“Yann Martel’s “Life of Pi” Novel Analysis”

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Summary
Theme Explored
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The literature of any country has its distinctive features, and animals are one of them for Canada. Authors from this state like depicting various living creatures to convey some messages. Being a representative of such writers, Yann Martel also draws specific attention to animals in his works. One of them, Life of Pi, is a suitable example of how the author can incorporate both animals and people in the same setting and show a complicated relationship between them. Even though the literary work under analysis has a simple plot, it manages to cover an essential topic. Thus, the theme of Life of Pi is to show the difference between a human being and an animal and to indicate that no conditions can make it disappear.

Summary

As has been mentioned, the plot of this novel is not complicated. The literary work tells a story of a young Indian man, Pi, who finds himself in an unusual setting. Pi’s childhood was closely connected with animals because his father owned a zoo. As a result, the hero knows how to behave and cooperate with these creatures. Since it is not calm in India, and the Prime Minister declares martial law, Pi’s family decides to leave the country and head for Canada. Thus, they sell most of their animals and board a cargo ship. However, it is wrecked, and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and a tiger. Soon, the hyena kills the orangutan and the zebra, while the tiger, named Richard Parker, kills the hyena. Also known as RP, the tiger is the only companion of Pi, and the latter has to train the animal to allow the two to survive.

Theme Explored

It has already been stated that the novel addresses the difference between human and animal nature and how the environment can affect a relationship between them. The following paragraphs will present some information that will support the claim above. Thus, the discrepancy under consideration becomes evident for the first time when Pi talks with his father. The older man explains that it is a mistake to believe that people and animals are equal. While he does not insist on the superiority of human beings, the man tries to convey the thought that animals should face a specific behavior. When in a zoo, some of them can have human-like traits, but people still should not forget about their true nature.

The previous idea is further elaborated when Pi’s father states that “every animal is ferocious and dangerous” (Martel 50). This belief is essential for the zookeeper and his son because it can help them save their lives. To demonstrate it, Pi’s father makes his son watch a tiger kill a goat. Pi mentions that the sound of the killing “was enough to scare the living vegetarian daylights out” of the hero (Martel 47). Even though one can say that such an experience is harmful to a young boy, Pi manages to benefit from it. Thus, the main character learns how violent and dangerous animals can be. This lesson is of significance for the hero, who then understands that it is necessary to be careful when dealing with wild living creatures.

At the same time, the author does not attempt to state that people are harmless. Father demonstrates it with the help of a particular trick. In the zoo, there is a question on the wall concerning the most dangerous beast in the zoo; the inscription has an arrow that points at a mirror (Martel 40-41). The idea behind this trick is that a human being can be even more dangerous than all animals. However, the question and the mirror do not mean that the discrepancy between animals and people disappear. They are still different because the former ones act according to their instincts, and the latter behave to obtain some advantages. Thus, the second variant is more harmful to the environment because it is challenging to predict individuals’ behavior.

As has been stated, animals can get some human qualities, and the zoo helps them succeed here. However, this humanization is of limited scope, and the case with the tiger and the goat has proved it. Even the fact that the predator has a human name, Richard Parker, does not mean that it is equal to people or can act like a human being. At the same time, people can lose their human nature when they are outside a civilization. Thus, the difference between Pi and RP becomes less evident when the two are entrapped on the boat, but it does not disappear at all. Even though the goal of the two is to eat and survive, which is a characteristic trait of animals, Pi uses his previous experience to domesticate the tiger and cope with the task. While on the boat, the man feels connectedness to the tiger, which allows Pi to believe that appropriate conditions can make the animal obtain a portion of human nature.

However, Pi’s beliefs entirely vanish when the two are saved. On the Mexican coast, RP “moved forward and disappeared forever from life” of Pi (Martel 285). The hero expected that his companion would demonstrate its human nature, but the tiger failed to say goodbye as it is usual for people. That is why, Aslani argues that anthropomorphism, “attribution of human characteristics to non-human beings,” is a leading theme of the novel (93). In addition to that, Martel is said to convey a message that animals can get human qualities under some conditions. However, it does not mean that these traits will outweigh their instincts. Furthermore, Aslani states that the theme of the novel is that “there are two natures which can never be unified – human and animal nature” (95). Thus, no conditions can result in the fact that an animal becomes equal to people.

Conclusion

Life of Pi is an unusual piece of literature, and it is possible to summarize its plot in a single sentence. However, it does not mean that the simplistic plot does not address essential issues. Thus, the principal theme of the novel is the relationship between people and animals. Martel demonstrates that animals can have some human features, just as people can sometimes act like animals. This idea is supported by the claim that a man is the most dangerous creature in a zoo. At the same time, it does not denote, for example, that a tiger can eliminate its wild nature under appropriate conditions. In conclusion, animals and people are significantly different creatures, and no external circumstances can make this discrepancy disappear.

Works Cited

Aslani, Stella. “Yann Martel’s Life of Pi as a Reflection of the True Self.” Central European Journal of Canadian Studies, vol. 10/11, 2016, pp. 91-106.

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Canongate Books, 2012.

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