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While Life of Pi is certainly a tale of survival, Martel also uses the narrative to explore broader philosophical questions about the nature of belief and truth. Including the character of the Author as a framing device for Pi’s journey at sea complicates the reader’s connection to the original story, and this added distance blurs the distinction between fact and fiction. As a result, Martel leaves it up to the reader to decide whether or not they believe in Richard Parker and the miraculous events that occurred aboard the lifeboat, much like Pi does when interacting with the Japanese men who interview him in Mexico. The question of belief is something that Pi continually confronts throughout the entire novel. Even as a child, he eagerly explores different religions and struggles to understand why the adults in his life want to restrict his ability to believe in multiple things at once. The sinking of the Tsimtsum challenges Pi’s faith in a completely new way, often making it difficult for him to find the will to live. As a survival story, his daily struggles against the elements, starvation, and a 450-pound Bengal tiger are certainly key aspects of the novel’s central conflict. Without the physical threat that his environment poses, Pi’s journey would be rather inconsequential. Given the thematic emphasis that Martel puts on storytelling and faith, however, the fight to maintain belief in the face of the unimaginable also emerges as an important component of the central conflict that Pi, the Author, and the reader all experience.
The fact that Life of Pi is a story told within a story causes the traditional markers of a plot’s structure to become blurred. Viewing the narrative from different perspectives offers the reader multiple ways to interpret how the novel’s main events unfold, further reiterating Martel’s interest in the dynamic between truth and fiction. When considering the plot from the Author’s perspective, for example, the inciting incident seems to be his run-in with Francis Adirubasamy. This chance encounter serves as the catalyst for the fictional creation of the entire novel as he promises the author that Pi’s story “will make [him] believe in God.” The Author’s desire to investigate such a claim begins the process of learning to believe in the unbelievable. In terms of Pi’s journey, however, the inciting incident occurs when his family decides to leave Pondicherry and move to Canada. This moment marks a dramatic change in Pi’s life, leaving him vulnerable to the uncertainties of a foreign environment. Given that the inciting incident changes depending on which character’s perspective the reader chooses to consider, the rising action begins in different places as well. For the Author, the rising action begins as he meets Pi and learns more about his story. The chapters featuring italics in the first section of the novel highlight his interactions with Pi while the rest establish Pi’s personal history, creating an endearing character who is smart, sensitive, and full of faith. The rising action for Pi’s real-life journey is rather brief as it only covers the time in which the family is aboard the Tsimtsum.
Regardless of which character’s story the reader follows, the climax of the novel occurs when the Tsimtsum sinks and Pi becomes stranded at sea with a carnivorous tiger for company. This moment forces Pi to fight for his life against the natural elements and Richard Parker, and it poses the biggest challenge to his faith that he has ever faced. Positioning the climax this early in a novel is a rather unusual choice as many authors choose to explore the conditions that lead to a decisive moment. Martel, however, seems more interested in how Pi responds to the destruction of his old life. As a result, the falling action ironically makes up a majority of the novel. Pi spends 227 days at sea attempting to resolve the chaos that descended upon his world when the ship sank, an endeavor that pushes him to his limit physically and spiritually. He manages to regain some semblance of control by learning to gather food and water as well as taming Richard Parker, but he still struggles to cope with the loss of his family and the idea that help may never arrive. Moments such as an unexpected rainfall, catching a large fish, and successfully avoiding Richard Parker’s wrath ultimately offer Pi just enough respite to reinvigorate his faith in God and will to live. Martel also uses the second section of the novel to test the reader’s belief in the truth of Pi’s experiences. The candor with which Pi narrates his early days aboard the lifeboat invites the reader to view him as a reliable storyteller, so when he describes unimaginable experiences, such as meeting a blind Frenchman in the middle of the Pacific Ocean or discovering a carnivorous algae island, they seem believable.
The final section of the novel, which features Pi’s arrival in Mexico and meeting with representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Transport, acts as the resolution and offers one final challenge to the reader. When Pi details his harrowing journey, Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba are quick to dismiss his story as fantastical. He then offers an alternative, more logical tale which, despite its lack of animals, directly parallels the original. Although Pi is the one asking his audience which story they prefer, Martel is essentially posing the same question to the reader. Including this scene and offering an alternative narrative reignites the tension between truth and fiction. In the end, Pi’s commitment to his version of events cements the idea that he values the power of belief over rationalized thinking, and the mention of Richard Parker in Mr. Okamoto’s final report suggests that the strength of Pi’s faith inspired him to believe in the unbelievable.
