Life Of Pi Character Analysis

Josh Reed

1/27/14

English

Mr. Lobis

Life of Pi

Characters

1. Pi- As a child he depended on his parents for everything and spent most of his time learning about zoology and religion. When the ship sank he was torn from his family and forced to become independent. He had to survive by providing for himself and by protecting himself from the animals. While on the lifeboat he becomes self sufficient and not only protects himself from Richard Parker but creates a parental relationship with him. At the beginning of his time on the lifeboat he almost gives up because of the loss of his family but turns to God and realizes that it was a miracle that he is still alive. After that his connection with God grows stronger and is what keeps him going throughout the book.

Early on in the book Pi says “Religion will save us.” (27) This shows how big a role religion plays in his life and how it will save him when he is lost at sea.

2. Richard Parker- Richard Parker is a real tiger that was on the ship to America and swam to the lifeboat to stay alive. He was tamed and was in a zoo so he knows how to act to Pi’s dominance. Richard Parker helps Pi gain confidence when facing other dangers because he already faced the tiger. Richard Parker represents the more animalistic part of Pi, the part that does the things that he would not usually do. For instance, giving up on his vegetarianism and eating fish and birds to stay alive. Richard Parker gave Pi something to do and think about and is what kept him from giving up while on the lifeboat.

“Without Richard Parker, I wouldn’t be alive today to tell you my story.” (164) This quote shows how important Richard Parker was to Pi and his survival on the lifeboat.

3. Pi’s Mother- Pi’s mother protec...

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...otect their own life. I tried once to eat Richard Parker’s feces. It happened early on, when my system hadn’t learned yet to live with hunger and my imagination was still wildly searching for solutions. (213) This shows that when someone is faced with death they will do a lot of drastic things to stay alive.

Symbols/Motifs

Territorial dominance is the most prominent motif in this book. In the book Pi must know how to deal with Richard Parker and making a territory for him to be in. He needed to differentiate his area from Richard Parker’s and give him some space too. Animals are territorial creatures and will guard its territory with its life. They define their boundaries carefully and establish dominance over every piece of it. Since the boat is very small for the things on it, the differentiation in territory provides a peace between Pi and Richard Parker.