Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

Pi Patel in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a young Indian boy who is put through a tremendous traumatic experience; he gets lost at sea! Not only does he lose all his family, but he is forced to survive 227 days at sea with very limited resources. This ordeal causes great psychological pressure on Pi and causes his mind to find ways to cope with all the stress. When asked to describe what happened, Pi tells two stories: one with him surviving with animals including an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, and a parallel story with humans in which Pi is forced to bend morality. Pi’s story of his survival with Richard Parker is a fiction that he creates to cope with a reality that is too difficult to face.
Undoubtedly, Pi’s story with Richard Parker has many facts that are scientifically invalid. First of all, the fact that Pi could possibly be able to tame an adult Bengal tiger on a lifeboat is hard to believe. Mr. Okamoto states, “Not a trace of it [Richard Parker] has been found” (296). If there was a tiger, there would at least be paw prints leading to the point of where he supposedly disappeared into the jungle. Furthermore, the carnivorous island is scientifically impossible. Pi’s story states that on the island there were carnivorous trees, fish-eating algae that produce fresh water, and tree-dwelling aquatic rodents. When Pi discusses these with the two Japanese men, Mr. Okamoto states, “These things don’t exist” (294). Pi agrees that the reason he is in disbelief is because he hasn’t seen them. The possibility that Pi coincidentally found an island filled with anomalies that defy science and no one else has found them as well makes it hard to believe. Lastly, the encounter with the Frenchman is near impossible. The chance...

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...ieve what I see” as the basis for all justification is unreasonable though because not everyone has seen every fact known to man. Simply believing everything Pi has told them would be irrational due to lack of scientific evidence. There is a lot more to prove that Pi’s condition just prompted him to create such an incredible story to deal with the immense tragedies he was put through.
To recapitulate, Pi Patel is a young boy who is push to the limit both emotionally and physically. He experiences a suffering that is almost unimaginable to bear for 227 days. He creates two stories: one that describe what horrifying event really occurred and one to cope with all the pain he has been put through. It is understandable that under the conditions Pi is pushed to, that he would make up such story that would shield him of the tragic events that occurred during his journey.