Life Of Pi Animals Essay

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel, tells two interesting stories; one with animals and one without animals. Pi tells both stories and says, “You can’t prove which story is true and which is not. You must take my word for it. […] Which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” This allows readers to choose. The story with the animals is the better story because the animals as humans represent Pi’s way of coping with traumatic events; it is more interesting and relatable.
Pi has just survived a tsunami. He is traumatized and shaken. To cope with this, his imagination creates animals that have survived the tsunami as well. For instance, the vicious cook from the ship becomes a raging hyena. Representing evil in the world, he kills both the zebra and the orangutan. A young Chinese sailor whose leg is broken is the zebra, representing vulnerability in life. The orangutan is Pi’s mother, representing safety and protection.
She is described as a “Holy Mary,” and later in the book, it is explained that this is correct. The tiger, called Richard Parker, is a manifestation of Pi’s inner strength.
The story with animals as humans is more interesting and easier to relate to. The story without animals focuses on God and those who are Christian or anyone who believes in God; it is a more restrictive in its potential audience. Pi demonstrates violence through animals hurting each other with the cook mirroring their actions when he says, “And the hyena bit off the zebra’s leg just as the cook cut off the sailor’s.” Despite the fact that the hyena in the story with the animals behaves in a more gruesome manner, the story with animals makes the book more interesting and understandable. Just like the animals, humans get angry and act rashly. The violence continues when the tiger kills the hyena. “Yes,” says Pi, “The tiger killed the hyena and the blind Frenchman just as he killed the cook.” The story with animals is more interesting which helps to make it more relatable to the reader.
In addition to making the story more interesting and relatable, Pi’s use of animals shows how he uses them as a coping mechanism. For instance, when Pi first sees the tiger, Richard Parker, he is using his imagination to project himself into a powerful animal. He talks to the tiger (himself) saying, “Richard Parker, can you believe what has happened to us? Tell me it's a bad dream. Tell me it's not real. Tell me I'm still in my bunk on the Tsimtsum and I'm tossing and turning and soon I'll wake up from this nightmare. Tell me I'm still happy.” Pi is saying he cannot believe what happened to them because of the shipwreck. He cannot accept this as real; it is like a nightmare. He is trying to reassure himself. Later Pi imagines an orangutan, which is really the memory of his mother. This is another example of trying to cope with the situation he finds himself in. “She came floating on an island of bananas in a halo of light, as lovely the Virgin Mary. The rising sun was behind her. Her flaming hair looked stunning.” The way he describes the orangutan's arrival in those few lines seems to show he is holding on to hope. The story with animals shows how Pi is coping with the shipwreck, by using his imagination to create animals that symbolize abstract characteristics which give him the strength to survive.
The two stories, one with animals and one without animals, work together by providing different elements of the same story.
Together they provide different aspects of the story, keeping it impactful, light, hopeful, fantastical, and realistic. By telling a fantastical story, the author engages readers, forcing them to imagine while reading; it is light enough that one can be in the story. Pi imagines the animals which forces readers to imagine them, as well. The author presents a more straightforward version too. This version is the story without animals. It focuses on religion, God, and zoology. It is very important to the author. He believes the story without animals is better as it focuses more on God and elements of the spiritual. Martel tells the story with animals because he is trying to relate the story on a level where even those without imagination can understand it. He also tells it this way so that it might appeal to those without imagination, inspiring them to consider the
fantastical.
In conclusion, Life of Pi has two versions, one without animals and one with animals. Martel writes in a very interesting way; he allows readers to choose which story they like better. The story with the animals is the better story as it is more interesting and relatable. It also shows Pi coping with the hardships he is going through as he deals with a shipwreck. By telling the story in these two versions, Martel encourages readers to consider their own imaginations and their own realities.