Pi’s early childhood experiences provide him with the basic skills required to survive his future voyage at sea as having learnt to so swim at age seven by Francis Adirubasamy “Mamaji” essentially proves vital to survival at sea. Moreover, his vast knowledge of animals, having grown up at a zoo, helps him tame Richard Parker regardless of which story entails the ‘truth’. Furthermore, pi’s experience of watching a tiger kill a goat in his early childhood taught him the fundamental lesson ‘an animal is an animal’, enabling him to strategically and mentally survive his long and testing time at sea. However, perhaps more fundamental in influencing his future adventures and childhood are not the skills that he acquired in his youth but instead the deeper knowledge of himself and the world around him attained through his religious beliefs.
Pi’s belief in pluralism and acceptance of the three religions, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam aid his future and is a crucial part of his survival at sea, his faith in knowing “so long as god is with me, I will not die” gives him the mental strength and will power to survive his ordeal. Furthermore, the three religions and the stories they impart shred a light on and explore the diverse perceptions of truth, from the “Dry, yeastless factuality” modern depiction of truth. Ultimately, allowing him to manipulate the truth in order to be at peace with the “crude