LIFE OF PI:

AUTHOR’S NOTE
Author interviewing: 2, 6, 12, 15, 21, 30, 33, 36 [ITALICS]

Piscine/ Pi: 3, 5

Animals: 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14,

Zoos and religion: 4

Religion: 1, 7, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32

Moving to Canada: 29, 34, 35

Yann Martel Author in novel
 Setting: Pondicherry
▹ Pondicherry’s uniqueness in India
makes it an ideal setting for Pi’s
blending of religions and
philosophies.
 SUMMARY

An italicised section precedes Chapter 1. This section is written as if by

Yann Martel himself, but it is actually part of the novel told by a fictional
Canadian author. The author says that he had published two earlier
books which were ignored, and he went to Bombay, India to clear his
mind and try to write again. This was his second trip to India. He
planned to find a quiet place to write his next novel, which was about
Portugal in 1939. The Portugal book quickly lost momentum and
sputtered out. The author felt desperate and depressed, wondering
what to do with his life next. He left Bombay and traveled to southern
India, eventually arriving in the town of Pondicherry. Pondicherry had
once been ruled by the French Empire (as opposed to most of the rest
of India, which was ruled by Britain), but the town had gained its
independence decades before. 5
 SUMMARY CONTINUED

In a local coffee house, the author met an old man named Francis
Adirubasamy. Mr Adirubasamy offered to tell the author a story “that will
make you believe in God.” The author accepted the challenge, and he
took notes on Mr Adirubasamy’s story. The author then returned to
Canada and found the protagonist of Mr Adirubasamy’s story, Mr. Patel.
The author began visiting Mr Patel and taking notes. Mr. Patel showed the
author old newspaper clippings about the events of the story, and also let
him read his diary. Many months later, the author received a tape and
report from the Japanese Ministry of Transport, confirming Mr Patel’s tale.
The author agrees that it is “a story to make you believe in God.” He says
that he has written the novel in the first person, as through Mr Patel’s
voice. He ends with some acknowledgements, including Mr Patel and the
novelist Maocyr Scliar, thanking him “for the spark of life.” 6
 STORYTELLING
• From the start, Martel encourages us to suspend our disbelief and accept
“the better story” over “dry, yeastless factuality” – ideas that will be
threaded throughout the book. He is basically inventing a different origin
story for Life of Pi, choosing a more interesting tale than the grueling,
unexciting work of writing every day.
• ‘That’s what fiction is about, isn’t it, the selective transforming of reality.’
The story is only indirectly about God, and isn't what you'd expect from
such an introduction. In short, the wondrous story we're about to hear has
been filtered through several different storytellers, making us wonder how
accurate it is in the form in which we're hearing it, as any one of the
storytellers along the way could have exaggerated or distorted it. 7
 STORYTELLING
With this Author’s Note Martel immediately introduces the idea of using
alternate stories to describe the same reality, an idea that will apply to religion
and Pi’s accounts of his survival. The fictional author is very similar to Martel
himself, who was also Canadian, had previously published two unsuccessful
novels, and went to India for inspiration.
The idea of storytelling itself is worked throughout the novel’s complex
framework. Martel is writing as a fictional version of himself, who is writing as
an adult Pi remembering his youth.

8
 RELIGION
The passage is also important because it brings up themes
of spirituality and faith. Martel doesn't endorse any particular
religion, but his novel is intensely religious, asking readers to
suspend their disbelief and embrace the truth of a fantastic
story that probably isn't "true" on a literal level, but that
certainly achieves a kind of truth on a spiritual or aesthetic
level.
Francis Adirubasamy introduces the important theme of
religion with his claim.
9
 HUNGER

▹ The novel starts with the words ‘This book was

born out of hunger’. It is meant figuratively rather
than literally, but immediately connects to an
important aspect of the novel. When Pi is
stranded, he fights starvation.
 IMPORTANT QUOTES

‘He took in my line of work with a widening of the eyes and a nodding of
the head. It was time to go. I had my hand up, trying to catch my waiter’s
eye to get the bill. Then the elderly man said, “I have a story that will
make you believe in God.’

‘If we, citizens, do not support our artists, then we sacrifice our
imagination on the altar of crude reality and we end up believing in
nothing and having worthless dreams.’

11
CHAPTERS 1 - 6

ZOO

PI’S NAME

12
HEADINGS
Author’s Note: Story Time!
Chapter 1:Ode to Science

Chapter 2: Interview begins

Chapter 3&5:Piscine/Pi
Chapter 4: Zoos/ Religion
Chapter 6: Pi stocks food.
 Summary: Chapter 1
▹ The novel’s main text begins with the adult Pi speaking of his life after
the story’s main event. His suffering left him “sad and gloomy,” but he
continued his religious practices and zoological studies and slowly
became happy again. He attended the University of Toronto and was a
very good student. His religious studies thesis involved Isaac Luria’s
cosmogony theory, while his zoology thesis was about three-toed
sloths. Pi found studying sloths to be comforting because of their
slow, calm lifestyles. Sloths are kept safe by being so slow and
blending into the background. Pi found his two majors to be related,
as the sloths would often remind him of God. Pi excelled at school and
won many awards, and he is currently working, though he doesn’t say
where. He says that he loves Canada but misses India, and he
especially misses someone named Richard Parker.
▹ Pi describes his initial recovery in Mexico after the events
of the story. He was treated well at the hospital. He had
anemia, dark urine, and his legs retained fluids and
swelled. After a week he could walk again. The first time he
turned on a faucet he fainted at the abundance of clean
water. When he made it to Canada he went to an Indian
restaurant, but was offended when the waiter criticised him
for eating with his fingers.
 Chapter 2

▹ The narrative switches

to the author’s point of
view, and he describes
the adult Pi as a small,
gray-haired,
middle-aged man. He
wears a winter coat in
the fall and speaks
quickly and
expressively.
 Chapter 3

▹ The story then continues in Pi’s

voice. He reflects on his name,
which is Piscine Molitor Patel, and
says that he was named after a
swimming pool. Pi’s parents did not
like water, but they had a family
friend who was a former champion
swimmer. This man was named
Francis Adirubasamy, but Pi called
him Mamaji, which is similar to
“uncle.”
Mamaji and Pi became very close, and
Mamaji taught Pi how to swim. Pi came
to share Mamaji’s love for the water and
for the meditative practice of swimming.
Pi’s father never wanted to swim himself,
but he came to idealise the world of
swimming. Mamaji’s favorite pool in the
world was the Piscine Molitor in Paris,
which was clear, pristine, and perfect. Pi
got his name from this swimming pool.
 Chapter 4

▹ Pi’s father ran the Pondicherry Zoo,

which was founded soon after
Pondicherry entered the Union of India
in 1954. Pi describes the wonders of the
zoo and compares it to a hotel with
especially uncooperative guests. As a
child he felt like he was living in
paradise, surrounded by such amazing
animals. His daily schedule was
marked by an alarm clock of lions
roaring and the regular routines of
other animals.
▹ Pi defends zoos against people who
feel that animals in the wild are
happier. He argues that in the wild,
animals are at the mercy of many
dangers, but in the zoo they have
safety and security. He also argues
against the idea of zoos as “prisons” –
he says that animals prefer to have a
set territory and rigid boundaries, so
they will be happy if they accept the
edges of their cages as their territory.
He cites instances of animals who had
the option of escaping, but refused to
do so. Pi says that now both zoos and
religion have fallen out of favour. The
Pondicherry Zoo is shut down now.
Chapter 5

▹ Pi reflects further on his name and all

the teasing he got as a child because
of it. The other children called him
“Pissing,” which they took from
“Piscine.” Eventually Pi decided on a
nickname, and when he moved to a
new school he trained the teachers
and his classmates to call him “Pi.” In
each class on the first day he wrote
“Pi” on the chalkboard, as well as the
first few digits of the number pi. The
name stuck.
 Chapter 6

▹ The author interrupts

again to say that the
adult Pi is an excellent
cook, and he makes very
spicy vegetarian food.
The author has noted
that Pi’s kitchen is very
well-stocked with spare
canned goods, as if
preparing for a disaster.
 Characters: Pi
▹ The author begins to interview Pi, the protagonist of the
story. Pi explains that as a young man he was an excellent
student: he studied both zoology and theology at university.
Curiously, Pi thinks that theology and zoology aren't really
that different -they're both about respect for the mysteries of
the universe, whether the mystery of life (zoology) or
existence itself (theology). Pi is a thoughtful young man,
adept at seeing the beauty in unfamiliar things and breaking
down boundaries between seemingly disparate world-views.
He can translate the strangest of phenomena into an
intelligible, wondrous form. Pi doesn't try to "explain" the
phenomena that he sees (here, for instance, he doesn't seem
to try to break down the sloth's life into its biological
explanations) -rather, he embraces the sloth in all its strange
glory.
▹ Pi’s unique philosophical
blending of zoology and
theology, science and
religion, will be threaded
throughout the novel.
▹ Pi has not named himself “Pi”
yet in the story, but is still
technically “Piscine.” Even at
a young age Pi seems to
have a slow, patient soul that
finds swimming relaxing and
peaceful. This looks forward
to his religious devotion and
contemplative inner life.
 Ravi Patel

▹ Pi’s older brother.

▹ Page 15: ‘Ravi was a merciless teaser’.
▹ Excellent batter and bowler.
▹ Captain of the cricket team.
▹ Teased Pi endlessly.
 Symbols: Water

▹ Pi’s unusual
name also
foreshadows his
experiences with
water – Piscine is
the French word
for “pool,” and in
English it means
“relating to fish.”
 Symbols: Pi

▹ Pi’s nickname refers to the

number π, representing the ratio
of a circle’s circumference to its
diameter (logic/ rational/
science). The number is
irrational and unending, an
interesting contrast to Pi’s love
of harmony and order (religion).
▹ Also part of Greek alphabet.
 Symbols: Hunger

▹ The author gives more

hints of Pi’s ordeal.
Clearly Pi suffered great
deprivation, as he now
seems prepared for any
calamity and has a
special appreciation for
food.
 Themes: Rituals/ repetition

▹ Pi here introduces the important idea of boundaries

and animal territories. Animals, like humans, generally
like comfort and ritual, so a good zoo provides a sense
of order that they have no desire to escape from. In the
wild, however, animals (and soon Pi) have to struggle
constantly to maintain order in the midst of danger.
▹ Pi then shows how similar humans are to animals, as he
basically trains his teachers and classmates to accept
his new name. Rote repetition and confidence are the
most important elements of this “training.”
 Themes: Storytelling

▹ Martel frames Pi’s ordeal by describing Pi both as a

child and as an adult, not giving details of what
happened in between but hinting at great suffering
and the mysterious being of Richard Parker.
▹ Martel gives more hints about Pi’s undescribed ordeal
to build up suspense and draw the reader in. We
wonder how Pi ended up in Mexico if he is from India,
and what kind of memories of India he has that were
trampled upon by the rude waiter.
 Theme: Survival

▹ Pi’s upbringing at the zoo is

both an important part of his
life and sets the stage for
the events of the novel.
Without his extensive
knowledge of wild animal
behavior Pi never could
have survived as he does.
 Themes: Religion

▹ In this passage, Pi continues to defend zoos (but also denies

defending them) from accusations of cruelty and imprisonment. Zoos
do not, he insists, imprison animals at all - rather, they at least protect
them and allow them to live relatively normal lives by making them
safe and giving them a stable, unchanging environment in which they
can develop a new territory for themselves. The passage is interesting
in that it makes an analogy between zoos and the belief in God. Those
who dismiss zoos as cruel and backwards are the same kinds of
people, Pi suggests, who dismiss God. Just as God is the being who
gives people boundaries and rules by which to live, the zoo gives
animals boundaries in which they must survive. It's easy to dismiss
God as a "tyrant," just as it's easy to say that boundaries of any kind are
imprisoning--and yet Pi claims that some boundaries are vital to
happiness and, ironically, to freedom.
 Themes: Boundaries.

▹ In this passage, Pi tries to defend the concept of zoos from critics who
suggest that zoos are like prisons for animals. Pi claims that all beings
on the planet need a familiar territory--they all need a home (he even
quotes from The Wizard of Oz to make his point, reinforcing his novel's
fantastic qualities). Therefore, it's not cruel at all to put an animal in a
smaller-than-usual environment, provided all its needs are met--the
animal appreciates its new boundaries and its new territory. Pi's
argument is especially interesting because it foreshadows his own
time on the ocean, during which he'll have an incredibly small, limited
set of boundaries (thanks to the presence of the tiger, Richard Parker).
Pi has lived by his own argument: he's truly come to believe that
people, as well as animals, need boundaries. As we'll come to see, Pi
learns to embrace his own boundaries and find freedom in the
"territory" of his mind and spirit.
▹ Agnostics vs atheists (page 11)
▸ Atheist: a person who disbelieves in any gods. Usually
follow logic/ science.
▸ Agnostic: a person who doubts/ is uncertain about
religion.
▹ Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits,
emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is
considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
▹ ‘I am not one given to projecting human traits and emotions
onto animals, but many a time during that month in Brazil,
looking up at sloths in repose, I felt I was in the presence of
upside-down yogis deep in meditation or hermits deep in
prayer, wise beings whose intense imaginative lives were
beyond the reach of my scientific probing.’
• ‘calm, quiet and introspective’
• ‘sleeps or rests average twenty hours
a day’
• Somehow manages to survive.
• ‘lives a peaceful, vegetarian life in perfect
harmony with its environment’
 Important quotes: Chapter 1

▹ ‘Sometimes I got my majors mixed up. A number

of my fellow religious-studies students – muddled
agnostics who didn’t know which way was up, who
were in the thrall of reason, that fool’s gold for the
bright – reminded me of the three-toed sloth; and
the three-toed sloth, such a beautiful example of
the miracle of life, reminded me of God.’
 Important quotes: Chapter 2

▹ ‘Mild fall weather, yet puts on a big

winter parka’
 Important quotes: Chapter 3

▹ ‘I was named after a swimming

pool.’
 Important quotes: Chapter 4

▹ ‘Don’t we say, “There’s no place like home”? That’s

certainly what animals feel. Animals are territorial.
That is the key to their minds. Only a familiar territory
will allow them to fulfill the two relentless
imperatives of the wild: the avoidance of enemies
and the getting of food and water. A biologically
sound zoo enclosure – whether cage, pit, moated
island, corral, terrarium, aviary or aquarium – is just
another territory, peculiar only in its size and in its
proximity to human territory.’
 Important quotes: Chapter 4

▹ ‘In the literature can be found legions of examples of animals

that could escape but did not, or did and returned… But I don’t
insist. I don’t mean to defend zoos. Close them all down if you
want (and let us hope that what wildlife remains can survive in
what is left of the natural world). I know zoos are no longer in
people’s good graces. Religion faces the same problem. Certain
illusions about freedom plague them both. The Pondicherry Zoo
doesn’t exist any more. Its pits are filled in, the cages torn down. I
explore it now in the only place left for it, my memory.’
▹ ‘I have heard nearly as much nonsense about zoos as I have
about God and religion.’
 Important quotes: Chapter 5

▹ ‘Repetition is important in
the training of not only
animals but also of humans.’
▹ ‘And so, in that Greek letter
that looks like a shack with a
corrugated tin roof, in that
elusive, irrational number
with which scientists try to
understand the universe, I
found refuge.’
Important quotes: Chapter 6

▹ ‘… his
cupboards
are jam
packed (with
food) …’
THE ANIMALS:
Chapter 7: Atheist Mr Kumar
Chapter 8,9,10,11,13,14: Animals
Anthropomorphism
Flight Distance
Hiding
Training
Alpha dominance
Chapter 12: Pi’s memories
 Summary: Chapter 7
The narrative returns to Pi’s voice. Pi describes his biology teacher,
Mr Satish Kumar. Mr Kumar was an atheist and an active
Communist. He used to come to the zoo to watch the animals and
wonder at the natural world. Pi, who had been religious since a
young age, was at first shocked by Mr Kumar’s atheism, but soon
they formed a deep bond. Pi respects atheists for choosing a
certain worldview (one without a God), but he dislikes agnostics,
as they must live in a constant state of doubt or indifference.
 Chapter 8
Pi relates the saying that “the most dangerous animal in a zoo is Man,” and describes different
ways zoo visitors have tormented or injured the animals, sometimes in bizarre ways. Pi says
that this saying (which was on a sign at the Pondicherry Zoo) was not quite true though. He
says more dangerous than humans themselves is their tendency to

anthropomorphise animals, giving them human feelings and motives.

One day Pi’s father decided to show Pi and his older brother Ravi about the dangers of wild
animals. He took the boys to the Bengal tiger’s cage and fed the tiger a wild goat in front of
them. The boys were traumatised by this sight, but their father continued by listing other
ways even seemingly docile animals could hurt or kill them. Pi remembered this lesson
forever and always recognised the “otherness” of wild animals.
 Chapter 9

Pi describes the idea of “flight distance,”

which is how far away a human can be before
an animal runs away. An important part of
zookeeping is reducing the flight distances of
animals so that they are comfortable with
humans nearby. Zookeepers can do this by
providing good shelter, food and water, and
personal attention. Pi says that his father was
a natural zookeeper.
 Chapter 10
Pi admits that there are still some animals
who escape or try to escape from zoos. He
says that this is usually the result of bad
care or the animal experiencing sudden
stress, especially if it feels that something
is invading its territory. Pi curses the bad
zookeepers whose animals want to
escape, saying that they give all zoos a
bad name. These animals know how to
disappear.
 Chapter 11
Pi describes the case of a black leopard who escaped the Zurich Zoo and lived in the
area undetected (with the whole city on alert) for ten weeks. Pi wonders that such a
huge predator could live secretly for so long, and uses this to prove that animals are
always just trying to fit into whatever environment they find themselves in. Pi thinks
that cities are full of big wild animals, and references someone trying to find an animal
in the Mexican jungle.
Irony: These anecdotes seem like simple digressions at first, but we will later see that
Pi has been using them to buttress his argument the whole time – he will refer to the
Zurich panther when trying to convince his interviewers of his story’s believability.
Later it will become clear that Pi’s story really does result in a large animal living
in the Mexican jungle.
 Chapter 12
The author interrupts again to explain
how the adult Pi’s tales are still
interrupted by his own memories. The
author says that “Richard Parker still
preys” on Pi’s mind. The author made
the mistake of telling Pi that he liked
spicy food, so now Pi always serves
him painfully hot food on his visits.
 Chapter 13
Pi expounds on the idea of territoriality in animals. He says that if you fall into a
lion’s pit, the lion will kill you not because it’s hungry but because you have
crossed its boundaries. Lions (like most animals) respect the territory of others as
well as their own, which is how lion-tamers work. The lion-tamer enters the cage first,
so the lions see that it is his territory. They are not afraid of him, but they know that he
provides them with food and so they prefer to keep up the order of their group.
Pi describes the concept of alpha animals (dominant leaders) and beta animals (the
rest of the group). He says that most animal violence is the result of “social insecurity,”
or the animal not knowing whether they are alpha or beta. The lion-tamer reinforces
his alpha status with the whistle and whip and a calm, forceful stare.
 Chapter 14
Pi says that the lowest animal, the
“omega,” has the most to gain by
having a close relationship with
the alpha. This is the lion that
tamers will use for their special
tricks, as the omega lion is willing to
do more to increase its social
standing. It is the same in zoos,
where omega animals are the
easiest to care for.
 Characters: Satish Kumar (#1)
Pi’s Biology teacher.
Note Pi’s physical description of Mr Kumar:
‘geometric’, ‘two triangles’, ‘two parallel lines’
Atheist.
Believes in Science.
Claims ‘Religion is darkness’.
He suffered from Polio, and God did not save him
– medicine did.
Inspired Pi to study Zoology at university.
 Characters: Santosh and Gita Patel
Santosh is harsh and strict.
Gita is softer in nature.
Santosh recognises that Pi
anthropomorphiseses animals, and
therefore exposes him to a tiger’s
danger by forcing him to watch a
tiger eating a goat.
.
 Theme: Boundaries
Pi expands on the ideas of territory and boundaries. The training of animals is
basically a slow rearrangement of their territory, and in zoos the animals must
accept humans living on adjacent territories to their own.
Pi’s knowledge of taming dangerous beasts will take on a major role later. His
ideas about animal-training centre on boundaries and confidence in the
trainer, and a “suspension of disbelief” in the lions themselves. The lions
know they could easily overpower the trainer, but they accept his leadership
because he provides food, security, and order.
 Boundaries
Pi claims that in zoos, dangerous animals like tigers or lions would attack
people only because they perceive people as invading their territory.
Boundaries are a sacred right for all animals--an animal reacts immediately
when someone starts to steal its space and upset the regularity of its life. The
passage reinforces the points Pi has been making about the value of
boundaries. Most people would say that confining a person to a limited set of
places is a form of imprisonment. Pi, on the other hand, sees such acts of
confinement as a liberation. An animal, or a human being, embraces its home
and its space, and indeed, it will defend its space from invaders of all kinds.
 Themes: Religion
The Satish Kumars (there will be another) of Pi’s life provide symmetry in their
influence. Pi’s digression on atheists and agnostics is very important –clearly he
accepts that the existence of God is inherently unknowable, and so it takes faith to
either affirm or deny it. When the truth is unknowable, we can only choose which story
we find more beautiful. Pi prefers a worldview with God in it, but he respects those
who do not. What he does not respect are those who refuse to choose, who linger in
doubt. Pi respects those who choose a story.
Pi’s lament of bad zookeeping prefigures his lament of bad religious practitioners –
bad zookeepers, like narrow-minded, hateful religious people, give zoology and
religion bad names, making people think that both zoos and religion restrict freedom.
 Religion continued
Pi embraces all belief systems as long as they embrace
something--the one ideology he won't tolerate is the ideology of
uncertainty, agnosticism (the skepticism of whether or not a god
exists). Sooner or later, Pi insists, people have to come to terms with
reality and believe in one, definite thing--they can't just keep
changing their mind. Put another way, people can't realistically live
their lives in a state of constant doubt--they have to choose a "story,"
whether that story involves God or not, and live according to its
tenets.
 Symbols: Animals
While Pi loves animals (and will
come to love religion) and Martel
starts to blur the lines between
human and animal, this traumatic
scene serves as a constant
reminder of the wildness and
“otherness” of animals. Pi’s father’s
choice of a tiger is especially
pointed considering the rest of the
novel.
 Animals continued
This passage is important for a number of reasons. Pi is telling the author
about his philosophy of animals. While many would say that tigers or lions
are "dangerous," a moment's contemplation reveals that man is a far more
destructive animal. Notice what Pi is implying. First, man is an animal--just an
instinctive, physical being. Second, Pi suggests that there's a commonality
between animals and people--Pi's point will become crucial to the final
chapters of the novel, when it's revealed that Pi has been blurring the
distinctions between animals and people in his own life's story. In all, the
passage foreshadows the ending of the novel, while also emphasising man's
savage, unpredictable nature.
 Symbols: Pi
The other Greek letters (alpha, beta, and
omega) used in the idea of animal-taming
refer back to Pi’s own nickname. Alpha, beta,
and omega have ordered places within the
alphabet, but pi is unending and irrational.
This foreshadows Pi’s training of Richard
Parker. Omega, as the last letter of the Greek
alphabet, represents a harmonious and final
ending, unlike Pi’s namesake—π—or his
“botched goodbye” with Richard Parker.
 Chapter 7 Quote

‘It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a
different faith, and every word they speak speaks faith. Like me,
they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them – and then
they leap. I’ll be honest about. It is not atheists who get stuck in
my craw, but agnostics. Doubt is useful for a while. We must all
pass through the garden of Gethsemane… But we must move
on. To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing
immobility as a means of transportation.’
 Chapter 8 Quote

‘We commonly say in the trade that the most

dangerous animal in a zoo is Man.’
 Chapter 12 Quote

‘Memory is an ocean and he bobs on its surface.’

 Chapter 13 Quote
‘So you see, if you fall into a
lion’s pit, the reason the lion
will tear you to pieces is not
because it’s hungry – be
assured, zoo animals are
amply fed – or because it’s
bloodthirsty, but because
you’ve invaded its territory.’
Chapters 15 - 28

68
RELIGION
Chapter 15: Pi’s house: religion
Chapter 16-20&22:Pi’s 3 religions
Chapter 21:The better story.
Chapter 23-28 Reactions to Pi’s religions
Chapters 15 - 28
Pi’s 3
Religions
Hinduism
Christianity
Islam
71
“ I just want to love God,' I blurted
out, and looked down, red in the face. -
Pi Patel

72
Science/ Biology: Christianity: Islam: Hiduism:
Mr Kumar Father Martin Mr Kumar Aunty Rohini
Chapter 15:Pi’s house: religion

74
CHAPTER 16
Pi’s voice returns. He explains that he was raised a Hindu, mostly
encouraged by his mother’s sister Auntie Rohini. He grew up with
Hindu rituals starting as an infant, and he immediately felt a
closeness to the Hindu gods and stories. Pi describes all the sights,
sounds, and smells he associates with Hinduism, and how he
embraces the deeper Hindu philosophy of Brahman, the world soul.
Pi describes the beautiful, pantheistic aspects of Hinduism, and how
its followers seek to become liberated over the course of many
lifetimes. He declares that he has always been and always will be a
Hindu, and he sees his “place in the universe” through the Hindu
schema. At the same time he does not cling to it as the only truth.
He references a story about the god Krishna belonging to each of a
group of milkmaids at once, and disappearing only when one would
become possessive of him.
CHAPTER 17
Pi describes his introduction to Christianity. When he was fourteen he was on a holiday
in Munnar and he came across a church. Pi had never been inside a church before, and he
stepped inside when he saw that the doors were open. Inside he met a priest named
Father Martin. Pi expected to be kicked out for being a “heathen,” but Father Martin
welcomed him into the clean, quiet space.
Pi began returning to visit Father Martin, and the priest told him the story of Jesus. Pi
wondered at the strange psychology involved in Christ’s sacrifice, and he asked for other
stories. Father Martin said that there is only one story in Christianity, and the whole basis of
it is God’s love. Father Martin answered all of Pi’s questions with “love.” Pi compared this
strange new religion to Hinduism’s fantastical tales, but he was moved by a God who
would give up all power and glory.
After three days Pi found himself thinking constantly about Jesus. At first he was angry at
the idea of him, but soon Pi decided to become a Christian himself. Just before his family
left Munnar, Pi went to Father Martin and asked to become a Christian. Father Martin told
Pi that he already was. Overjoyed, Pi went into the church and prayed, and then went off
to thank Krishna for introducing him to Jesus.
 CHAPTER 18
Less than a year later Pi
converted to Islam as well. He
was exploring the Muslim
quarter of Pondicherry, and he
admired the beautiful
mosque. He went into a
Muslim baker’s shop. The
baker started a conversation
with Pi but then excused
himself to go pray. Pi was
intrigued by the “callisthenic”
prayer routine. He loved the
concept of brotherhood in
Isam.
CHAPTER 19
Pi went back to see the baker and
asked him about Islam. The baker
described the religion, which Pi found
elegant and beautifully simple. The
baker taught Pi the Muslim prayer
routine.
CHAPTER 20
Pi says that the baker was a Sufi, a Muslim mystic. His
name was Satish Kumar – the same name as Pi’s atheistic
biology teacher. Pi found this dichotomy fitting, as both
men taught him about the way the world works. Pi started
going back to (the Muslim) Mr Kumar’s house, and they
would pray together. One time as Pi biked home from
one of these visits he felt a blissful closeness to God and
universe. Pi says that the only other religious experience
he had like that was as an adult in Toronto, when he saw
the Virgin Mary among some falling snow.
CHARACTERS: FATHER MARTIN
He is fortunate to meet Father Martin, a
Christian who is kind, patient, and
appreciates the love behind Christian
dogma.
MR SATISH KUMAR #2
Baker.
Islam Sufi.
Plain features.
BOTH MR KUMARS
The two Satish Kumars create a pleasing symmetry in their
influence on Pi’s life, especially as they offer a harmonious
duality in comparison to the unending π. The first Mr Kumar
inspires Pi to study zoology in college, while the second Mr
Kumar inspires him to study theology.
‘Mr Kumar and Mr Kumar were the prophets of my Indian
youth.’
THEMES: RELIGION
Based on the contents of his house, Pi’s religious beliefs seem muddled
and unfocused.
For Pi, religion will be about choosing “the better story” in a chaotic,
unknowable universe. This begins to develop a major theme of the
book, which is that religion (like stories, and through stories) is a way of
ordering life and making it bearable. Unlike many religious practitioners,
Pi tries to avoid being possessive of religious truth – already he accepts
that truth can be relative.
Pi starts to learn that he too is looking for something deeper than ritual
and tradition, and he finds different aspects of that thing – God, or
universal love, or “a better story” – in Hinduism and Christianity. Only
when Pi looks past his stereotypes of Christians does he see the
similarities in the religions, and he asks us as readers to do the same.
THEMES: BOUNDARIES
The idea of boundaries returns here as Pi starts
to blur the lines between different religions.
Most people cling to one religion exclusively or
no religion at all, but Pi starts to embrace three
of them at once. He has shown that he accepts
metaphysical truth as relative, so he chooses
religions as a moving and beautiful way to view
the universe.
QUOTES
CHAPTER 15:
‘Upstairs in his office there is a brass Ganesha
sitting cross-legged next to the computer, a
wooden Christ on the Cross from Brazil on a
wall, and a green prayer rug in a corner.’
CHAPTER 16:
‘But religion is more than rite and ritual’.
Chapter 17:
‘Love, repeated Father Martin.’
Chapter 19:
‘It is a beautiful religion of brotherhood and
devotion.’
Summary: Chapter 21
The author sits in a café after talking with the
adult Pi, and he thinks about their conversation.
He notes Pi’s words about “dry, yeastless
factuality” and “the better story.” The author
feels that his own life seems mundane
compared to Pi’s. He considers Pi’s religious
philosophies, which value moral truth above
intellectual truth, and elevate love above all
else.
Chapter 22
Pi goes back to narrating. He imagines an
atheist’s deathbed moments, and describes
the atheist taking a final leap of faith. He
then describes an agnostic clinging to his
“dry, yeastless factuality,” trying to
scientifically explain the white light he sees
and missing “the better story.”
Chapter 23
Pi explains that he had kept his religious activities quiet, and his parents had no idea that
he was now a Christian and Muslim as well. One day Pi was out with his parents enjoying
the weather on a seaside esplanade when they were confronted (by coincidence) by Pi’s
imam, priest, and pandit, the religious leaders with whom Pi had been practising his
Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism.
Pi’s parents were culturally Hindu, but they were secular in their personal lives, so they
were surprised to suddenly find out how religious their son was. The priest, imam, and
pandit were also all shocked to find that Pi was not just a Christian, Muslim, and Hindu,
but in fact all three at once. They each protested that it was not possible to believe in all
three religions simultaneously, and they argued with each other and demanded that Pi
choose between them.
Pi became embarrassed and quoted Mahatma Gandhi, saying that “All religions are true”
and explaining that he was just trying to love God. The religious leaders were
embarrassed by this, and Pi’s father took advantage of their silence to hurry the family
off to get ice cream.
Chapter 24
After this episode Pi’s brother Ravi
would tease him mercilessly for his
religious activities, suggesting that Pi
also become Jewish so he could have
more days of the week off for religious
holidays.
Themes: Storytelling
The need to improve and order reality
through storytelling (or religion) is a
natural human instinct.
Just as the adult Pi heaps spices onto
his food, so young Pi enriches his “dry,
yeastless factuality” with the “spices” of
religious stories and myths.
 Themes: Religion
▪ The 3 religious leaders who speak to Pi are
alluded to as the 3 wise men – reference to
the Bible. They represent the discord
between religions who only want to voice
their opinion.

“Dry, yeastless factuality” is the boring reality of doubt, the

agnostic’s universe (to Pi), while “the better story” is a reality
brought to life through the imagination and faith.
Pi’s parents are culturally Hindu but not personally religious, so
even Pi’s devout Hinduism is of his own doing.
The religious leaders are each concerned with protecting the
sole, exclusive truth, while Pi is more concerned with the
beauty of each religion, and the different paths they take to
loving God and others.
Themes: Boundaries
The idea of boundaries returns, as each
religious leader has his own “territory”
and bristles when its edges threaten to
overlap another’s territory.
Important Quote
Chapter 23:
‘The pandit spoke first. “Mr. Patel, Piscine’s piety is
admirable. In these troubled times it’s good to see a boy
so keen on God. We all agree on that.” The imam and the
priest nodded. “But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a
Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose…” “Hmmm,
Piscine?” Mother nudged me. “How do you feel about the
question?” “Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just
want to love God,” I blurted out, and looked down, red in
the face.’
Summary: Chapter 25

Pi reflects on how the episode with the

religious leaders was symbolic of the
problems with many religious
practitioners. People become so
concerned with exclusivity and
defending God that they forget to love
other humans. Pi declares that when
people defend God with violence or
anger they are misunderstanding
religion. Pi himself had to avoid zealous
people who tried to condemn him for
practising more than one faith at once.
Chapter 26
A few days later Pi asked his parents if he could be baptised and buy a
prayer rug. They were both flustered by this request, and they tried to
distract Pi with books (including Robinson Crusoe). When he persisted,
they tried to convince him to choose among his religions, or to take
their route and reject all religion as “old-fashioned.”
Just like the religious leaders, Pi’s parents try to put boundaries on his
worldview, making him choose one religion or none at all. Pi’s mother
mentions Robinson Crusoe, the famous shipwreck narrative that in
many ways parallels Pi’s own story. In that novel, Crusoe too finds God
in his isolation.
Chapter 27
That night Pi overheard his parents talking about his new faiths. They
then discussed Mrs Gandhi, the current prime minister, and lamented her
“foolishness” which they hoped would soon pass. They wished aloud that
Pi would get some more “normal” interests, but eventually they decided
to indulge him, assuming religion was just a phase.
This part of the story is set in a period of political turmoil called ‘The
Emergency,” when the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a
state of emergency for the country, effectively suspending all
constitutional rights so that she would not be expelled from office for
electoral fraud.
Chapter 28

Pi got his prayer rug and came to

cherish it. He liked to pray on it in
the back yard, surrounded by birds,
and his family would watch him
curiously. Soon afterward Pi was
baptised as a Christian with his
parents in attendance.
Pi’s parents relent to his religious
devotion, assuming it is just a phase
and he will get “normal” interests
soon.
 Themes: Boundaries

‘They are separate

religions. They have
nothing in common.’
Santosh and Gita Patel
cannot understand why
Pi will not stick to the
boundaries of religion
and simply choose one.
 Chapter 16-20&22:Pi’s 3 religions

Hinduism Christianity Islam Atheism

Spiritual essence of Love. Brotherhood. Science
the religion.

100
 Chapter 21:The better story.
Yeastless factuality
Logic and intellectual
understanding.

The Better Story

Morality, love and faith.

101
Chapter 23-28 Reactions to Pi’s religions
3 religious pandits Ravi Santosh and Gita
These 3 men are Mocks Pi. Gita is neutral about
insistent that there is religion. Santosh does
no connection not believe at all. But,
between the 3 although they do find
religions and that Pi Pi’s beliefs very
must make a choice. strange, they do
accept it and do not
pressure him to
change.

102
Extra Resources
For Business Plans, Marketing Plans, Project Proposals,
Lessons, etc
‘Life of Pi’ – Yann Martel
Chapter 29 -32
INDIA TO CANADA
PI’S NEW FAMILY
 CHAPTERS 29 - 36

Chapter 29: Let’s move to Canada!

Chapter 30: Pi has a wife.
Chapter 31: Mr Kumars at the zoo!
Chapter 32: Zoomorphism.
Chapter 33: Pi’s memories.
Chapter 34: Moving a zoo.
Chapter 35: All aboard!
Chapter 36: A happy ending!

105
 Summary: Chapter 29

▹ Pi explains the political climate of the time – the

1970s were a bad period in India, when Mrs Gandhi
suspended all constitutional rights to avoid being
expelled from office. Pi was not affected by the
political troubles at first, as his world consisted of
the zoo’s daily routines, but soon Pi’s father came to
worry about the zoo’s future.
▹ Eventually Pi’s parents decided that the zoo could
not remain profitable in such a political climate, and
they grew outraged at the government’s actions,
which destroyed their hope for the “New India.”
Finally they decided to move the family to Canada,
which seemed an inherently foreign place to Pi and
Ravi.
Chapter 30

▹ The author interrupts again to describe his

meeting with Pi’s wife, Meena. The author had
been meeting visiting Pi for a while without ever
hearing about a wife, so her existence first came
as a shock to him. The author wonders at how
protective Pi is of the things that are precious to
him. The author wonders if Meena is the one
who has been cooking so much spicy food, but
then he confirms that Pi is the cook.
Chapter 31

▹ Pi describes the one time that both Mr Kumar 1

the atheist biology teacher met Mr Kumar 2 the
Muslim baker. One day they met Pi at the zoo
and Pi showed them the animals. They were
both fascinated by the beautiful Grant’s zebra,
which neither had seen before. One Mr Kumar
praised the beauty of nature, while the other Mr
Kumar thanked God.
 Chapter 32

▹ Pi explains the concept of zoomorphism, which is when animals

see humans or members of another species as one of their own
kind. He gives examples of the zoo’s herd of rhinoceros and
goats, and a mouse that lived peacefully among the vipers for a
while. He says that sometimes dogs are used as foster mothers
for lion cubs.
▹ Pi says that the animals are aware of the real truth – the lion
cubs know that the dog isn’t their real mother – but they
embrace the “imaginary” relationship in order to maintain order
in their life. They need such a comforting fiction to live happily,
as otherwise the lion cubs would be terrified at being
motherless.
 Animals

▹ Martel is making more

connections between
the animal world and
human world – he sees
this kind of zoomorphism
as animals choosing “the
better story” or having a
kind of religious faith,
one that makes their
reality more pleasant.
Summary: Ch. 33

The author describes Pi showing

him old family photos. There are
pictures of Pi’s wedding and his days
growing up in Canada, but almost
nothing from India. There are only
four random photos, one containing
the mysterious Richard Parker. None
of the pictures have Pi’s mother in
them, and Pi says that he has started
forgetting what his mother looks
like.
113
Chapter 34
Back in Pi’s narrative, the family prepares
to sail to Canada. Pi describes the huge
hassle of selling off a whole zoo. It took a
year to go through all the legal
requirements, but the sales made
enough money to fund the family’s
journey. They arranged for some of the
animals to travel with them across the
Pacific, where they would be delivered
to American zoos.
114
Chapter 35

Pi and his family left India on a

Japanese cargo ship called the
Tsimtsum, departing on June 21st,
1977. Pi describes his mother’s
sadness at leaving India, and how
she tried to stock up Indian
cigarettes (even though she didn’t
smoke), as she was so worried about
entering a wholly unfamiliar territory.
115
Chapter 36

The author returns again. On one of his visits he

meets Pi’s two children, Nikhil and Usha. Again
the author had no idea that Pi had children until
he suddenly encounters them. Usha, who is
four, is holding an orange cat in her arms and
laughing. The author declares that Pi’s story has
“a happy ending.” 116
 The two Mr Kumars

▹ The Mr Kumars come

together in a symmetry
that shows Pi’s two
great passions –
zoology and religion –
and how he is able to
reconcile these two
within his own
personality. The two Mr
Kumars equally
influence Pi.