To understand the parable buried deep within the story, which is pronounced to be “a story that will make you believe in God,” we need to understand that the story is actually about wrestling not with a physical tiger, but a metaphoric one—with questions of meaning and faith. There is evidence of god showing Pi the ways, through disguise, a moral point that Pi learns on the island, and Pi learning the different religions.
Pi wakes up on a mysterious island full of meerkats and lush plant life. This is a place of haven for Pi and Richard Parker. It’s an oasis and a place for sustaining life, but by night Pi discovers a human tooth and realizes that the plants eat flesh, and the water releases a chemical that destroys the freshwater ponds. He has a moment where he realizes that, though it seems safe to continue on the island, true survival is back on the open waters, the place he dreads the most. This is a moral point about not settling for what comforts our senses the most. And not settling for the comforts that calm us to sleep, but the journey of pain and stormy waters of life is where true survival and “life” is.
In this story, Pi during his journey, at first thought that God had abandoned him. But later it is evident that God was with him the entire time, “Even when God seemed to have abandoned me, he was watching. Even when he seemed indifferent to my sufferings, he was watching. and when I was beyond all hope of saving, he gave me rest. That gave me a sign to continue my journey”. The ocean torments him and ruins most of his supplies, and deadly sharks circle around his raft, and even kill his family. However, the sea also gives him life, “Thank you, Lord Vishnu. Thank you for coming in the form of fish and saving our lives.” Flying fish come flying at him, grow an island with algae because he is a vegetarian, and give him the gift of wisdom.
In the beginning, Pi talks about how he always believed in god ever since he was a child “The gods were my superheroes growing up”. He starts seeing God everywhere in his surroundings. For example, when a storm appears, he tells Richard Parker to stop hiding and come meet God in disguise as a storm. Pi tells the reporters two different versions of his story, we realize that the zebra is the sailor, the hyena is the cook, the orangutan is Pi’s mother, and the tiger, Richard Parker, is actually Pi. Clearly, Pi preferred the better story because it led to him making sense of things, and creating a new life with his wife and children with the help of God “Solitude began. I turned to god. I survived”.
Life of Pi is a parable buried deep within the story, which is pronounced to be “a story that will make you believe in God,” We need to understand that the story is actually about wrestling not with a physical tiger, but a metaphoric one—with questions of meaning and faith. There is evidence of god showing Pi the ways and helping him get through his journey, a moral point that Pi learns on the island about his senses, and Pi learning the different religions which led him to a happy life.
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