Richard Parker's Life Of Pi

Life of Pi Essay

Pi’s recollection of the past is significant as he recreates it to make it more colourful and intriguing in comparison to the “dry, yeastless factuality” (336) that we live in. Of course, Pi has come to accept that while he cannot control what has truly occured in the past, he nonetheless finds the courage to train his beast and he refused to let his dark past dominate his way of living. Hence, he uses his past experiences with Richard Parker to his fullest advantage in the present as he continues to learn about how both humans and animals functions in his studies. Consequentially, his dark past has empowered him with the strengths of storytelling and how it change the ways we see the world around us. Ultimately, Pi’s reimagination

He was confronted with the tragedies in which he had lost his family, sacrificed his lifelong vegetarianism and even resorted to cannibalism in order to survive. Based on his journey, Pi has observed this “...level of savagery...” (218) that he has descended into and this fact disturbs him. Pi realises that he is essentially Richard Parker and that he is the savage beast that has slain and cannibalized the cook the same way Richard Parker had slain the hyena and the frenchman and feasted upon them. Moreover, both characters must coexist with each other in order to prosper, as Pi has saved Richard Parker twice whereas Richard Parker has returned the favor. Pi is the source of food and water for Richard Parker, who he himself cannot satisfy on his own while Richard Parker has saved Pi from the hands of the hyena and the blind Frenchman. Therefore, Pi admits that had temporarily surrendered his humanity for the sake of both his and Richard Parker’s survival. Pi acknowledges that there is a beast within him that he alone is powerless to

Pi already accepts that facts are always subjective and that he has no control about how truth works, yet, he does not believe that truth is the purpose of his own suffering and hardships. Pi visualises his own growth and journey as a story and that anyone who tells their own past-life the same way he did would technically “...make life a story...” (335), however, they can change the details of their own stories to make it more colourful and fascinating in comparison to the reality of what truly happen as proven when the Japanese officials confirm Pi’s story including the animals over the story without them. Nevertheless, Pi goes so far as to say that even “...an immobile story…” (336) would be better that to have no story at all to tell. Indeed, Pi claims that even he “...can hardly believe it himself...” (247) that he survived for so long on a boat with a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger and that he would have to understand that not everyone would be able to believe in his story, no matter how hard he may defend it, but he asks the audience to hear him out regardless and that he does have proof, and that his proof lies within “this story”