Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Cast of Characters
- Plot Summary
- An Analysis of Major Characters
-
Chapter Summary and Analysis
- Summary: Author's Note
- Summary: Part One, Chapters 1-7
- Summary: Part One, Chapters 8-15
- Summary: Part One, Chapters 16-28
- Summary: Part One, Chapters 29-36
- Summary: Part Two, Chapters 37-47
- Summary: Part Two, Chapters 48-62
- Summary: Part Two, Chapters 63-79
- Summary: Part Two, Chapters 80-95
- Summary: Part Three, Chapters 96-100
- Symbols and Themes
- Key Facts
- Key Quotes
- Discussion Questions
- Take The Quiz
- Further Reading
- Flashcards
- Biography of Yann Martel
Summary: Part Two, Chapters 80-95
Summary: Part Two, Chapters 80-95
Pi and Richard Parker coexist with relative peace because they are dependent upon each other for survival. When Pi catches a large dorado one day, Richard Parker crouches as if he intends to attack Pi and take the fish. Pi, “in a moment of insanity brought on by hunger,” looks Richard Parker directly in the eyes and engages in a staring contest for dominance. Pi wins. After butchering the fish, he gives a large portion of it to Richard Parker. This becomes part of Pi’s regular routine. Having established dominance over the tiger, Pi begins to spend more and more time on the lifeboat rather than the raft.
Pi passes through a massive two-day storm. During this time, he takes cover on the lifeboat with Richard Parker, protecting them both underneath the tarpaulin. When the storm passes, Pi’s life raft is gone, along with much of his food. The lifeboat is damaged, although Pi’s water stills are intact. Pi makes such repairs to the lifeboat and tarpaulin as he can.
As the days pass, Pi and Richard Parker both grow extremely thin and weak. One day Pi spots a tanker in the distance and hopes that they will be saved, but the big ship passes by without seeing them. In his loneliness and grief, Pi looks at Richard Parker and finds himself deeply grateful for the tiger’s presence. “I love you, Richard Parker,” he says. Without the tiger, Pi says, he would die of loneliness.
Eventually Pi and Richard Parker are both so weak that Pi is sure that they are on the verge of death. He is unable to write any more in his diary because he has run out of pens. One day, Pi deliriously notices that Richard Parker’s gaze is vacant, and the tiger does not respond to Pi waving hands in front of his face. Richard Parker has gone blind. Soon after, Pi also goes completely blind. From out of this darkness, Pi miraculously hears another man’s voice. The accent is French. At first, Pi thinks he is hallucinating the voice of Richard Parker. He asks the voice...
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