Life of Pi

Article written by Mizpah Albert

M.A. in English Literature and a Ph.D. in English Language Teaching.

‘Life of Pi,’ the receiver of the 2002 Man Booker Prize, is a contemporary Fiction written and published by Yann Martel in 2001. It is a philosophical novel that follows the adventurous journey of Pi Patel, a young Indian Boy, the protagonist.

Pi’s family decides to sell their zoo in India and move to Canada. They board a freighter with their sons and a few remaining animals. In contrast to their plan, a terrible storm sinks the ship, leaving the Patels’ teenage son, Pi, the only human survivor on a lifeboat. He was not left alone in his tragic journey but with a fearsome Bengal tiger. As days, weeks, and months pass, it becomes inevitable that Pi and the tiger must learn to coexist to survive.

Key Facts about Life of Pi

• Title: ‘Life of Pi’
• When/where written: Written in Canada between 1996 and 2001.
• Published: 11 September 2001
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Allegory/ Adventure/ Bildungsroman
• Point-of-View: First Person through Pi and omniscient narration in select chapters
• Setting: Most of the story takes place in the Pacific Ocean; it starts at Pondicherry, India, and ends in Canada
• Climax: There are two different climaxes in the story. The first occurs when Pi’s journey ends with a shipwreck. Another is his landing in Mexico
• Antagonist: Nature

Yann Martel and Life of Pi

Yann Martel’s idea for ‘Life of Pi‘ came to him after his disappointment with his second book, which has brought him neither money nor critical acclaim. The well-thought ‘Life of Pi’ brought him everything he deserved. Martel proved himself a great talent through this gem of work.

Pi explains his stay and interactions with Mr. Tomohiro Okamoto and Mr. Atsuro Chiba at Benito Juarez Infirmary, Tomatlan, Mexico. His narrative style makes it feel more like a real story than fiction. From the author’s note to the concluding chapters, too many occasions and anecdotes used by the author project it to be a true story.

According to Yann Martel, the story of ‘Life of Pi’s purpose was to understand faith. He believes faith is a leap into the unknown, and it makes one suspend their disbelief. If it does not, it is a cult, which is a negative thing.

Inspiration

Yann Martel’s early days of writing career were not a bed of roses. Even after publishing two of his works, he did not receive any acclaim he wanted. At 33, he found himself descending into a not-so-midlife emotional crisis. He had to endure many emotional turmoil and failures, for it was a period of intense struggle and restlessness.

At that time, he sat to work on his third book, for which he had an idea of a historical novel set in Portugal in 1939. However, the idea withered and disintegrated into a pile of crumpled notes as it felt forced and dry, a lifeless and wordy construct. In his Author’s Note of the novel, he recalls, ‘The discovery is something soul-destroying, I tell you.’

The basic idea for Life of Pi dawned upon him while standing on a rock at a hill station near Mumbai. He was reminded of a novella he had completely forgotten about and its premise of the shipwreck. Furthermore, he thought about doing something with that, which begot him the basic idea for ‘Life of Pi.’

Revelation