Piscine Patel Character Analysis

In the book, The Life of Pi, there is an indian boy by the name of Piscine Patel. Yann Martel wrote the Life of Pi based on newspaper clippings and the story he got from a man named Mr. Patel about how he survived out on the ocean. He can withstand attacks from animals and also manages to survive the harsh weather that happens, while he is stuck on the boat. He makes himself a home on the boat and manages to survive for months on end, until he is finally rescued and found. Piscine Patel is a brave boy who uses his sharp wit to survive out on the ocean in a boat with a tiger, and dealing with many rough times until he finally docks in Mexico. Therefore, Piscine Patel is brave, strong, and can survive in the harsh ocean, with a dangerous tiger and little food until he is finally rescued.

Initially, the society on a boat with wild animals is very violent at times, but Pi manages to power through it all.

When Pi is first thrown on the boat, he is trapped with a hyena, zebra, tiger, and an orangutan; after awhile, they start to get hungry. In The Life of Pi, Piscine Patel states “It is when the moon rises that the hyena’s day starts, and it proves to be a devastating hunter” (Yann Martel 116). Being trapped on a boat with a rabid hyena and trying to stay alive is no easy task, but Pi manages to stay alive. He stays up on the tarp where the hyena can't get to him until Richard Parker, the tiger, jumps out and eats the hyena. Pi is strong and smart enough to avoid getting eaten or even hurt by any of the animals, and he lives to see another

day.
Furthermore, Pi uses his quick mind to find a way to coexist with Richard Parker and to not get eaten. After it’s just Pi and Richard on the boat, Pi makes a smaller raft out of oars and life jackets he found on the boat, so he can distance himself from the tiger. “I had to tame him.” (Martel 164) is what Piscine thinks as he realizes that he and Richard Parker are both trapped together in the ocean until they were rescued. Pi remembered stuff about the zoo and he realizes that just like in the zoo, he would deliver food and water to Richard. Whenever Pi would deliver food or water to the tiger, he would blow on a whistle, letting the tiger know that his gifts came from Pi. Piscine finally manages to develope a relationship with Richard Parker that's much like a zoo keeper and an animal in the zoo. They respected each other's land, or part of the boat, and Richard seemed to be more tolerable towards Pi.
Additionally, Piscine can power through and survive many rough times and bad things that comes his way. As Piscine regrets, “With that second sunset, disbelief turns into grief.” (Martel 127). Pi survives when the Tsimtsum sinks, and he stays sane when he realizes that his family is gone. He stays alive while trapped on a boat with four wild animals. Pi manages to tame Richard Parker until they can both live in the same boat together. “I had not had a drop to drink or a bite to eat or a minute of sleep in three days,” Piscine tells us. He powered through days on end without any of the things he needed to survive. Pi had to deal with having to eat meat and fish, even though he is a vegetarian and totally against eating any type of meat. He even manages to stay alive on what he finds out is a man-eating island. Piscine Patel is strong and determined and he doesn’t die easily.
In final consideration, Piscine Patel is brave, smart, and can persevere through anything. He evades anything that comes his way.He uses his keen senses and his knowledge of animals to survive out in the ocean with a tiger. The society on the boat was violent but he manages to survive. He finds a way to coexist with a tiger, and he powers through even the worst of things. He challenged his mind and his body on how much he can take, and he won. He survived 227 days out in the ocean before he landed in Mexico, and for that, he is a survivor.