Life of Pi Study Notes
Life of Pi Study Notes
Life of Pi Study Notes
Kumar, the
M Mr. Kumar, a baker by trade, is the Sufi and mystic who introduces Pi to Islam
baker
Character Description
r. Kumar, the
M Mr. Kumar is Pi's biology teacher in India who is an atheist.
Pi Patel i Patel's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel. He is an Indian academic and
P teacher
zookeeper's son who immigrated to Canada at age 16 in a lifeboat. Pi is the novel's
Mr. Okamoto r. Okamoto is the official at the Japanese Ministry of Transport who interviews Pi in
M
main character and, for most of the book, the narrator.
Mexico to figure out why the Tsimtsum sank.
Richard Parker ichard Parker is the Bengal tiger who crosses the ocean in the lifeboat with Pi. He
R
Orange Juice range Juice is the orangutan in the lifeboat with Pi after the shipwreck. Orange
O
got his human name from a clerical mix-up at the Pondicherry Zoo.
Juice is one of Pi's favorite animals in the zoo, and he's comforted by her presence.
Visiting Writer he visiting writer is never named, though he shares traits and experiences with
T She's killed by the hyena.
Yann Martel, the book's author. He narrates the Author's Note and the italicized
The pandit The pandit is the leader of the Hindu worship services Pi attends.
sections of the book. Originally from Canada, he becomes intrigued by Pi's story on
a visit to India. The writer's thoughts provide the frame for the larger narrative. Meena Patel Meena is Pi's wife. A fellow Indian immigrant, she works as a pharmacist in Canada
Mr. Patel r. Santosh Patel is the owner of the Pondicherry Zoo and Pi's father. He decides to
M Nikhil Patel Nikhil is Pi's teenage son, who goes by Nick.
move the family to Canada as a response to dissatisfaction with Indian politics in
1977. He dies in the Tsimtsum's wreck. Usha Patel Usha is Pi's young daughter, a shy four-year-old who enjoys playing with her cat.
Mrs. Patel Mrs. Gita Patel is Pi's mother. She dies in the Tsimtsum's wreck. The priest The priest is the leader of the Christian worship services Pi attends.
Ravi avi is Pi's older brother by three years. He's known for his charisma and athletic
R Auntie Rohini Auntie Rohini is Pi's mother's sister, who introduces young Pi to Hinduism.
ability. Ravi dies in the Tsimtsum's wreck.
The sailor In Pi's second story to the Japanese officials, the sailor is a Tsimtsum employee who
Blind Frenchman T
he blind Frenchman, who is also a castaway, meets Pi in the Pacific Ocean when survives the shipwreck with a broken leg. He is similar to the zebra in his physical
he is temporarily blinded. Since the Frenchman is starving, he attempts to kill and loveliness and vulnerability.
eat Pi, but Richard Parker kills the Frenchman first.
The zebra he zebra is in the lifeboat with Pi after the shipwreck. Pi describes the zebra as "a
T
Mr. Adirubasamy M
r. Francis Adirubasamy is an old friend of the Patel family; Pi is named after the lovely animal." His leg is broken, and he doesn't live long before the hyena eats him.
man's favorite pool in the world, the Piscine Molitor in Paris, France. He introduces
the visiting writer to Pi and his story.
Auntieji untieji is Pi's Québecoise foster mother when he moves to Canada after his arrival
A
in Mexico. Pi calls her Auntieji, an Indian term of affection
Mr. Chiba r. Chiba is an assistant at the Japanese Ministry of Transport who helps Mr.
M
Okamoto interview Pi in Mexico.
The cook In his second story to the Japanese officials, Pi describes the ship's cook as a
"brute" similar to the way he describes the hyena. Pi feels love for the cook because
of the forced companionship of the long journey. But when the cook kills Pi's mother
in a fight over food, Pi murders him in retaliation
The hyena he hyena is one of the animals in the lifeboat with Pi. Like other hyenas, he is
T
vicious and will eat anything. Pi is also struck by the hyena's physical ugliness. He
kills and eats the zebra and Orange Juice, but is killed by Richard Parker.
The imam The imam is the leader of the Muslim worship services Pi attends
PLOT SUMMARY
art 3, Benito Juarez Infirmary, Tomatlan, Mexico
P
Pi is the Tsimtsum's only survivor, and two shipping company employees, Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba,
art 1, Toronto and Pondicherry
P question Pi about the shipwreck in an interview transcribed by the visiting writer. Mr. Okamoto and Mr.
In 1996, a Canadian writer flies to Bombay, India, where he plans to write a novel. His attempt fails, and Chiba don't believe Pi's story of survival on the lifeboat. Pi grows agitated and asks them if they need to
he goes to the south of India in search of a better story. In the town of Pondicherry, the visiting writer see to believe. At their prompting, he tells another version in which he lands on the lifeboat with a cook,
meets an elderly man, Mr. Adirubasamy, in a coffeehouse. Mr. Adirubasamy claims to have "a story that a sailor, and his mother, who are all murdered. Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba realize the humans in the
will make you believe in God." He connects the visiting writer with Pi Patel, a 42-year-old Indian scholar second story act similarly to the animals in Pi's first story. Pi asks them which story they prefer. They
living in Toronto, Canada. Pi narrates his life story, beginning with his academic studies in religion and prefer the version with the animals.
zoology and his mysterious past. The first part of the novel recounts Pi's childhood as the son of a
zookeeper who is surrounded by and fascinated with animals. His father shows him and his brother a
tiger attack to demonstrate how dangerous animals can be. After being teased in school because of his
first name, Piscine, Pi renames himself after the mathematical symbol. In contrast to Pi's secular
upbringing, Pi becomes intrigued by religion through a series of chance encounters. A youthful visit to a
temple causes Pi to fall in love with Hinduism; talks with a priest in a church interest Pi in Christianity;
and meeting a Muslim mystic leads Pi to Islam. As a result Pi begins to practice all three religions, and
despite pressure to choose one, he claims he needs each religion to understand God.
In 1977 when Pi is 16, his parents decided to move the family, along with many of the zoo animals, to
Canada on a cargo ship because of political unrest in India. In several chapters, the visiting writer
narrates and reveals his impressions of the adult Pi. Happily married with two children, Pi fills his home
with religious iconography and stuffs his cupboards with vegetarian food. But Pi, to his distress, has few
photos of his parents and brother. Pi points out a photo of the tiger, Richard Parker to the visiting writer.