it, and also referring back to Pi’s “spicing up” of
“yeastless reality.” Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 31 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes the one time that both Mr. Kumar 1 the atheist biology teacher met Mr. Kumar 2 the
Muslim baker. One day they met Pi at the zoo and Pi showed them the animals. They were both
fascinated by the beautiful Grant’s zebra, which neither had seen before. One Mr. Kumar praised the
beauty of nature, while the other Mr. Kumar thanked God.
The Mr. Kumars come together in a symmetry that shows Pi’s two great passions – zoology and
religion – and how he is able to reconcile these two within his own personality. The two Mr. Kumars
equally influence Pi. Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 32 - Summary & Analysis
Pi explains the concept of zoomorphism, which is when animals see humans or members of another
species as one of their own kind. He gives examples of the zoo’s herd of rhinoceros and goats, and a
mouse that lived peacefully among the vipers for a while. He says that sometimes dogs are used as
foster mothers for lion cubs.
This is another important idea that points to Pi’s ordeal with Richard Parker. The boundaries between
animal species can be blurred more easily than the boundaries between territory or human religion.
Themes-Survival, Boundaries
Pi says that the animals are aware of the real truth – the lion cubs know that the dog isn’t their real
mother – but they embrace the “imaginary” relationship in order to maintain order in their life. They
need such a comforting fiction to live happily, as otherwise the lion cubs would be terrified at being
motherless.
Martel is making more connections between the animal world and human world – he sees this kind of
zoomorphism as animals choosing “the better story” or having a kind of religious faith, one that
makes their reality more pleasant. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Storytelling, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 33 - Summary & Analysis
The author describes Pi showing him old family photos. There are pictures of Pi’s wedding and his
days growing up in Canada, but almost nothing from India. There are only four random photos, one
containing the mysterious Richard Parker. None of the pictures have Pi’s mother in them, and Pi says
that he has started forgetting what his mother looks like.
Pi’s ordeal has also involved the loss of all his belongings from India. This lack of proof for his
backstory (especially in light of his later actions) calls Pi’s reliability into question – all his stories of
childhood might also be “spiced up.” Themes- Survival and Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 34 - Summary & Analysis
Back in Pi’s narrative, the family prepares to sail to Canada. Pi describes the huge hassle of selling off
a whole zoo. It took a year to go through all the legal requirements, but the sales made enough money
to fund the family’s journey. They arranged for some of the animals to travel with them across the
Pacific, where they would be delivered to American zoos.
Everything is now in place to set up Pi’s unique journey. Pi contrasts the seeming freedom of a wild
animal’s existence with the great legal hassle of doing anything with it in the human sphere. Themes-
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 35 - Summary & Analysis
Pi and his family left India on a Japanese cargo ship called the Tsimtsum, departing on June 21st,
1977. Pi describes his mother’s sadness at leaving India, and how she tried to stock up Indian
cigarettes (even though she didn’t smoke), as she was so worried about entering a wholly unfamiliar
territory.
We don’t spend much time with Pi’s family, but Gita’s last actions are poignant and show a strong love
for her homeland. The Tsimtsum appears now, as Pi is about to experience that “contraction” of
God’s presence. Themes- Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 36 - Summary & Analysis
The author returns again. On one of his visits he meets Pi’s two children, Nikhil and Usha. Again the
author had no idea that Pi had children until he suddenly encounters them. Usha, who is four, is
holding an orange cat in her arms and laughing. The author declares that Pi’s story has “a happy
ending.”
Pi’s orange cat is a clear reference to Richard Parker. Martel has shown Pi’s happy childhood and
happy adulthood, but now he will show the suffering that lies in between. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 37 - Summary & Analysis
Pi begins the narrative with the Tsimtsum sinking. Everything is chaotic, and Pi is alone in a lifeboat.
He sees a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker swimming desperately and Pi encourages him on,
addressing the tiger aloud and lamenting the loss of his parents and Ravi. Pi throws Richard Parker a
lifebuoy and the tiger climbs aboard the lifeboat. Pi suddenly realizes the danger of sharing a tiny
lifeboat with an adult tiger, and he tries to push Richard Parker away, but too late. Pi jumps overboard.
Martel abruptly changes the narrative’s tone from one of contemplation and coming-of-age to this
scene of total chaos. We finally see who Richard Parker is – a fully grown Bengal tiger. Martel will
explore many ideas on Pi’s lifeboat, but one of the strongest is the fierce will to survive found in all
living things. Richard Parker is the first example of this as he swims to the lifeboat. Themes- Survival,
Strorytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 38 - Summary & Analysis
Pi’s story jumps back to before the shipwreck. They had been traveling peacefully, and Pi was
enjoying the journey. They sank four days after they left the Philippines and entered the open Pacific.
Pi describes that night – he is awakened by a noise, possibly an explosion. The rest of his family is
asleep. Pi tries to wake Ravi to go explore the ship, but Ravi ignores him. Pi sets off on his own.
Pi is saved by mere chance and his family dies through no fault of their own. The reason for the
Tsimtsum’s sinking is never explained, but it is most important as a concept – Isaac Luria’s
“tzimtzum,” where God withdraws to “make room” for creation, as God now withdraws from Pi.
Themes- Survival
Pi goes onto the main deck, where it is raining. He notices that the ship is listing hard on one side and
making groaning sounds, and he realizes that something is wrong. Pi goes back inside, suddenly
panicking. He tries to return to his family but the stairwell is flooded. He hears noises and then sees
that the wild animals have escaped their cages and are running around, shrieking. Pi finally finds three
crew members, but they only speak Chinese. They put a life jacket on him and throw him over the
side of the ship.
Neither is it ever explained how the wild animals got out of their cages. The violent, chaotic act of the
Tsimtsum’s sinking becomes the turning point in Pi’s life, throwing him from one universe into another.
In a lesser sense, he is very suddenly made independent of his family and support network and forced
to act as an adult to survive. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 39 - Summary & Analysis
Pi falls forty feet and lands on a half-unrolled tarpaulin covering a lifeboat that is hanging from the
side of the ship. Pi looks up and sees a Grant’s zebra jump gracefully after him. The zebra misses the
tarpaulin and smashes into a bench on the lifeboat, crying out in distress. The lifeboat shakes at the
impact and then falls into the water.
Pi’s luck in surviving begins immediately, as he falls a huge distance but happens to land unharmed
on a soft surface. The zebra is not so lucky, but it too survives, showing the extremely potent desire of
living things to keep on living. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 40 - Summary & Analysis
The story moves forward to the point just after Pi jumped overboard to escape Richard Parker. Pi
clings to a fallen oar and then finds a lifebuoy. He climbs onto the buoy just as shark’s fins slice
through the water around him. Pi looks into the lifeboat and sees the zebra, but not Richard Parker. He
jams the oar under the tarpaulin and hangs onto it, dangling off the edge of the lifeboat.
Pi’s situation is almost ridiculously dangerous right now, as he is trapped between a tiger and sharks,
alone on a stormy ocean. Martel has to use a lot of space describing Pi’s situation in the lifeboat, as
the details of Pi’s setting now become overwhelmingly important to his survival. Themes- Survival,
Boundaries
Pi hangs there over the water and assesses his situation – he is alone in the middle of the Pacific,
surrounded by sharks and an adult tiger. His adult self-wonders why he didn’t just let go of the oar
and succumb to what seemed an inevitable death. Pi eventually slips the lifebuoy over himself,
making his position more comfortable.
Pi’s will to live overwhelms his reasoning, as his adult self recognizes just how logically hopeless his
position was. Pi remains clinging to the oar, trying to keep himself separate from the lifeboat and out
of Richard Parker’s territory. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 41 - Summary & Analysis
Pi looks around for other survivors as the ship disappears beneath the waves. He is surrounded by
wreckage, but can see no other humans. After a while Pi needs to change position, as he is getting sore
and wants to be able to look for other lifeboats. He assumes that Richard Parker is hiding under the
lifeboat’s tarpaulin. Pi climbs atop the tarpaulin, expecting the tiger to attack him, but Richard Parker
remains hidden.
The human loss of the Tsimtsum is enormous, but Pi has to focus on his own survival so much that his
grief is delayed. He hopes for human companionship or rescue at first. The tarpaulin becomes an
important boundary in the boat. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi notices that the zebra is still alive too, though its back leg is gruesomely broken. Pi admires the
dying creature’s beauty and wonders why Richard Parker hasn’t killed it yet. Then a hyena appears
from under the tarpaulin. Pi assumes that Richard Parker must have drowned, as a tiger and a hyena
could not both be on the lifeboat together.
We later learn that this account is only one version of Pi’s survival story, and in another version there
are humans on the lifeboat with him instead of animals. This first account is so believable (and maybe
factually true) because the wild animals act like wild animals, instead of as humans given animal
identities. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi wonders how the hyena got aboard. He realizes that it was already in the lifeboat, and the crew
members threw him down as bait for the hyena, hoping to clear the lifeboat for themselves. Pi is
afraid of the hyena but less so than he was of Richard Parker. He decides he prefers the “upfront
ferocity of a dog” to the silent, stealthy tiger. Dawn breaks and Pi is surrounded by an empty ocean.
Pi knows about animal territories and “alpha” animals from his upbringing at the zoo, so he
immediately recognizes that two alpha predators – a tiger and a hyena – could not be peacefully
sharing such a small space. Themes- Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 42 - Summary & Analysis
Soon afterward an old orangutan named Orange Juice floats by on an island of bananas held together
by netting. Orange Juice was a popular member of the Pondicherry Zoo and the mother of two male
orangutans. Pi laments that such a gentle creature should experience so much pain, but he is glad to
see her and invites her aboard. She climbs up and the bananas come loose, floating away, but Pi
salvages the netting. Later he would curse the loss of the bananas, but the net would help him survive.
Orange Juice also shows miraculous luck and will in surviving, as she somehow escapes the sinking
ship and finds a “lifeboat” of bananas. In Pi’s “human version” of his story Orange Juice is replaced
by Pi’s own mother, and here we already see some similarities, as Orange Juice had given birth to two
sons – like Pi and Ravi. Themes- Survival, Storytelling

Life of Pi: Chapter 43 - Summary & Analysis

Pi assures himself that someone knows about the sinking of the Tsimtsum and that rescuers will be
arriving soon. He imagines being reunited with his family in only a few hours. The animals are quiet
except for the whining hyena. Pi decides to make his spot as secure as he can, and he throws the net
over the tarpaulin, creating a flimsy barrier between himself and the animals.
In such a small, cramped space as the lifeboat any kind of boundary is crucial. Pi has already
explained how territorial animals are, and now he must basically create tiny zoo enclosures within the
lifeboat to try and satisfy each animal and stay alive. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
A few hours later the hyena starts acting strangely, running in frenzied laps around the zebra, barking,
and looking out into the water. This goes on for a long time and Pi gets worried. Despite his fear Pi
eventually grows bored and annoyed by the hyena’s constant whining and running. He muses on how
ugly hyenas are.
Pi has also already described how animals love routine and repetition. This abrupt change of setting
and situation seems to have driven the hyena mad. It creates its own “order” by repeating the same
act over and over again. Themes- Boundaries
Pi remembers facts about hyenas – in packs they can kill even large, strong herd animals. They eat
anything and everything, including their own kind during a feeding frenzy. Finally, the hyena stops
the running and vomits, and then wedges itself into a small space behind the zebra, where it stays for
hours.
Pi tries to avoid anthropomorphizing animals, but the hyena seems like a crude, violent creature in
Pi’s human version of his ordeal, the hyena is the foul-mouthed, selfish, and murderous French cook.
Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 44 - Summary & Analysis
The day passes slowly and Pi listens to the flies buzzing around on the boat. Evening comes and Pi
grows afraid of the approaching night. In the dark he will be invisible to rescuers, and the animals
might become active and aggressive. The night is moonless and cloudy, so when darkness falls it is
total and overwhelming. Pi hears snarls from the hyena and barking from the zebra, and then he hears
sounds from underneath the boat as well. He realizes that the “battle for life” is taking place in the
ocean as well.
Pi has been thrown into a world totally devoid of humans but teeming with animal life. He sees the
reflection of his own struggle to survive – even against his own hope and reasoning – in all the
animals “battling for life” around him. Pi’s father taught him about the violence in nature with the
tiger-and-goat lesson, but now Pi is totally immersed in this world of savagery. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 45 - Summary & Analysis
Finally, the sun rises, and with it Pi’s hope returns. He feels sure that he will be rescued soon and he
thinks of his family, but the horizon is empty. When he looks into the lifeboat Pi sees that the hyena
has bitten off the zebra’s broken leg. The zebra is still alive and grinding its teeth in pain. Pi feels
anger and sadness on the beautiful creature’s behalf, but then he drops these feelings to focus on his
own survival.
Pi is still relatively naïve in clinging to hope of immediate rescue, but this naivety is being swiftly
crushed by the violence taking place in the lifeboat. When the two Mr. Kumars visited the zoo it was
the Grant’s zebra that they marveled at, and now Pi sees that ideal of animal beauty and grace being
defiled. Themes- Survival
Pi starts to feel seasick and he changes position on his oar. He sees Orange Juice and crawls closer to
look at her. She is clinging to the boat’s gunnel and panting with seasickness. Pi can’t help laughing at
how human the orangutan looks in her position of discomfort.
Pi finds some comfort at first in Orange Juice’s presence, as she is the most human-like of the animals
in the lifeboat. Because of her appearance he is able to temporarily forget that she too is a wild
animal. Themes- Survival
Pi also marvels that the hyena hasn’t attacked Orange Juice, and he muses on how these two species
have never interacted in the wild, as they are usually separated by an ocean. He imagines a zoo
enclosure where orangutans and hyenas live peacefully together. That afternoon a sea turtle bumps
against the lifeboat. Pi tells it to go find a ship, and it disappears.
Connected with their extreme will to survive, Pi also starts to see how differently animals can act
when thrown out of their natural environment. Pi himself must take advantage of this kind of
zoomorphism in order to live peacefully with the other species. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 46 - Summary & Analysis
Night comes again and Pi sinks into despair. He notices that the water is full of mako sharks and other
fish. Orange Juice also gazes out into the water, her expression mournful. She looks human again, but
this time tragically so. Pi realizes that she is looking for her lost sons just as he has been searching for
his family, and he grows more depressed.
Orange Juice’s humanity is no longer comedic, but only emphasizes Pi’s own tragic situation. He too
is looking for his lost family, but he has been clinging to a foolish hope that the orangutan seems to
have given up. Themes- Boundaries
Suddenly the hyena attacks the zebra and pulls off a big piece of the its hide. The zebra kicks at the
hyena but cannot stop it. The hyena slides into the zebra’s wound and starts eating its insides while the
zebra is still alive. Orange Juice lifts herself up and roars at the hyena, baring her teeth. The hyena
cringes but then faces her and howls. The zebra snorts some blood overboard and sharks gather.
Just as with the tiger and goat, Pi again witnesses the savagery of wild animals when they are faced
with danger or thrown out of their natural territories. Even Orange Juice the peaceful orangutan
seems to suddenly lose her “humanity” and become a dangerous animal. Themes- Survival,
Boundaries
Orange Juice and the hyena keep bellowing, their cries growing louder and louder. Then the standoff
suddenly ends and they both retreat. The sharks eventually swim away too, but the zebra suffers on. Pi
is horrified by all this. He finally acknowledges that his family is probably dead, and he sinks into
despair. He spends the night weeping as the hyena eats.
The zebra now shows the extreme, often unreasonable will to survive. It has no chance of outlasting
this ordeal and must be in excruciating pain, but it keeps on breathing. All this savagery has
extinguished Pi’s fantasy of hope, and he accepts that he is totally alone. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 47 - Summary & Analysis
In the morning the zebra is still alive, though its insides are spilled half-eaten all around it. It finally
dies around noon. A few hours later the tension between the hyena and Orange Juice grows again, and
then the hyena attacks. Orange Juice thumps the hyena hard on the head, shocking and inspiring Pi
with her spirit.
Pi assumed he knew Orange Juice’s personality, but now he is reminded that she is a wild animal and
so subject to instinct, and can be violent when provoked. Because these events might also be taking
place with humans (as Pi’s later story implies), it also shows how humans can become “wild” and
dangerous when threatened. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Orange Juice is no match for the larger, predatory hyena though, and it bites her throat and then severs
her head. Pi walks forward onto the lifeboat and sees her headless body with its arms outstretched like
Christ on the cross. Weeping, Pi prepares for a fight to the death with the hyena, but then he suddenly
sees Richard Parker’s head underneath a bench. Pi goes back to the bow of the boat and collapses into
a delirious sleep.
The image of Orange Juice’s headless body is one of total horror, as the orangutan was a sympathetic
animal and her final pose seems like a mockery of Pi’s faith. He is totally alone now, seemingly
robbed of companionship and religious comfort. Tellingly it is at that moment that Richard Parker
appears – especially if the tiger is actually the brutal part of Pi’s own soul. Themes- Survival, Religion
and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 48 - Summary & Analysis
Pi tells the story of Richard Parker’s origins. A panther had been killing people near Bangladesh, so
the locals called in a professional hunter to capture or kill it. The hunter left a goat as bait, but instead
of a panther it attracted two tigers, a mother and her cub. The hunter shot the mother with a
tranquilizer dart and sent both mother and cub to the Pondicherry Zoo.
Richard Parker now starts to appear as a major character, as the other inhabitants of the lifeboat are
swiftly dying off. He is a royal Bengal tiger, but not the same tiger that Pi watched kill the goat.
Themes- Survival
In the paperwork sent along with the tigers, the hunter’s name, which was Richard Parker, got mixed
up with the name the hunter gave to the cub, which was Thirsty (with the family name “None
Given”). Pi’s father was so amused by this that he officially kept the tiger cub’s name as Richard
Parker.
This amusing backstory is contrasted with the terrifying reality of Richard Parker’s presence on the
lifeboat. Martel found the name Richard Parker in several shipwreck narratives, and felt that the
name must be significant. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 49 - Summary & Analysis
Back on the lifeboat Pi wakes up and accepts that Richard Parker really is present on the boat with
him. He wonders at how such a huge animal stayed hidden for so long. Pi basically loses hope, as he
knows he has no chance of surviving anymore. He decides to let the tiger kill him when it wants to,
and in the meantime he wants to quench his raging thirst.
Pi has already presented the story of the panther in Zurich to set up Richard Parker’s ability to stay
undiscovered. Pi gains a kind of courage by accepting the hopelessness of his situation – he can take
action now that he is no longer paralyzed by uncertainty. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi explores the lifeboat, looking for supplies. He notices that he is no longer afraid of the hyena, as it
seems like a “ridiculous dog” when compared to Richard Parker. Pi now understands why the hyena
had confined itself to such a small space, and had waited so long to kill the zebra – it didn’t want to
upset the tiger. Pi decides that Richard Parker must be sedated and seasick, or else he would have
become active much earlier.
The hyena has been acting so strangely because it confined itself to a tiny territory, trying to avoid
crossing into Richard Parker’s territory and being killed. Richard Parker is under the tarpaulin,
which acts as the main boundary within the lifeboat. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
 Life of Pi: Chapter 50 - Summary & Analysis
Pi takes stock of the details of the lifeboat – it is twenty-six feet long and eight feet wide, painted
white, and fitted with benches, oars, and oarlocks. Richard Parker’s territory is under the tarpaulin on
the boat’s front half, while the hyena occupies the smashed back bench where the zebra fell. Pi
himself is on the very tip of the bow. The boat’s inside surfaces, the oars, lifejackets, and the lifebuoy
are all orange, which seems like a “nice Hindu color” to Pi.
The lifeboat is the ultimate microcosm, a small, enclosed space that is now housing a boy and two
dangerous predators. Every detail becomes incredibly important for Pi’s survival. Pi is slightly
comforted by the color orange, which is also the color of tigers (and of the adult Pi’s housecat).
Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 51 - Summary & Analysis
Pi doesn’t see any supplies at first, so he assumes they must be under the tarpaulin, in Richard
Parker’s “den.” Pi feels the urgency of his thirst more than his fear of the tiger, so he unrolls the
tarpaulin a little bit and looks underneath. Pi gets his first glimpse of Richard Parker’s full size, and he
shivers with awe and fear. He sees a lid on the bow’s bench, and carefully opens it to find a locker full
of supplies.
Much of the following sections concern the details of Pi’s struggle for survival. He finds again and
again that his will to live cannot be overcome by fear, as he braves the tiger’s presence and enters his
territory to look for water. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi is ecstatic to find many cans of water, and he greedily drinks a few of them. There are packages of
biscuits as well, and he eats some even though they contain animal fat (he has always been a
vegetarian). Pi then calculates his rations, and figures that he has enough food to last 93 days and
enough water to last 124 days. He joyfully mumbles “thank you!” aloud.
It has only been a few days but already Pi is ecstatic at the most basic of human necessities – he has
quickly gone into survival mode, like an animal in his constant quest for food and water. Pi’s
vegetarianism is one of the first civilized parts of himself he must give up. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 52 - Summary & Analysis
Pi gives a complete list of all the contents of the lifeboat. This includes anti-seasickness medicine,
blankets, “solar stills,” flares, food and water, ropes, life jackets and oars, fishing paraphernalia, rain
catchers, a knife, a notebook and pen, a bar of chocolate, a survival manual, and “1 God.” Pi eats
some of the chocolate and falls asleep.
This list condenses many of the elements of the book, combining the necessities of survival, wild
animals, and Pi’s religious faith. The contents of the locker seem like a huge windfall, and they give Pi
some hope. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 53 - Summary & Analysis
When Pi wakes up he realizes he has to deal with the reality of Richard Parker. He recognizes his own
inevitable death and starts to cry, but then something within himself steels itself for survival. He prays
and promises not to die, realizing that he has a very strong instinct for staying alive. Pi starts
constructing a raft so he can put some distance between himself and Richard Parker. He uses the oars,
the lifebuoy, and life jackets. He has to enter the tiger’s den for the lifejackets and does so.
Pi’s recognition of his own seemingly inevitable death gives him the freedom to act without fear of
consequences, as his situation could not get any worse. Just as religious faith must often move outside
of reason, so the will to live must also go against reason sometimes – Pi has no reasonable hope of
surviving, but he decides to struggle on nonetheless. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi lashes his raft together with the rope, and as he works the hyena starts to whine and Richard Parker
growls. Suddenly the tiger kills the hyena, who dies without a sound or a struggle. Richard Parker
then turns and looks at Pi, who is struck by the tiger’s power, beauty, and grace. Richard Parker bares
his teeth and prepares to attack, and at that moment a rat climbs up onto Pi’s head.
All the other elements have now been removed from the story, and only the boy, the tiger, and the
Pacific remain. In Pi’s human version of the story, this scene involves Pi himself killing the French
cook, leaving him totally alone on the lifeboat. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Richard Parker approaches Pi, who prepares for death, but the tiger is distracted by the softness of the
tarpaulin and the rolling of the lifeboat. In this moment of hesitation Pi grabs the rat and throws it to
the tiger. Richard Parker eats the rat and seems satisfied, and he turns back to devour the hyena. Pi
notices some vomit on the boat floor and realizes that Richard Parker has indeed been seasick.
Pi keeps accepting his death and then being given reasons to hope. He gets the first inclination of how
he will “tame” Richard Parker by throwing him the rat, and he learns that the tiger does have a
weakness in seasickness. Themes- Survival
Pi finishes his raft, ties it to the lifeboat with a rope, and steps onto it. It proves seaworthy, but Pi is
floating just inches above several sharks. The raft gets pulled along by the lifeboat, and Pi continually
checks his knots. It starts to rain and Pi uses the rain catchers to gather water. Night falls.
Pi has now created his own small territory. The raft is divided from Richard Parker and the sharks by
the flimsiest of boundaries, but for now it is enough to save him. Themes- Survival, Boundaries

Life of Pi: Chapter 54 - Summary & Analysis

It rains all night and Pi stays on the raft, cold and wet and unable to sleep. He begins coming up with
plans to kill Richard Parker. He considers pushing him off the lifeboat or attacking him, but rejects
these as suicidal. He finally decides to wage a “war of attrition” and wait for the tiger to run out of
food and water. Pi just needs to stay alive for this plan to work.
Pi is once again hoping against reason that he can survive, despite his earlier acceptance of death. His
final plan will seem foolish in the light of day, though. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 55 - Summary & Analysis
Dawn breaks and it starts raining harder, but then it suddenly stops. Pi warms up and takes stock of
his situation. He recognizes that his raft is too flimsy to last long. He thinks of his plan to outlast
Richard Parker, but then remembers that tigers can drink salt water, and he realizes that if Richard
Parker gets hungry he will just swim over to the raft and kill Pi.
In terms of survival instinct and brute strength, Pi has no chance against a wild animal. He must use
his human resourcefulness and intelligence. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 56 - Summary & Analysis
Pi muses on fear, which now totally overwhelms him. His crippling terror overwhelms his reason and
saps the energy from his body. The adult Pi comments on how fear is the “only true opponent” of life,
and so we must constantly work to overcome it.
As a narrator, the adult Pi can muse on the fear that almost killed his younger self. Richard Parker is
also just trying to survive – fear is the most dangerous thing in the lifeboat. Themes- Survival,
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 57 - Summary & Analysis
Pi is cured of his hopelessness and terror by Richard Parker himself. The tiger seems sated with
rainwater and hyena, and he looks at Pi and makes a strange sound. Surprised, Pi recognizes this
sound as prusten, a very rare noise that tigers sometimes make to express friendliness and peaceful
intentions. At that moment Pi decides to tame Richard Parker. He knows that he cannot kill the tiger,
so he resolves to live peacefully with him.
As if in answer to Pi’s extreme fear, Richard Parker suddenly reveals that his intentions are benign for
now. Martel continues to blur the lines between human and animal, as the tiger acts almost rationally
in agreeing to live in peace on the lifeboat. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi admits that part of him is glad that Richard Parker is still alive, as he is a companion and a
distraction from grief and insanity. Pi then remembers everything he has learned about taming wild
animals. He takes a whistle from one of the life jackets and shouts across the water about the “greatest
show on earth,” standing and blowing the whistle to show his alpha status. The tigers roars angrily at
the sound but then he backs away and lies down in the bottom of the lifeboat.
Richard Parker is a constant danger to Pi, but he also saves Pi’s life with his very presence. Pi now
has a reason to live – to tame Richard Parker and live peacefully with him – and a constant
distraction from the loss of his family and his own total isolation. All of Pi’s earlier digressions about
animal-training now become important. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 58 - Summary & Analysis
Pi reads the survival manual that he found in the locker. It advises him about what kinds of fish not to
eat, to not drink urine, and that the horizon, when seen from near sea level, is only two and a half
miles away. After reading it Pi resolves to continue with Richard Parker’s training regimen, to
improve the raft, to build himself a shelter, and to stop hoping for rescue. He realizes that he is totally
alone, and he weeps.
Pi now has work to keep him busy, which is his greatest defense against despair and loneliness. Pi
decides to stop hoping to be rescued, as watching the horizon is just a waste of time and energy. He
doesn’t know that he will soon be desperate enough to want to drink urine. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 59 - Summary & Analysis
Pi’s hunger and thirst overcome his depression, and he climbs onto the lifeboat. Richard Parker is
under the tarpaulin. The lifeboat is rolling in a different direction now, which seems to have made the
tiger seasick again – Pi makes a note of this. Pi watches several cockroaches, the last living things on
the boat except for himself and Richard Parker, suddenly throw themselves overboard and get eaten
by fish.
Martel again shows how the sheer will to survive can overcome fear, depression, and even reason.
This seems contradicted by the cockroaches, however, who act as Pi is tempted to just give in and die
instead of going about the wearying work of survival. Themes- Survival
Pi smells urine and realizes that Richard Parker has marked his territory by urinating below the
tarpaulin. Pi is comforted by this, as the tiger seems to have claimed only the floor of the boat. Pi eats
and then drinks from a puddle of rainwater. He urinates into a beaker and notices how clear and
appetizing it looks, but he resists drinking it. He splashes the urine over the tarpaulin to mark his own
territory.
The contradictions of the setting are heightened in this scene. Pi is surrounded by the boundless sky
and sea but is trapped on a tiny, enclosed territory within this expanse, and now the lifeboat itself has
become divided into separate territories for boy and tiger. Themes- Boundaries
Pi examines the solar still in the locker. He discovers that they are devices (consisting of a cone and a
bag) that turn salt water into fresh water through evaporation and condensation. He ties them to ropes
and floats them behind the boat. Then he improves his raft, carving an oar into a makeshift mast,
hanging a blanket from it as a canopy, and adding an extra life jacket to the floor.
Despite his penchant for contemplation and self-awareness, Pi must now spend most of his time
working just to stay alive. Pi has little faith in the solar stills at first, but they will soon be life-saving.
After marking the boundaries of his territory as an animal would, Pi now makes it more comfortable.
Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Pi eats more rations, feeling hopeful and admiring the beauty of the sky and sea. Richard Parker
appears and makes the prusten sound again. Pi hears a splash and looks down into the water, and he
marvels at the abundance of sealife below him. Pi thinks of all the fish and other creatures as a
bustling city. Night falls and he goes to sleep on the raft.
Pi was despairing of life just hours ago, but Richard Parker’s peacefulness and Pi’s own busyness
have drastically improved his mood. By travelling so slowly and unobtrusively across the ocean, Pi
sees the full range of sealife on his journey. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 60 - Summary & Analysis
Pi wakes up once in the night and is terrified by the sublimity of his surroundings, the vastness of the
sea and sky. He realizes that his suffering is “taking place in a grand setting,” which makes it seem
small and mundane. He prays and falls back asleep.
Pi already has a mind that tends towards religion and philosophy, and now he experiences the true
terror and ecstasy of the “sublime” – a philosophical concept referring to an aesthetic greatness
beyond all measure. Themes- Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 61 - Summary & Analysis
The next day Pi wakes up feeling strong and rested. He cuts up his leather shoe and tries using it as
bait on the fishing tackle, but he has no success. Despite his new hope Pi realizes that he needs to find
food and water for Richard Parker soon, or he risks being killed. After a few hours of growing despair
Pi climbs onto the lifeboat to look for bait. He finds himself staring straight into Richard Parker’s
eyes, but at that moment Pi is struck on the face by a flying fish.
The manmade tools Pi finds (like the solar stills) certainly help him survive, but he still must rely on
nature and luck. The fishing tackle fails and he is only saved by a chance school of flying fish. Richard
Parker’s “prusten” feelings last only while he is being fed and watered. Themes- Survival
A whole school of flying fish then leaps into and over the boat, some of them hitting Richard Parker.
Pi throws fish to the tiger as a “treat” to help tame him. Pi realizes that the fish are being chased by
dorados. Richard Parker eats his fill of flying fish. Pi gathers up some fish and tries to make himself
kill one, but this is very difficult, as he has been a pacifist and vegetarian all his life.
Pi has been growing more animalistic in his actions (like using his urine to mark his territory) but he
still clings to his humanity in many ways, the most notable being this unwillingness to kill another
living thing even when he is starving. But in the end hunger wins out. Themes- Survival, Religion and
Faith, Boundaries
Pi finally wraps the flying fish in a blanket and breaks its neck, weeping. He feels that he has
committed a great sin, but after the fish is dead Pi finds it easier to cut it up and use it for bait. He
hooks a three-foot-long dorado, fights it, and brings it into the boat. He admires the fish’s beautiful
colors, and thanks Vishnu for “taking the form of a fish.”
In Pi’s “human version” of his story he has already killed and eaten the French cook by this point,
and now is weeping over a flying fish. It may be that Pi projected his first kill onto a later date, or that
he has so thoroughly cut off the “Richard Parker” side of his soul that the “Pi” side remains
pacifistic and vegetarian. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith
Pi kills the dorado with a hatchet from the locker. He finds it much easier to kill for the second time,
and he muses sadly on how quickly people can get used to things – even killing. Pi throws the dorado
to Richard Parker and blows the whistle as the tiger eats, hoping to show that he is the alpha who
provides food. Night comes again and Pi returns to his raft.
Pi’s realization that he can quickly get used to anything is very important. In this way Martel
gradually lowers Pi’s humanity, as Pi gets used to new levels of savagery as his desperation grows. Pi
uses the same repetition and confidence that he used to “train” his classmates to call him “Pi.”
Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 62 - Summary & Analysis
Pi wakes up before sunrise and sees Richard Parker pacing around, growing thirsty. Pi checks the
solar stills and is excited to see that they have actually produced fresh water, as he hadn’t expected
them to work. Pi drinks from one of the bags with relish. He returns to the lifeboat and gives Richard
Parker some flying fish and a bucket of the new water. Pi blows the whistle as the tiger drinks. The
day passes uneventfully, and Pi realizes that it has been a week since the Tsimtsum sank.
Pi’s sense of time and the outside world quickly fades in his new universe of constant struggle. In the
microcosm of the lifeboat and Pi’s tenuous hold on life, the smallest relief – like a full bag of fresh
water – seems like a miracle. Pi uses the whistle as his “lion-tamer’s whip,” teaching Richard Parker
to associate the noise with Pi’s alpha-ness. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 63 - Summary & Analysis
Pi lists other famous shipwreck survivors, and says that he ended up surviving 227 days at sea. He
says that keeping a busy routine was the key to his survival. He lists his daily chores and activities,
which included feeding himself and Richard Parker, praying, and keeping his raft and equipment
properly functioning. Pi also spends hours just observing Richard Parker. Pi soon gives up looking for
ships on the horizon, and he comes to forget the passing of time, which he says helps him to survive.
This makes all his memories blur together, however.
The longest surviving castaway (at the time of Life of Pi’s publication) is Poon Lim, a Chinese sailor
who lived on a raft for 133 days. The book’s following chapters are brief episodes that break up the
monotony of Pi’s ordeal. Even though he has a routine of repetitive acts, Pi is still constantly on the
verge of death, as there is no “routine” way of procuring food and water, even though he and the tiger
must regularly eat and drink. Themes- Survival,Religion and Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 64 - Summary & Analysis
Pi’s clothes eventually disintegrate from the sun and salt, and he gets salt-water boils on his skin from
being constantly wet. These burst painfully and Pi often cannot find a comfortable position to lie in.
The repetition of the same clothes and the same uncomfortable positions is a negative part of Pi’s
routine. In his nakedness another divide is broken down between Pi and Richard Parker. Themes-
Survival, Boundaries
 Life of Pi: Chapter 65 - Summary & Analysis
Pi pores over the survival manual, trying to decipher its advice about navigation, but he knows
nothing about stars or currents. Pi eventually gives up, recognizing that he has no way to propel or
steer the lifeboat anyway. Later he would learn that he drifted along the “Pacific equatorial counter-
current.”
Pi wisely gives up trying to control the things beyond his power, like hoping for rescue or trying to
steer the lifeboat. The only things he can control are his own daily acts of survival and sanity.
Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 66 - Summary & Analysis
Pi keeps fishing, often using a gaff that he finds in the locker. He pulls the fish aboard and then kills
them with the hatchet. He has lost all qualms about touching sea life or killing living creatures. He
improves at hunting and starts using the net as a lure to attract more fish. Some days he catches more
fish than he can eat, but often there is nothing to catch. He sometimes catches turtles as well – he
finds it is easy to grab them but difficult to pull them aboard, as they are so big. Pi sadly compares his
new level of “savagery” to his earlier lifestyle of vegetarianism.
Pi quickly adjusts to killing sealife with impunity in order to feed himself and Richard Parker. He has
even moved quickly from being a vegetarian to eating raw meat whenever he can. Pi has lost some of
his “civilized” humanity in this, but his resourcefulness and ability to adapt show a different kind of
humanity. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 67 - Summary & Analysis
Pi observes the underside of his raft and finds algae, shrimp, and crabs living on it. He eats some of
these, but only the crabs taste good. Barnacles grow on the lifeboat, and Pi sucks the fluid out of them
on occasion. These small diverse creatures offer another distraction from his predicament.
Pi’s desperate hunger becomes the norm, and he will eat anything and everything without qualms.
Any kind of distraction also becomes entertainment for him. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 68 - Summary & Analysis
Pi survives on very little sleep, and usually only gets about an hour at a time. Richard Parker, on the
other hand, sleeps all the time in various favourite positions.
With these short chapters Martel recreates the blurring of time that Pi experiences, a monotony of
suffering only occasionally interrupted. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 69 - Summary & Analysis
On some nights Pi thinks he sees light in the distance, and he sends up a flare, but nothing ever comes
of it. He recognizes that the area he can see is only a five-mile circle, so he has little hope of being
rescued in the vast Pacific. The flares always smell like cumin to Pi, and they make him dream of
Pondicherry.
Pi puts all his hope into reaching land instead of looking for a ship. In the brain smells can be closely
related to strong memories, so the flares (which smell of cumin, a spice often used in Indian food)
conjure up Pi’s childhood at Pondicherry. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 70 - Summary & Analysis
One day Pi catches a hawksbill sea turtle. It is too large and unwieldy to deal with on the raft, so he
has to pull it onto the tarpaulin of the lifeboat. Richard Parker growls but allows it. The survival
manual had suggested that turtle blood was good to drink, so Pi goes about the gruesome and difficult
business of butchering the turtle. He drinks all the turtle’s blood and throws the rest to Richard Parker.
Pi decides that he needs to “carve out” more territory for himself and train Richard Parker to allow
him on the lifeboat more often.
As Pi and Richard Parker move physically closer – with Pi deciding to live on the lifeboat more in
case he should have to venture onto the tiger’s territory in rough weather – Martel emphasizes in
another way that Pi becomes more animal-like in his constant quest for survival. He has quickly gone
from weeping over a flying fish to drinking all the blood from a sea turtle. Themes- Survival,
Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 71 - Summary & Analysis
Pi presents a list of training suggestions for taming a wild animal at sea. He suggests using a sea
anchor to make the lifeboat roll in the way that makes the animal (Richard Parker) seasick. Then one
should blow a whistle furiously and stomp, and when the animal steps onto your new territory, blow
the whistle more and makes the lifeboat roll. The animal will then associate its nausea with the sound
of the whistle. Pi suggests making the boat roll until the animal is vomiting, but then to stop. He says
to repeat this routine until the animal learns to retreat at the whistle.
The lifeboat now becomes a sort of zoo enclosure or tiger cage, and Pi adapts his training methods to
this environment. The essentials of animal taming that he outlined before are still the same, though –
he shows confidence and takes dominative action, and repeats the lesson over and over until the
animal learns. Themes- Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 72 - Summary & Analysis
Pi fashions a shield from a turtle shell to protect him during these training sessions. On his first
attempt Richard Parker charges him and knocks him into the water. Terrified, Pi swims to the raft and
stays there in shock for a whole day and night. Pi explains that the tiger didn’t really want to kill him,
as animals generally prefer to avoid violence. Pi tries this again four times, and each time Richard
Parker knocks him into the water. On the fifth try Pi backs down at the right time, and then begins
making the tiger seasick. After this Richard Parker never strikes him again.
This is the only real physical contact Pi makes with Richard Parker, and it is a reminder of the tiger’s
awesome power. Richard Parker at least respects Pi’s boundaries even as he lashes out, for Pi can
always retreat to his raft. Richard Parker is only fighting to defend his own territory – Pi is the one
seeking to shift the boundaries between their respective domains. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 73 - Summary & Analysis
Pi longs for a book, particularly a book of scripture. He takes notes in the little diary, but soon they
grow scattered and lose track of dates or time. He mostly writes about practical things like the weather
and Richard Parker’s activities.
We have briefly seen Pi’s love of reading through the scene where his mother offers him books. Pi
especially wants a story that is worth revisiting over and over, like a religious scripture. Themes-
Religion and Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 74 - Summary & Analysis
Pi practices his usual religious rituals, but he adapts them to his situation. He has solitary Mass
without bread or a priest, prays to Allah without knowing where Mecca is, and uses turtle meat as
prasad, a Hindu offering. These rituals give Pi comfort, but he still finds his faith sorely tested by his
suffering. Sometimes he places himself within creation by labelling the sky “God’s ear” or Richard
Parker “God’s cat.” Pi still has to battle regularly with despair, but always his faith overcomes.
Pi has become more animal-like in his diet and territorialism, but he also shows a very human
adaptability in transferring his religious practices to the lifeboat. The repetition of constantly seeking
food and water is a source of stress, but the repetition of religious ritual is a comfort to Pi. He shows
the same resilience in his faith as in his will to live. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 75 - Summary & Analysis
On a day he estimates as his mother’s birthday, Pi sings “Happy Birthday” for her out loud.
This is another small, sad way that Pi clings to his humanity and the outside world. Themes-
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 76 - Summary & Analysis
Pi also cleans up after Richard Parker, as living among his own feces could make the tiger sick.
Richard Parker starts trying to hide his feces from Pi, which shows that he recognizes Pi as dominant.
After Richard Parker defecates, Pi holds the feces in his hand, looks about scornfully, and blows the
whistle to show that he is an alpha. The tiger gets nervous at this. Pi says that both he and Richard
Parker become constipated because of their high-protein diet and dehydration, so they only defecate
once a month.
This chapter is contrasted with the tragic humanity of the one preceding it. Here Pi is acting totally as
a wild animal does, using feces to show his dominance and prove to Richard Parker that he is the
lifeboat’s alpha. Themes- Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 77 - Summary & Analysis
Pi reduces his rations as the biscuits get low, and he is constantly hungry. He fantasizes about Indian
food, and comes to view raw fish and turtles as great feasts and delicacies. When the biscuits run out
he views anything and everything as food. In a moment of desperation Pi tries to eat Richard Parker’s
feces, but he can immediately tell that there is no nutrition in it. Soon Pi’s body starts to deteriorate
from starvation.
As Pi’s levels of desperation grow, so does his humanity sink lower. The creatures he once refused to
kill now bring him great joy to eat raw. Pi’s attempt to eat Richard Parker’s feces is a low point at the
start of his state of starvation. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 78 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes the many different forms the sky and sea would take. He feels that he is “perpetually at
the center of a circle,” as the shape of his setting never changes. His life divides into opposites, as
light is too blinding and darkness is claustrophobic, the day is too hot and the night is too cold. Pi’s
emotions also swing between extreme boredom and great terror. Pi describes his life as “a game with
few pieces,” where the elements are simple but the stakes are high.
Martel now moves from the sordid to the sublime. Pi’s life has become one of extremes also in his
contradicting animality and spirituality. One moment he is trying to eat tiger feces, and the next he is
contemplating the sublime. In an endgame of chess there are few pieces left, so every consecutive
move becomes more important to losing or winning. The simplicity of Pi’s life has become like a
religious mystic living in a desert. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 79 - Summary & Analysis
Sharks swim by the lifeboat every day – makos, blue sharks, and whitetips. The first shark Pi catches
is a four-foot mako. He grabs its tail as it is swimming by and pulls it aboard, and immediately throws
it into Richard Parker’s territory. Richard Parker starts striking the shark with his paws, and he
accidentally gets bitten. This reminds Pi that the tiger can make mistakes, and it isn’t a perfect
creature. Richard Parker roars in pain and rips the shark apart. After that Pi kills the sharks himself
when he catches them.
As usual, Pi describes the first time he did something different – like catching a shark – and after that
this new method of surviving is subsumed into his routine. Richard Parker is not God, though Pi has
been viewing him as almost infallible in his power and grace. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 80 - Summary & Analysis
One day a huge dorado jumps into the boat while chasing flying fish. Pi picks up the stunned fish,
rejoicing, but Richard Parker sees the dorado in Pi’s hands and goes into an attack position. Pi fears he
is about to be killed, but he stares Richard Parker straight in the eyes fiercely. After a few seconds the
tiger turns away, defeated, and Pi throws him part of the dorado. After that Pi starts spending more
time on the lifeboat and feels less afraid of Richard Parker.
Once again Pi’s acceptance of inevitable death leads him to take a rash action that ends up saving
him. Richard Parker is an “omega” animal, like those Pi described in his earlier explanation of lion-
taming. The tiger is naturally nervous and susceptible to manipulation by an alpha. Themes- Survival,
Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 81 - Summary & Analysis
Pi admits that his survival is hard to believe, but he explains how he maintained his dominance over
Richard Parker. He was the tiger’s main source of food and water, and Richard Parker was used to this
kind of treatment at the zoo. But the only proof of Pi’s story is that he lived to tell it.
Pi has already buttressed the validity of his story by explaining his childhood at the zoo and the
different ways he knows to train animals, but now he admits that many people might doubt him about
his surviving the Pacific with a tiger. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 82 - Summary & Analysis
Pi gathers extra water from rain and the solar stills in bags, and he worries constantly that the bags
will break. He adds seawater to Richard Parker’s water, but even so they both barely survive.
Whenever Pi catches food he always gives the tiger most of it. In his hunger Pi starts eating his food
while it is still alive, and one day he notices that he is wolfing down the meat in the same manner as
Richard Parker.
The self-aware adult Pi commented on his young self’s crippling fear, and now he notes the savagery
he once descended to. Martel continues to blur the line between human and animal. Themes- Survival,
Boundaries

Life of Pi: Chapter 83 - Summary & Analysis

One day a huge storm comes and the waves turn into mountains. Pi is forced to leave the raft for the
lifeboat, and he unrolls the tarpaulin and gets under it, lying flat on the bench farthest from Richard
Parker. He gradually closes the tarpaulin over both himself and the tiger, as the life boat rides the huge
waves with steep inclines and declines. Waves crash onto the tarpaulin and pummel Pi’s body. The
storm lasts for a day and a night.
The storm breaks down the boundaries between Pi and Richard Parker when they are both forced to
take refuge under the tarpaulin—the mighty power of uncaring nature forces the living beings
together. Once again Pi chooses to avoid a more immediate danger over the lingering threat of the
tiger. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
At dawn the storm has subsided and Pi emerges. He notices that the raft has disappeared, leaving only
two oars and a life jacket, and he is devastated by this. None of Pi’s water bags split, and Richard
Parker is disgruntled but alive. Pi mends the torn tarpaulin, and then bails the water out of the boat
and finds his precious orange training whistle.
Despite Pi’s best efforts and his survival equipment, he is still totally at the mercy of nature. The storm
is without reason or mercy, and for Pi it is a great setback. The loss of the raft means that Pi must
truly enforce his territory on the lifeboat. Themes- Survival
Life of Pi: Chapter 84 - Summary & Analysis
One day Pi hears a noise and water crashes down on him from above, though the sky is cloudless. Pi
looks over the edge and sees a whale pass by. He stares directly into the whale’s eye, and then the
whale sinks back down to the depths. After this Pi would see more whales, but none came so close as
the first. Pi imagines them talking about him to each other.
Many of these episodes deal with Pi’s attempts to communicate or relate with the outside world. He
imagines the whales talking about him and trying to help him, and their majestic size and rarity make
them seem like holy messengers. Themes- Religion and Faith, Storytelling
Pi sometimes sees dolphins, but he only sees six birds during his whole time at sea. Two are distant
albatrosses, which seem “supernatural” to him. Pi catches a masked booby that lands on the boat. He
skins it and eats every edible part of the bird. The presence of the birds never mean that land is nearby,
though.
The birds also seem heavenly to Pi, especially as they have the potential to herald nearby land,
though none of them do (perhaps offering a purposeful contrast to the dove in the story of Noah’s
Arc). The booby loses all its “supernaturalness” when Pi catches and eats it, though—survival comes
first. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 85 - Summary & Analysis
One day there is a thunderstorm and lightning strikes the water near the lifeboat. Pi grows ecstatic at
the sight and praises God for this “miracle,” but Richard Parker cowers trembling on the floor of the
boat. Pi remembers this storm and his feeling of exalted wonder as one of his happiest moments at
sea.
Pi accepts this lightning strike as a sign from God, an act of communication with the religion that
seems to have forsaken him. Pi lives on the edge of death every day, so the lightning inspires wonder
in him instead of fear. Themes- Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 86 - Summary & Analysis
On another day a ship appears on the horizon and Pi shouts with joy, sure that he will be rescued. The
ship is a huge tanker, and it rapidly approaches the lifeboat. Pi yells and tries to shoot off a flare, but
the ship passes silently by, almost running over Pi on its way. Its loud engines drown out his voice,
and soon it is gone, disappearing over the horizon. Afterward Pi professes his love for Richard Parker
and promises to find land.
This is the most poignant failed communication of Pi’s journey. He is so close to rescue, but he cannot
make himself seen or heard by the people on the tanker. Pi responds to this disappointment with
renewed love for Richard Parker instead of a fresh bout of despair. Themes- Survival
 Life of Pi: Chapter 87 - Summary & Analysis
Pi develops a method of slightly asphyxiating himself, which creates a pleasing sensation. He takes a
piece of cloth (which he calls his “dream rag”), wets it with seawater, and drapes it over his face as he
rests. He has strange thoughts and dreams in this state, and time seems to pass by more swiftly.
The dream rag is another incarnation of Pi’s penchant for storytelling and religious faith – choosing a
pleasant fiction over a cruel, boring reality. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 88 - Summary & Analysis
One day the lifeboat drifts into a mass of floating trash. Pi picks out a corked, empty wine bottle.
There is a refrigerator, but all the food inside is horribly rotten. Pi writes a message about his
predicament, seals it in the bottle, and throws it back into the water.
This is another attempt at communication with the outside world, although a pretty hopeless one. Pi
does get a sign from humanity, but it is only trash and waste. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 89 - Summary & Analysis
The constant sun and salt continues to wear down everything on the lifeboat, including Pi and Richard
Parker. They both become skeletally thin, and Pi starts sleeping away most of the day, often using his
dream rag. Pi writes in his diary, convinced that he and the tiger will both die soon. He touches
Richard Parker for the first time when the tiger is lying motionless in a brief rainstorm. After his last
diary entry, “I will die today,” Pi runs out of ink.
Pi’s writing in the diary is a kind of self-communication, or a message for some future third party, but
he is thwarted in this as well by running out of ink. Even Pi’s powerful will to live and heroic
resourcefulness cannot hold out forever. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 90 - Summary & Analysis
One day Richard Parker seems to go blind. Pi throws a dorado at him and it smacks into the tiger’s
face. Pi pities Richard Parker and again feels that the end is near. Two days later Pi himself goes blind.
He suffers through heat and hunger, barely clinging to life. He feels that he has failed as a zookeeper,
as he can no longer care for Richard Parker.
Richard Parker has been giving Pi a reason to live, as the tiger would die without Pi as a source of
regularly consistent food and water. The blindness has come from extreme dehydration and
malnutrition. Pi has little hope of surviving now. Themes- Survival
Pi feels death approaching and he bids a vocal farewell to Richard Parker. He hears a voice answer
him. Surprised, Pi begins a conversation with the voice, sure that he is going mad. Pi and the voice
start discussing food, and while Pi longs for vegetable dishes the voice only talks about meat, beef and
brains and dishes that Pi finds disgusting. Pi finally assumes that he is hearing Richard Parker’s voice.
Pi has failed in any attempt to communicate with the outside world, and now it seems that in his
loneliness he has gone mad and started talking to the tiger. These scenes dip into surrealism and
magical realism, and it is unclear whether Pi is actually hearing the French castaway from the start,
or whether the whole thing is a hallucination. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Pi asks Richard Parker if he has ever killed a man, and the voice says that he has killed a man and a
woman. Pi then realizes that the voice has a French accent, which doesn’t make sense because
Richard Parker is an Indian tiger. The voice disappears for a while and Pi falls into a daze.
Richard Parker could not have killed any humans, as he was taken to the zoo as a cub. We will later
learn that the French cook of the Tsimtsum, who takes the hyena’s place in Pi’s human story, did kill
and eat a man and a woman though.
Pi wakes up and hears the voice again, and he realizes that it doesn’t belong to Richard Parker at all,
but instead to another castaway. Pi shouts out his own name and the man answers. The man says that
he has no food either, and reveals that he too is blind. They both start weeping. Pi offers to tell the
man a story, but the man says he has no use for it. Pi starts rowing his boat towards the castaway.
Considering the alternate story we hear at the novel’s end, this scene is especially surreal. The
castaway does seem to be the French cook, although in the human story Pi has already killed the cook
by this point. Unlike Pi, the castaway rejects hearing a story to distract himself from reality. Themes-
Survival, Storytelling
The castaway finally asks for Pi’s story, which is about a banana falling to the ground and making
someone feel better. The man wants to trade with Pi, and offers his leather boot. He describes it in
great detail but then admits that there is no boot after all, as he ate it long ago. In a fit of affection for
his fellow man Pi paddles his boat towards the castaway’s, and finally they join their boats with a
rope.
Pi’s “story” is hardly a story at all, but in his state the ideas of fresh fruit and genuine happiness seem
like outlandish fantasies. Pi’s conversation with the castaway rambles on and implies that both have
gone mad, or else that Pi is hallucinating the whole thing – even within the context of the possibly-
fictional animal story. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Pi embraces the castaway, but the man suddenly tries to kill Pi, threatening to eat his flesh. As soon as
the man touches the floor of the boat, however, Richard Parker kills him. Pi is traumatized by the
castaway’s dying scream, and the “terrible cost” of Richard Parker, which was that Pi should live at
the expense of another man’s life. Pi says that something died in him then that has never come back.
This moment is especially poignant if Richard Parker is in fact an aspect of Pi himself. The “terrible
cost” of indulging this bestial part of his soul is that he is willing to kill others to save his own life. If
the human story is the true one, then this scene could be Pi declaring his guilt over the cook’s death
without actually naming the deed. The story could be one of Pi reliving his sublimated guilt. Themes-
Survival, Storytelling, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 91 - Summary & Analysis
Pi climbs aboard the castaway’s boat and finds some fish and turtle meat and a few biscuit crumbs. Pi
weeps for the dead man and his tears clear out his eyes a little. He rinses his eyes with seawater and
his vision returns. Pi immediately sees the butchered body of the castaway on the floor of the lifeboat.
Pi confesses that he later used one of the castaway’s arms as fishing bait, and that in a delirium of
hunger he ate some of the man’s flesh. Pi says that he still prays for the man’s soul daily.
This is similar to a Biblical scene in which the Apostle Paul has scales fall from his eyes when he
becomes a Christian. For Pi the “enlightenment” moment is much more horrible. Even in his animal
story Pi admits to cannibalism, so if the animal story is a fiction it does little to absolve Pi of his
moral devolution. The need to survive drives him completely. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith
Life of Pi: Chapter 92 - Summary & Analysis
Pi describes an “exceptional botanical discovery” that he makes. One day the boat approaches a low-
lying island covered with trees. Pi assumes that the island is a mirage, but he decides to enjoy it while
he can. He examines the island and sees that it has no soil, but is made entirely of densely packed
algae. The boat pushes against the algae island and Pi decides to test its reality. He puts his foot
through the water and steps on solid ground.
Pi’s time on the algae island is another surreal episode, and the most extended chapter of Pi’s journey.
The algae island becomes a complex and often opaque symbol, first appearing as a kind of paradise
for Pi. In its very strangeness the island always seems unreal, despite its promise of food and shelter.
Themes- Religion and Faith
Pi finally believes that the island is not a hallucination, and he becomes delirious with joy. He eats
some of the algae and finds that its inner tubes contain fresh water. Pi eats his fill and then drags
himself to the nearest tree, as he is too weak to walk. Pi praises God. Richard Parker finally leaps
from the lifeboat as well and disappears among the trees.
The algae island often symbolizes a kind of easy, shallow faith or easy survival that tempts Pi away
from his journey, whether religious or simple fantasy. The island seems too good to be true at first, but
then it rewards Pi with immediate gratification when he steps on firm ground. Themes- Survival,
Religion and Faith
Pi spends the day in bliss, but he returns to his “territory” on the lifeboat at night. Later Richard
Parker returns to the lifeboat as well. Pi has a very restful sleep, and the next morning he feels
stronger. Pi slowly relearns to walk, falling onto the soft algae and eating his fill of it. Days pass, and
Pi and Richard Parker always spend the night on the lifeboat.
At first Pi (and perhaps Richard Parker) returns to the lifeboat at night out of habit, and to keep up
his territory. Whether mirage, miracle, or warning, the island offers a welcome reprieve from Pi’s
struggle to survive. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Richard Parker returns to his former strength and speed, and Pi’s fear of him returns when he bursts
out of the trees one night. The tiger is still stopped by the sound of the whistle, however, and he leaps
into the ocean and swims to his part of the lifeboat.
Richard Parker also has a chance to return to his former self, which brings new danger to Pi, as the
tiger now has opportunities to feed and water himself without an alpha. Themes- Survival
A few days later Pi decides to explore the island. It seems large and rises to about sixty feet at its
highest point. It consists entirely of algae, with hundreds of evenly spaced ponds at its center. The
island is inhabited by hundreds of thousands of meerkats. The meerkats are totally docile and unafraid
of Pi. Pi makes his way through their crowds and examines one of the ponds, which seems
bottomless.
The algae island keeps growing stranger and more surreal. Its details are so mysterious that it seems
like it must be a hallucination or a made-up story, but at the same time Pi’s attention to detail in
describing this place suggests that it may be a reality. Themes- Storytelling
The meerkats suddenly start diving into a nearby pond and pulling out large fish. The fish are already
dead, but freshly so, and Pi is mystified by this. He takes a sip of the water and finds that it is fresh.
The fish are ocean fish, so their deaths are explained by the fresh water, but Pi wonders how they got
into the pond. He decides that the algae absorbs the salt from the seawater.
If the algae island is a symbol of a treacherous, shallow religious faith or mirage, then the meerkats
are perhaps the followers who blindly buy into its promises. They take the material rewards of the
island (the fish) and ignore its more sinister aspects, which we will see later. Themes- Survival,
Religion and Faith
Suddenly the meerkats all turn and Pi sees Richard Parker in the distance, killing hundreds of them at
his leisure. They don’t even run away, and the tiger kills far more than he could ever eat. The next
morning Pi cleans the lifeboat of its human and animal remains.
After such a long period of starvation, the tiger’s (or Pi’s) hunting instinct runs wild. Pi cleans the
lifeboat and makes it a nicer place to live, but he also removes any proof of his story’s truth or the
ordeals he has faced and things he has done to survive. Themes- Survival, Boundaries
More days pass and Pi feels all his aches and pains easing. A storm hits the island while he is ashore,
but the island absorbs all the waves with barely a tremor. Pi wonders at the unique ecosystem of the
island, which contains no insects or any living creature except meerkats, and no plants except for the
algae and the trees. Pi then discovers that the trees are actually part of the algae itself. Pi guesses that
the island is not rooted to the earth, but is a huge free-floating organism.
As with Pi and Richard Parker on the lifeboat, the algae island also exists as a “game with few
pieces,” a total ecosystem made up only of algae and meerkats. The island easily weathers a storm
like the one that nearly killed Pi before, and so it seems even more paradisal and attractive as a kind
of faith or refuge. Themes- Survival
One day Pi is exploring the forest when he comes across Richard Parker. Afterwards he takes up the
taming process again, and he soon trains the tiger to jump through a hoop of branches. Pi decides to
stop spending the night on the boat, and he climbs into a tree to sleep.
Richard Parker has been Pi’s constant companion and danger, the test of his faith, resourcefulness,
and love, so it is a bad sign that on the island Pi is able to easily train the tiger to jump through
hoops. There is something soul-crushing about this for him, as the wild tiger suddenly seems less wild.
Themes- Boundaries
Just as Pi makes his “bed” all the multitudes of meerkats abandon the plain and climb into the trees.
They swarm over Pi, totally covering him. Then they all fall asleep too. The next morning they
immediately return to the ground. Pi starts sleeping in the tree every night, using meerkats as a blanket
and pillow.
The meerkats know about the island’s sinister nature, but they (like Pi is tempted to) ignore this part
and accept the instant gratification of the island’s food, shelter, and comfort. Themes- Religion and
Faith
One night Pi wakes up and sees more dead fish floating up in one of the ponds, but none of the
meerkats descend from the trees. Then the fish all disappear. Pi finds something sinister about the
situation and wonders more about the nature of the island. He finds his answer days later, when he is
exploring the forest.
Pi is tempted to stay on the island forever, but when he starts to notice something is amiss, he chooses
to seek the truth instead of purposefully blinding himself to the island’s nature. Themes- Survival,
Religion and Faith
Pi finds a tree that seems to have fruit. He climbs it and picks one, noticing how light it is. He peels
away its many layers, and the adult Pi interrupts to wish that he had never found that tree or examined
its fruit too closely. Back in the story, Pi reaches the center of the fruit and finds that it is a human
tooth. Horrified, he picks more fruit and finds that they are all teeth.
This is the “loss of innocence” moment for the algae island, and parallels the scene in the Biblical
Garden of Eden. The island also seems like a paradise at first, but when Pi eats of the “forbidden
fruit” he gains awful knowledge, and must leave the Garden. Themes- Religion and Faith
Pi begins to understand the awful truth about the island, and he tests his theory that night. He drops
one of the meerkats from the tree and watches it squeak in pain and immediately climb back up. Then
Pi climbs down and touches his feet to the algae. He immediately experiences a burning pain.
Pi continues to seek the truth instead of giving in to the easier path and staying on the island. The
meerkats (or the people they represent) clearly know about the island’s dangerous nature, but they
avoid it every night and continue to live in ease on the island. Themes- Survival
Pi realizes that the island is carnivorous. The algae becomes acidic and deadly at night, digesting the
ocean fish it has lured into its ponds. Pi realizes that some castaway before him had lived on this
island, and it eventually devoured him or her, leaving only teeth behind. Pi feels angry and betrayed
by the true nature of the seemingly paradisal island.
The island comes together as a symbol of false faith or the temptations of giving into despair and
fantasy. These two are related, as they both involve avoiding harsh reality to indulge in something evil
but comfortable. Themes- Religion and Faith, Survival
The next morning Pi resolves to leave the algae island. He would prefer to die searching for land and
other humans instead of living a “half-life of physical comfort and spiritual death” on the carnivorous
island. Pi fills the lifeboat with dead fish, meerkats, and algae, and he waits for Richard Parker to
come aboard at night to before pushing off.
Pi is not against “bettering” reality through story or religious faith, but he still seeks the kernel of
truth in reality, and then tries to make it more beautiful or moving—or even more true—in story. Pi
chooses the hard but righteous path, refusing to give in to “spiritual death” and hallucinations of
despair. Though he is depressed to return to his struggle, his exit from the algae island is a sign that
he still has hope of returning to humanity and himself. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith,
Storytelling, Boundaries
Life of Pi: Chapter 93 - Summary & Analysis
Pi vaguely describes the rest of his ordeal, which is a constant trial of endurance and depression. In
his suffering his mind turns to God and faith.
The climax of Pi’s ordeal comes suddenly and almost randomly, after this vague, dreamlike passage of
time. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 94 - Summary & Analysis
One day the lifeboat washes ashore on a Mexican beach, but Pi is so weak that he can barely believe it
or experience happiness. He guides the lifeboat through the breakers and then carefully lets himself
down into the shallow surf. Richard Parker leaps over his head and walks slowly and clumsily down
the beach. Pi is sure that the tiger will at least look back and acknowledge him, but instead Richard
Parker disappears into the jungle without a backward glance.
Pi’s salvation is anticlimactic, but fitting for the chaotic, meaningless movements of the ocean and
fate. Pi has reached land at last, but he still has one last failure to communicate – Richard Parker
leaves without saying goodbye. We realize how invested we are in Richard Parker as a character
because this slight seems so tragic and callous, though it is also a reminder that the tiger is still a
wild animal. (Though this scene might also be read as Pi’s animal will to survive, as embodied by
Richard Parker, is no longer necessary once he reaches land). Themes- Storytelling, Survival
Pi crawls ashore and sprawls in the sand, feeling totally alone now that even Richard Parker has left
him forever. A few hours later some people find him and carry him away, speaking in a language Pi
doesn’t understand. Pi starts to weep, not out of joy but because Richard Parker left him without
saying goodbye.
Pi’s universe has consisted only of Richard Parker for so long that the tiger’s disappearance creates a
stronger emotion in him than the rescue he has longed for for months. Even back in the world of
humans, Pi is still unable to communicate with his rescuers. Themes- Storytelling, Survival
Pi says that this “bungled goodbye” with Richard Parker has pained him all his life, and he wishes that
he had at least thanked the tiger before the boat touched land. Pi says that things should conclude
properly, and as an aside he asks the author to tell his tale in exactly one hundred chapters. Pi says that
the one thing he hates about his nickname is that the number pi runs on forever. Without a conclusion
one can never let go of a painful memory.
If Richard Parker is actually the animalistic, violent side of Pi’s nature, then the tiger’s abrupt
disappearance shows how thoroughly Pi has cut off this side of his soul once he reaches civilization.
Pi wants conclusions, and good stories provide conclusions, but life does not always do the same.
Martel returns to the idea of symmetry and geometric harmony, as Pi’s nickname is contrasted with
his story, which the author has indeed told in 100 chapters. Themes- Storytelling, Boundaries
Pi’s rescuers take him to their village and bathe and feed him, and the next day a police car takes him
to a hospital. He speaks vaguely of the time following this rescue, where he was treated kindly by
doctors and then sent to a foster home in Canada. From there he entered the University of Toronto. Pi
offers his thanks to all the people who helped him and ends his tale.
The tiger’s disappearance, though painful, shows that Richard Parker (if he is a part of Pi) only had
to exist on the lifeboat, where Pi would do anything to survive. Now that he is back among
civilization, Pi has a chance to become fully human again and achieve the “happy ending” that the
author observed. Pi’s “conclusion” comes about because of the disappearance of Richard Parker.
Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 95 - Summary & Analysis
The author returns to describe the nature of the next section. It is a transcript of a conversation
between Pi and two officials from the Maritime Department of the Japanese Ministry of Transport.
These officials, whose names were Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto and Mr. Atsuro Chiba, were in California
on unrelated business when they were called to Mexico and instructed to interview the lone survivor
of the Tsimtsum, to find out more about why the ship sank.
Martel steps abruptly out of the sad story we have grown invested in, and reminds us of the
“nonfiction” framework of the novel. In this short final section Martel will question the idea of
“truth” in storytelling and the impossibility of properly communicating an unknowable reality.
Themes- Storytelling
The officials misread the map as they were driving through Mexico, so they ended up lost and then
their car broke down. They had more troubles finding a mechanic, and they finally reached their
destination, Tomatlán, after travelling without sleep for forty-one hours. They then interviewed Pi in
English and taped the conversation. The author has since received a copy of this tape and Mr.
Okamoto’s final report.
Okamoto is the senior official and the principal interviewer, while Chiba seems naïve and bumbling.
Even though they barely appear, Martel still manages to give these characters some personality.
Martel keeps up the fiction of his nonfiction reporting. Themes- Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 96 - Summary & Analysis
The narrative now consists of verbatim segments of this interview, with the Japanese portions
translated and in a different font. The interview begins, and Mr. Okamoto gives the date as February
19th, 1978. Mr. Chiba is a junior official, and Okamoto gives him advice in Japanese in between
talking to Pi. They greet Pi and discuss their trip. The officials say that they had a nice trip, and Pi
says that he had a horrible trip. Pi says he is hungry, and the officials give him a cookie. They ask him
to tell his story.
Martel throws in more seemingly meaningless details to lend credibility and a journalistic feeling to
his story. This is similar to Pi’s intricate description of the algae island or his training of Richard
Parker (if these were indeed a fiction made up by Pi, either purposefully or as a kind of subconscious
self-protection). Pi already seems detached from his horrible ordeal and is almost making jokes about
it. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 97 - Summary & Analysis
The chapter is only two words long: “The story.”
We must assume Pi told the interviewers everything we have read about in Part Two. Themes-
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 98 - Summary & Analysis
Okamoto and Chiba tell Pi that his story is interesting, but they express their disbelief to each other in
Japanese. Pi asks for another cookie, and Chiba notes that Pi hasn’t been eating the cookies but has
been storing them under his bedsheet. Okamoto says to just humor him, and he tells Pi that they will
be back in a few minutes.
Pi has reacted to his new “abundance” of food by stocking up in everything, as he is still in survival
mode. The officials act like the religious agnostics whom Pi dislikes, demanding “dry, yeastless
factuality” instead of Pi’s fascinating but improbable story. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith,
Storytelling
Life of Pi: Chapter 99 - Summary & Analysis
The interviewers return and tell Pi that they don’t believe his story. As an example of its impossibility,
they claim that bananas don’t float. Pi challenges this and pulls two bananas from under his bedsheet
for them to test. Okamoto fills the sink and puts the bananas in, and they do float. Okamoto responds
to this by challenging the existence of the algae island.
The interviewers start by nitpicking at details, which leads to some humorous scenes and Pi defending
his story in its every aspect. Eventually they get around to the larger idea here, which is about
learning to process and improve an unbearable reality through storytelling. Themes- Storytelling,
Religion and Faith
Pi says that they don’t believe in the island just because they haven’t seen it, but Okamoto claims that
it is “botanically impossible.” Chiba interrupts that he has an uncle who is a botanist and bonsai
master. Pi says that bonsai trees, “three-hundred-year-old trees that are two feet tall that you can carry
in your arms,” also must be fictional because they too seem botanically impossible.
Pi cleverly turns Okamoto’s criticism against him, and the inexperienced Chiba unwittingly helps Pi
along. In his defense Pi now starts to refer to his story in a manner similar to a religious believer,
defending the “unseen” against arguments of reason. Themes- Storytelling, Religion and Faith
Okamoto moves on, challenging Pi about Richard Parker. He says that no one has spotted a tiger in
the area lately. Pi mentions the panther that escaped the Zurich Zoo. Okamoto says how unlikely it
would be that Pi could have survived so long with such an “incredibly dangerous wild animal.”
We now see that Pi’s digressions and musings of Part One have not only foreshadowed his training of
Richard Parker, but also acted as supports and precedents for the believability of his animal story.
Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Pi responds that animals are just as afraid of humans as we are of them. He gives more examples of
wild animals living undetected in big cities, and says that the idea of finding a tiger in a jungle is
laughable. Pi then questions the interviewers – he asks them how they live if they demand
“believability” of everything. He asks if they believe in love or in God, as these things also seem
improbable.
Pi repeats his phrasing from Part One almost exactly in describing the “laughability” of finding a
tiger in a Mexican jungle, when so many wild animals effectively hide in big cities. Pi now expands
his survival story to become a more obvious metaphor for religious faith and the power of fiction.
Themes- Religion and Faith, Storytelling, Boundaries
Chiba becomes distracted by Pi’s responses and Okamoto berates him in Japanese, asking him to help
with the situation. The officials finally give up challenging Pi’s story and return to their real directive,
which is finding out why the Tsimtsum sank.
The ship’s details seem unimportant to the story, but their very unimportance contributes to the
religious metaphor – Pi’s journey as a castaway is not professionally important to the officials, so
they must make a personal decision in believing or disbelieving his story. Themes- Religion and Faith,
Storytelling
Pi is unwilling to give up discussing his story, however, so Okamoto asks him about the blind
Frenchman he met. Okamoto says that the cook aboard the Tsimtsum was also French. Pi asks the
interviewers to explain the meerkat bones in the lifeboat, but the officials say that the bones are
unidentifiable. They return to questions about the ship, and Pi reminds them that he lost his whole
family in the shipwreck.
The reader has been totally invested in Pi’s narrative up to this point, but now its implausibility
suddenly becomes very likely. The meerkat bones are unidentifiable and Pi cleaned out the rest of the
remains, so the truth about Pi’s ordeal is basically unknowable and unprovable – just like the
existence of God. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
The officials are embarrassed by this, and Pi offers them cookies. He then asks them if they liked his
story. The officials say that they did like it and that they will remember it for a long time, but they
want to know what really happened. Pi offers to tell them “another story.” The officials ask him for
facts, not a story, but Pi replies that life itself is always a story. He finally agrees to tell a believable
story, to give in to “dry, yeastless factuality” and tell a story without exotic animals in it.
This scene condenses many of the novel’s themes and is a kind of thesis statement for Martel. The
officials admit that the animal story is more beautiful and compelling, but they are still wedded to
“factuality.” Pi states Martel’s idea that true reality is inherently impossible to communicate, so any
kind of “truth-telling” is in fact a story of some kind. The officials, like Pi’s agnostics, just want a
story that they can pretend is totally practical and true. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith,
Storytelling, Boundaries
Pi pauses for a while and then begins a new account of his experience. In this second story, the four
survivors on the lifeboat are Pi, his mother (who floated to safety on some bananas), the French cook,
and a Chinese sailor. Pi describes the cook as greedy and cruel, and says that he immediately ate all
the flies and the one rat on the boat. The sailor was young, exotic, and beautiful, but he spoke only
Chinese and had broken his leg jumping into the lifeboat.
We are suddenly pulled out of the world we had been sucked into and invested in – the lifeboat of
animals – and made to question the truth of Pi’s story. Of course the whole novel is fiction, but within
that fiction we as readers like to trust the story we are reading and temporarily accept it as reality, or
at least as a vehicle of some emotional or aesthetic truth. The sudden unreliability of that truth then
creates a very interesting effect, which Martel exploits. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Pi’s mother tended to the wounded sailor but his broken leg got worse, growing black and bloated.
The cook eventually convinced the others that they had to cut off the sailor’s leg to save his life. They
held down the sailor while the cook sawed off the leg. The sailor remained calm and quiet throughout
it all, and clung to life even after the ordeal.
This second story does indeed seem more believable, but Pi acts like he is making it up in the same
way that he (possibly) did the first story. In this “human story,” Pi’s mother corresponds with Orange
Juice, the sailor with the zebra, and the cook with the hyena. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
The next day Pi went to throw the severed leg overboard, but the cook stopped him. He said the leg
was for bait, and that “that was the whole point.” At this Pi’s mother realized that the cook tricked
them into cutting off the sailor’s leg. The cook looked guilty but said that they needed food.
Pi’s animal story remains believable because the animals in it did not act as anthropomorphized
beasts, but as real wild animals might act in such a situation. The hyena seemed cruel, but in the
reality of the animal story it was just obeying its instincts. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
Pi’s mother screamed at the cook and then discovered that he had been stealing rations. Pi admitted
that he ate some of the food too when the cook offered it to him. Pi’s mother turned away from him
and Pi apologized, weeping. Two weeks had passed by that point.
The whole of the human story is only the first part of the animal story, implying that the rest of Pi’s
ordeal (after the cook’s death) might have consisted of the hallucinatory processing of horrible reality
and the creation of a “better story,” perhaps as a means of survival in his isolation. Themes- Survival,
Storytelling
The sailor died peacefully and the cook immediately butchered him, despite Pi’s mother’s protests.
The cook used some of the flesh as bait and ate the rest. After that the cook occupied one end of the
lifeboat and Pi and his mother occupied the other. They couldn’t ignore the cook, though, as he was
the best at fishing and surviving. Pi and his mother refused to eat any of the sailor’s flesh, but they did
eat the fish the cook caught, overcoming their vegetarianism.
In this human story Pi himself is also less resourceful and strong. Pi steals rations that the cook offers
him, and it is the cook who has all the good ideas about surviving, doing most of the fishing and work
on the lifeboat. In both stories Pi has to give up his vegetarianism, but compared to his other
sacrifices this is a small price to pay to survive. There is still a kind of territory division on the
lifeboat even in the human version. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith, Storytelling, Boundaries
After a while Pi and his mother grew more friendly with the cook, as he helped them to survive. One
day when they were all weak with hunger they tried to bring a turtle aboard and lost it because of Pi.
The cook hit Pi, and Pi’s mother hit the cook. She pushed Pi towards the raft and he jumped
overboard. The two adults started to fight, and the cook killed Pi’s mother with a knife as Pi watched
from the raft. The cook cut off her head and threw it to Pi.
Orange Juice’s death becomes all the more tragic in retrospect, and the human story is now far more
horrible than the animal version, which is interesting as the humans are acting not so differently from
the animals. Again Pi is a weak link on the lifeboat instead of the resourceful, adaptable “alpha” he
was in the animal story. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
The cook butchered Pi’s mother and ate some of her flesh. Pi stayed on the raft for a day and a night,
and neither he nor the cook spoke. Then Pi climbed aboard the lifeboat. The cook silently gave him a
turtle to eat, and then Pi fought with the cook and killed him with the knife. Pi says that the cook
seemed to give up, as he recognized that he had crossed a line, “even by his bestial standards.”
This is the moment when Richard Parker appeared in the animal story, revealing himself as the
violent side of Pi’s soul that will do anything to survive. If the human story is the “true” one, then Pi
dealt with the murder and cannibalism he committed by creating the alternate personality of the tiger,
setting up a boundary within his soul to let the “Pi” part remain sane and human. Themes- Survival,
Storytelling, Boundaries
Pi cut up the cook and ate his heart, liver, and pieces of his flesh. He says the heart was delicious. Pi
says that the cook was an evil man, but he met with evil in Pi himself. Of the rest of his journey Pi
only says “Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived.” There is a long silence, and Pi asks the
officials if this second story is better and more believable.
Pi describes these horrors in an almost detached way, which seems to imply either that he is making
up this human story or has decided to put all his faith in the animal story as a way of remaining sane.
He explains the majority of the animal story – the time after the hyena’s death – with just these three
short phrases. Themes- Survival, Storytelling, Religion and Faith, Boundaries
Okamoto and Chiba are horrified by this story, but they note the parallels between Pi’s two tales – the
zebra corresponds with the Chinese sailor, the hyena with the cook, Orange Juice with Pi’s mother,
and Richard Parker with Pi himself. Chiba asks Okamoto about the meerkats and the algae island, but
Okamoto only says that he doesn’t know what to think.
The officials (or Okamoto at least) now seem to recognize that this is no ordinary interview, but in fact
a test of their own faith and beliefs about life. As readers, we are just as shocked as the interviewers
are by this alternate account. Themes- Survival, Storytelling
The officials ask Pi some technical questions about the nature of the Tsimtsum’s sinking. Pi says that
the crew was unfriendly and often drunk, but he can give little information to solve the mystery of the
disaster. In the end the officials give up, recognizing that the truth is lost forever.
While they are processing these stories the officials turn to their actual assignment, which is finding
out why the Tsimtsum sank. They conclude that the reason for its sinking is unknowable (just like the
existence of God, and therefore God’s contraction in order to create the world), so the truth of Pi’s
stories (and his self-discovery through his journey, his self-creation) becomes a personal matter now,
and no longer part of their job. Themes- Storytelling
Before the officials leave Pi asks them which of his two stories they preferred. He reminds them that
neither story explains the sinking of the Tsimtsum, and neither really matters for the officials’
business. Okamoto and Chiba both agree that the animal story is the “better story.” Pi responds with
“And so it goes with God,” and then he starts to cry. The officials thank Pi and wish him well,
promising to look out for Richard Parker on their drive. Pi gives them some cookies and the interview
ends.
This final scene is the climax of the novel’s themes, as Pi fully draws the parallel between his survival
stories and his religious faith. Martel leaves it unclear which of Pi’s accounts is the factual truth, but
he comes down clearly on the side of storytelling as its own truth – the animal story is moving,
challenging, and memorable, while the human story inspires only horror, so whatever the “dry,
yeastless factuality” is, the animal story is “the better story.” And for Pi, a universe with God in it is
a better universe, no matter what the unknowable facts are. Themes- Survival, Religion and Faith,
Storytelling, Boundaries
 Life of Pi: Chapter 100 - Summary & Analysis
The author then gives Okamoto’s report of the interview. Okamoto says that the Tsimtsum possibly
sank because of an engine problem, but he admits that the cause of the shipwreck is unknowable. He
then adds a personal note about Pi, saying that his ordeal at sea was unique and astonishing. He says
that Pi’s story is totally unparalleled, as few castaways have survived as long as he did, and none of
them did so “in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.”
This final report adds dimension and poignancy to Okamoto’s character, as the official chooses to
believe Pi’s animal story as the “better” truth despite his natural skepticism, and so it is the animal
version that is marked down in the official documents. Martel ends on this slightly hopeful note after
crushing our perception of truth, suggesting that choosing “the better story” is just as important as
finding out the facts of reality. Themes- Survival, Storytelling