Medina 1
Kianna Medina
Ms.Looser
English 9 Honors
1/19/11
In Life of Pi the main character Pi is stuck on a lifeboat with four animals. These four animals all have different background stories, and they have contrasting characteristics. In the end these characteristics all match up to the ones of Pi. Although these animals are so unique and diverse they have qualities that make you look at Pi’s story in a different light. Each animal that has been on the lifeboat represent Pi in some way, shape, or form, and because of that Pi becomes less vulnerable.
The hyena in the book shows the aggressive, animalistic, and instinctual side of Pi. The hyena is a ravenous eater, and eventually “eats [his] own kind” (147). This is shown when the hyena eats the zebra, and Pi also eats part of the sailor in the “dry, yeastless factuality”. Pi’s mother saw the French cook (or the hyena in the “invention”) “bring his hand to his mouth” (388). His hand had contained the flesh of the sailor, and to Pi’s mother this is repulsive not only because this is cannibalism, but also because she is, and has been her whole life a vegetarian. This is similar to what Pi does because when the Frenchman on the other lifeboat is killed, Pi eventually eats some of the Frenchman. When Pi confesses to this sin it appears that he feels guilty “I will further confess that, driven by the extremity of my need and the madness to which it pushed me, I ate some of his flesh” (322). Similar to the hyena Pi is at times a very active character. When Pi needs to run or make quick movements that’s what he does. Not exactly what Pi does, the hyena “[runs] in circles going yip yip yip yip yip” (144). Pi isn’t able to run around all day because he needs to save up his energy, but when it is necessary he runs to defend himself or win over his prey. Pi transitions into being a very aggressive and instinctual person throughout the book, and this is viewed through the hyena.
In Life of Pi the zebra represents the quiet, yet vulnerable side of Pi. While the zebra is still alive it is mostly quiet or making slight noises. The similarity to Pi is that the zebra is very peaceful and silent; Pi is like this when he doesn’t have to be taking care of Richard Parker or going after his soon-to-be-food. This is seen when “from time to time the zebra shook its head and barked and snorted. Otherwise it lay quietly” (136). The zebra also has no hope to live that is something that Pi also feels. He feels as though he will not make it through this trek that has taken over 227 days. He has no hope, and at the end of the day he was surprised to find himself alive every single day that he is on the lifeboat. Pi was not only surprised that he was alive, but also “was surprised to see that the zebra was still alive” (136). The zebra is very lifeless and vulnerable, and at times Pi is also very lifeless because he wants to give up on life. He says that “the victim bore its suffering patiently, without showy remonstrations” (151). Pi and the zebra are also alike because they can’t communicate with others to get help. The zebra wants to live, but he can’t speak to the others on the lifeboat and tell them to save him. Pi on the other hand wants to survive and find land, but that’s not possible because he’s in the middle of the ocean. He’s not just in the middle of the ocean though, he’s in the middle of the ocean with four other animals that don’t speak his language. The vulnerable, quiet characteristics of Pi are seen through the character of the zebra.
The orangutan on the lifeboat represents the protective, caregiver side of Pi. Orange Juice is very defensive when necessary, but she can also be the biggest sweetheart. Pi thinks that “Orange Juice was far from defenseless” (164).Pi was also far from defenseless, and although they were both small and weak when necessary they were defensive. Orange Juice is also unaggressive, but strong when she needs to be. At times she held the role of “gentle and aggressive her whole life” (163), but when someone attacks her child she is “a young female practicing her maternal skills” (163). These characteristics are also shown in Pi because he was always a young religious boy in India, but when he steps out into the ocean he becomes a fierce, defensive boy. When Orange Juice defends herself Pi is excited to see that she can do it, and this is something that he notices in himself. He would have never thought that he could have defended himself on a boat in the middle of the ocean for months at a time. In the book “Orange Juice’s stirring defense brought a glow to [Pi’s] heart” (163). Pi is shocked and excited to see Orange Juice be able to defend herself just like he defends himself when he has to. Orange Juice also has character traits that are like the adult Pi. Orange Juice “remained gentle and unaggressive her whole life” (163). This is what Pi does also in the future, pretty much settles down, begins a family, and doesn’t move back to India. The protective, defensive traits of Pi are seen through the character of the Orangutan.
Richard Parker represents many different sides of Pi. One characteristic of Richard Parker that Pi also has is his quietness. Pi actually didn’t think that Richard Parker was going to be quiet or calm “despite my own dire predictions, Richard Parker passed the time calmly enough” (226). Pi and Richard Parker also have a similarity of being territorial. Pi knows that if Richard Parker claims his territory and Pi steps on it, that Pi is a dead man. They resemble each other by being savage-like. Pi notices that he eats like an animal “It came as an unmistakable indication to me of how low I had sunk the day I noticed, with a pinching of the heart, that I ate like an animal, that this noisy, frantic unchewing wolfing-down of mine was exactly the way Richard Parker ate”(284). Pi and Richard Parker also change in this book, Pi goes from vegetarian to cannibal and Richard Parker goes from carnivore to cannibal. This part also goes to the idea of them being the same character, and Pi being Richard Parker. Richard Parker is also very protective. In the book when the Frenchman is going to kill Pi, Richard Parker kills him. Pi thinks that “this was a terrible cost of Richard Parker. He gave me a life, my own, but at the expense of taking one. He ripped the flesh off the man’s frame and cracked his bones. The smell of blood filled my nose. Something in me died that has never come back to life” (321). At the moment of the killing Pi probably didn’t notice that the man was out to kill him, because he was blind at the time, but if he did notice he would’ve been grateful. This shows that Pi and Richard Parker have each other’s backs, they defend one another. Richard Parker represents Pi in several different ways and this influences how they get along.
The animals on the lifeboat all represent Pi in a certain way. The hyena represents Pi’s dangerous, hunter side. The zebra represents how quiet and vulnerable Pi can be. The orangutan represents how motherly and defensive Pi is at times. Richard Parker though represents more than just certain aspects of Pi, Richard Parker represents Pi and the changes he has gone through on the lifeboat. Each animal that has been on the lifeboat represents Pi in some way, shape, or form and because of that Pi becomes less vulnerable.