Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

Life of Pi author Yann Martel has been quoted as saying that fiction is “the selective transforming of reality, the twisting of it to bring out its essence”. The meaning of this quote can be regarded in two slightly different ways, mainly depending on whether or not you’re looking for the in-text or the out-of-text meaning.
In-text, Martel is referring to the second version of Pi’s story. The story is made up by Pi in retaliation to investigators, Okamoto and Chiba telling him his original story wasn’t believable enough, and that they felt that Pi was lying to him. Their accusations and doubts of his sincerity enrage Pi, and he concludes that they want to hear a story that is unsurprising, flat, immobile, and most importantly, without animals.

After hearing both stories, Pi asks them which they liked better, and when they admit that they liked the version with animals more, Pi responds with, “Thank you. And so it goes with God,” (Martel 317). I believe that this quote means basically the same thing both in-text and out-of-text; that one must have faith. In-text, faith is what helped Pi keep his original story with the animals in print instead of the fictional one with the chef. Despite the story without animals being more realistic, both Okamoto and Chiba had faith that the story with animals was real, therefore they liked it much better and in the end, they used the details from that version t write their report. They believed that the only reason Pi made it out of his situation alive is because he had faith in God, and they in return had faith in him and his story. Out-of-text, I believe Pi’s quote refers to those who have been through incredibly traumatic events, especially events that have caused people to make decisions they usually wouldn’t. When a person goes through something that forces them to go against their moral and spiritual beliefs, that person usually ends up feeling an overwhelming guilt for having done so. The answer that many people who have been in these types of situations come to is faith; by turning to God and asking for His forgiveness, their guilt eases away and is replaced by a sense of understanding. They know that while they may have sinned, they have been forgiven and are still good in the eyes of God. I feel that in this context, the words, “And so it goes with God”, specifically mean that the person is leaving their woes with God and moving on with their