Similarities Between Human and Animal Characters in Life of Pi

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As the reader examines the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, the reader recognizes the similarities between the story of the animals and the factual story. The main character Piscine Molitor Patel, known as Pi, goes through many struggles once he is stuck on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean which are shown between both of his stories. Throughout the novel, Martel describes to the readers the relationships the Pi has between the animals in the story of animals and the real people in the factual story. In Life of Pi, Pi meets many different animals on his journey on the lifeboat that influence him in many ways, including the zebra, which represents the Taiwanese sailor; the hyena, which represents the chef; Orange Juice, the orangutan, which represents Pi’s mother; and the Royal Bengal tiger, Richard Parker, which represents Pi himself.
A beautiful Grant’s zebra jumps onto the lifeboat while struggling in the water of the ocean; while doing so, he suffers a broken leg. The human character that the zebra represents is the Taiwanese sailor that survives through the sinking of the Tsimtsum. This character is a very shy, sad, and lonely character that only wishes that he could be safe once again, but knows the slight chance of that being the outcome of the horrible situation. The character of the zebra is shown to be a non dominant character when the author writes, “[t]he zebra [is] eaten alive by the Hyena from the inside” (Martel, 139). The zebra is weak in the situation and is not able to fight back because of his broken leg; this results in the death of the zebra. Relating to the story with animals, in the factual story, the sad, shy, beautiful Taiwanese sailor is represented as the zebra. As a non dominant or aggressive character, t...

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... Richard Parker wants to take the zebra out of its misery.Richard Parker, along with the other animals on the lifeboat, are what truly keeps Pi alive throughout the 227 day trip out at sea.
In Life of Pi, Pi is influenced by the decisions that animals make while onboard the lifeboat and the humanlike characters that they represent in Pi’s factual story. Many readers believe that the story of the animals is just a figment of Pi's imagination and that it was just something to keep him alive. Others believe that the story of the animals really did happen in Pi's time on the Pacific Ocean. No one will ever know what the real story of Pi's journey was, but everyone who has heard about Pi's multiple stories will have their own opinions and interpretations of what really happened.

Works Cited

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Toronto, Canada: Canongate Books, Ltd., 2002. Print.

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