When Richard Parker the captor registered Thirsty the tiger cub,Īuthorities mixed up the names, and thereafter the Bengal tiger was named Similarly, Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, wasĬaptured in the wild and initially named Thirsty his captor’s name was Richard He then began using the nickname Pi, which recalls the numberīeginning with 3.14 and having no end that is the ratio of a circle’sĬircumference to its diameter. School, he was called “Pissing” because Piscine Name from a champion swimmer, who named him after a swimming pool in France. Pi, whose full name is Piscine Molitor Patel, got his

Names are important in the novel, especially the

Martel, is not necessarily a narrator himself but rather uses The Author and Pi In Mexico provide their own narrative of Pi’s story. The Maritime Department in the Japanese Ministry of Transport who interview Pi Using the first-person “I,” relates much of the story. Really The Author’s since The Author is retelling Pi’s story Pi’s narration, Pi himself is another narrator-although his narration is With Yann Martel-is one narrator within the text he interviews Pi and relates his Novel comprises various narrators and narrations. Topics: Spirituality and religion, self-perception, the definition of Piscine Molitor Patel (aka Pi), The Author, Richard Parker Martel, born in Spain in 1963 to Canadian parents Life of Pi is a rich and dynamic text full of discussion of morality, faith, and the ambivalence of what constitutes truth. Within the story are themes of spirituality and religion, self-perception, the definition of family, and the nature of animals. Pi and Richard Parker are ultimately the sole survivors on the lifeboat and must depend on each other in a variety of ways to withstand the many dangers of being lost at sea with few provisions. After the family decides to immigrate to Canada and sell the zoo animals, the ship on which they are making the journey meets with catastrophe and sinks. Pi grows up around animals in his family’s zoo in India. Yann Martel’s Life of Pi is a coming-of-age story featuring a young man’s-Pi’s-survival for months in the Pacific Ocean on a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel