Pi reflecting on his life and how his suffering had left him feeling dejected. The reason for Pi's suffering is not yet clear, but he mentions that his academic studies and religious practice helped rejuvenate him. Pi attended the University of Toronto, where he studied religious studies and zoology. His religious studies thesis focused on the cosmogony theory of Isaac Luria, a 16th-century Jewish mystic, while his zoology thesis examined the thyroid gland of the three-toed sloth. Pi chose the sloth for its calming and introspective nature, which helped soothe his shattered self. Despite being seemingly opposites, Pi believes that religion and zoology are closely related.
Pi reveals that he recovered from his ordeal at a hospital in Mexico, where he received good treatment. He had suffered significant injuries and ailments, including fluid retention, anemia, swollen limbs, dark urine, and skin abrasions. However, he was relatively healed within a week. Pi recalls that the first time he turned on a water tap after his recovery, he lost consciousness. When he finally arrived in Canada, he went to an Indian restaurant where a waiter reproached him for eating with his hands.
After a brief interlude from the author's point of view, where it is mentioned that Pi is a fast-talking and expressive middle-aged man, the narrative returns to Pi reminiscing about his childhood. Pi's full name is Piscine Molitor Patel, named after a famous swimming pool in Paris called the Piscine Deligny. The pool had a unique floating design on the Seine River and was the site of the 1900 Paris Olympics. Pi's parents, although not fond of water, were friends with a former champion swimmer named Francis Adirubasamy, who Pi affectionately called Mamaji. Pi developed a love for swimming from Mamaji, particularly enjoying the ritualistic aspects of the activity.
Pi's father, Santosh Patel, was the founder and director of Pondicherry Zoo. Pi looks back fondly on his childhood and adolescence spent in the
zoo, considering it a paradise on earth. Pi disagrees with the common belief that zoos are inherently oppressive institutions that deprive animals of freedom. Instead, he believes that zoos provide a much-needed predictability for creatures that are conservative and reactionary by nature.
Pi describes his schooling journey in Pondicherry in prophetic terms. He starts at St. Joseph's School, where he feels persecuted, likening himself to the Prophet Muhammad in Meccabefore his journey to Medina. Pi's Medina is Petit Seminaire, the best English-medium private school in Pondicherry. At Petit, he encounters Mr. Satish Kumar, a biology teacher who is an atheist and communist with a wiry, geometric body shape. Initially bemused by Mr. Kumar's atheism, Pi develops admiration for atheism as a worldview due to its certitude, in contrast to agnosticism, which he sees as indecisive, noncommittal, and anarchic.
The narrative shifts back to the Pondicherry Zoo as Pi reflects on his upbringing with his brother, Ravi. Recognizing the boys' closeness to the animals, their father decides to teach them a lesson about the savage nature of wild animals. He takes them to a Bengal tiger's cage to witness it devouring a live goat. This experience traumatizes the boys, but Pi realizes that he tends to anthropomorphize animals, similar to humans who claim that captivity restricts animals' freedom. Pi's contemplation on anthropomorphism blurs the boundary between humans and animals. Pi's father even paints a message on a wall with bright red letters, asking, "DO YOU KNOW WHICH ISTHE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMAL IN THE ZOO?" with an arrow pointing towards a curtain with a mirror behind it. Pi firmly believes that animals actually enjoy the stability of zoo life, although he acknowledges that wild animals have a natural inclination to escape due to an intrinsic madness that is crucial for their survival. He shares an anecdote about a black leopard that escaped the Zurich Zoo in 1933 and lived undetected in the city for ten weeks. According to Pi, most zoo animals that escape are terrified of the unknown, but their escapes are mainly a result of poor zookeeping.
Pi delves into the concept of territoriality among animals and how social hierarchies play a role in defining physical animal space. He explains the distinctions between alpha, omega, and beta animals, using
them to illustrate the connection between social anxieties and animal violence. These hierarchies are essential for maintaining a semblance of social order, exemplified by a lion-tamer who employs various strategies to establish alpha status. On the other hand, omega animals compensate for their social inferiority by seeking favor from their masters.
The narrative briefly shifts to a description of Pi's house in Canada, which is adorned with various relics and religious artifacts representing different faiths. These include depictions of the Virgin Mary, a statue of Shiva, and a photoof the Kaaba. Additionally, there are calligraphy artworks, holy texts, and devotional objects like a wick lamp, water cup, incense, and bowls of powder.
Pi was raised as a Hindu by his parents, and he feels a strong affinity towards the pantheistic aspects of Hinduism, as well as its sensory experiences. While he still identifies himself within a Hindu ontology, Pi recounts a significant encounter with Christianity. During a vacation in Munnar, a mountainous town in Kerala, Pi enters a church and meets a Catholic priest named Father Martin. Despite his initial fear of being perceived as a Hindu "defiler," Pi is surprised by Father Martin's kindness. From Father Martin, Pi learns about the story of Jesus and the doctrine of Original Sin. Although Pi finds this foundational Christian belief peculiar, he is captivated by Jesus' sacrifice and the notion of God experiencing "taste of death." When Pi questions Father Martin about why God would subject the Trinity to death, the priest responds simply, "Love." Before leaving Munnar, Pi converts to Christianity.
A year later, Pi converts to Islam after exploring the Muslim quarter in Pondicherry. He enters a mosque and observes the callisthenic nature of the Muslim prayer ritual. Inside the mosque, Pi encounters a Muslim baker named Satish Kumar, coincidentally sharing the same name as his communist biology teacher. Satish Kumar is a hafiz, someone who has memorized the Qur'an. Pi is mesmerized by Satish Kumar's recitations and the mystical practices of fana'(annihilation of the ego) and dhikr(remembrance of God's name). With his identification now encompassing Islam, Hinduism, and Christianity, Pi has a fortuitous encounter with three spiritual guides while on a family outing along the Bay of Bengal. An imam, pandit, and priest engage in a spirited debate about the merits of their respective religions, utterly bewildered by Pi's affinity for all three faiths. Pi's brother, Ravi, teases him about his
syncretic religiosity, jokingly suggesting that he should convert to Judaism and then to three other religions so that he can worship every day of the week.
Pi continues to grapple with the narrow interpretations of religion by clergy and the judgment he faces from his own family regarding his spiritual affinities. He criticizes those who engage in polemics about incorrect religious practices without introspection or empathy. Pi perceives the clerical relationship with God as marked by "depravity" and anger. To avoid reproach from orthodox Brahmins,Pi purposely visits Hindu temples during the busiest hours. His father is embarrassed by Pi's expression of praying out of love for God, while his mother tries to divert Pi's attention away from religion towards books like Robinson Crusoe and works by authors such as Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and R.K. Narayan.
During a conversation between Pi's parents about how Pi's religious fervor contradicts their image as a modern Indian family, Pi's father mentions the State of Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi. This political turmoil and the repressive measures taken by the government trouble Pi's father, as he struggles to reconcile his concept of progress and modernity with the harsh realities of the regime. The crackdown on constitutional freedoms ultimately jeopardizes the family's financial stability, leading them to relocate to Canada. Pi reflects that while his family was considered middle-class in India, they are considered poor by Canadian standards. He also discusses the concept of zoomorphism, in which zoo animals attribute their own characteristics to humans or other animals, such as the example of a "rhinoceros-and-goat herd" or dogs acting as foster mothers for lion cubs.
The narrative briefly shifts as the author introduces Pi's wife, Meena, whom Pi had not previously mentioned. Pi shares photographs documenting his life in Canada, noting that only a few pictures from his time in India have survived. One of the photos captures the enigmatic Richard Parker. Pi also mentions that he has only a fleeting memory of his mother.
The family finalizes their travel arrangements and the sale of zoo animals to various American zoos, which proves to be a tedious and
complicated process involving numerous legal hurdles. On June 21, 1977, the family departs from the Madras port on a large Japanese cargo ship named Tsimtsum, with a predominantly Taiwanese crew. Pi notes his mother's anxiety and sadness about leaving India, even considering whether they should stock up on Indian-brand cigarettes, despite not being a smoker.
The chaotic sinking of the Tsimtsum. Pi, devastated by the loss of his family, notices a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker struggling to survive in the water. In a frantic attempt to save him, Pi throws a lifebuoy to Richard Parker and helps him climb aboard the sinking ship. However, realizing the danger of sharing a lifeboat with a tiger, Pi decides to throw himself overboard.
The narrativethen shifts back in time to four days before the shipwreck, when the Tsimtsum is sailing in the Pacific near the Philippines. Pi wakes up to the sound of an explosion and rushes to wake his sleeping brother, Ravi. As Pi ventures out onto the deck, he realizes that the ship is heavily damaged and encounters a heavy rainstorm. When Pi returns to his family, he finds the stairwell flooded and impassable. He spots some escaped animals and eventually comes across three Chinese crewmen, but communication proves difficult due to the language barrier. The crewmen provide Pi with a life jacket and a whistle before throwing him overboard. Remarkably, Pi lands on a partially rolled tarpaulin about 40 feet below the deck. However, the lifeboat attached to the tarpaulin sinks when a Grant's zebra jumps onto it from the sinking ship.
The narrative then jumps forward to the moment when Pi jumps overboard to escape Richard Parker. As he climbs a lifebuoy to evade a threatening shark, Pi notices a severely injured zebra and a hyena, but Richard Parker is nowhere to be seen. Pi questions why he didn't simply give in to death. He finds himself alone on a lifeboat in the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Believing that two alpha animals, the hyena and the tiger, cannot coexist in the same territory, Pi assumes that Richard Parker has drowned. Soon, Pi spots a Bornean orangutan named Orange Juice floating on a makeshift raft made of bananas held together by a nylon net. The sea scatters the bananas, but Pi manages to salvage the
net and help Orange Juice onto the tarpaulin.
Pi uses the net as a barrier between himself and the animals and waits for rescue. The hyenas become frenzied, shrieking and scanning the water. Pi is fearful of the hyenas and remembers his father's advice not to anthropomorphize animals. Pi describes the hyena's indiscriminate appetite and accidental cannibalism during feedings. After vomiting excessively, the hyenas calm down and settle in a small space behind the zebra, causing it great distress. Pi observes that the hyenas have not attacked Orange Juice. Later, the hyena attacks the zebra again, biting off large sections of its flesh. Despite the zebra's pain, Pi notices that it does not show signs of pain beyond teeth-grinding. Pi is amazed that the hyenas have not attacked Orange Juice. Eventually, the hyena overpowers and decapitatesOrange Juice in a brutal attack. Pi, horrified, witnesses this before noticing Richard Parker's presence. Exhausted and delirious, Pi falls asleep.
It is revealed that Richard Parker was brought to the Pondicherry Zoo as a tiger cub. The name "Richard Parker" originated from a clerical error when the Forest Department mistakenly associated the hunter's name with the cub's documentation.
Pi finds solace in the presence of Richard Parker. With a sense of inevitable death looming over him, Pi feels that he has nothing to lose. He likens his situation to that of a tennis challenger who, when facing certain defeat against a champion, plays with an intense determination. The odds are stacked against Pi, but that doesn't deter him. As he catches a glimpse of Richard Parker's full size in the "den" under the tarpaulin, Pi starts observing the details of the boat and calculating his rations. He compiles a list of emergency supplies found in a locker, including items like tin water cans, anti-seasickness tablets, vomit bags, parachute flares, a notebook, and even "1 God."
Pi constructs a raft connected to the lifeboat to create distance between himself and Richard Parker. During this time, Richard Parker kills the hyena. As Richard Parker fixes his gaze on Pi, ready to lunge, a rat unexpectedly jumps on Pi's head. Pi throws the rodent to Richard Parker, who seems satisfied with the offering. Pi contemplates various risky methods to solve the problem posed by Richard Parker, but
ultimately decides that a "war of attrition" is his best option. He believes that the unforgiving laws of nature will ultimately save him. Pi suddenly remembers that tigers can drink saline water, realizing that Richard Parker would have no problem swimming out to Pi's raft if driven by hunger. With this in mind, Pi decides to tame Richard Parker instead, asserting his alpha status and seeking to coexist with the tiger.
Pi reflects on fear and acknowledges that reason, despite being equipped with advanced technology, is no match for deep, visceral, and paralyzing fear. Despite severe hunger and thirst, Pi occupies himself with improving his raft. He splashes his own urine on the tarpaulin as a way to mark his territory and resists the strong temptation to drink the remaining urine. Pi marvels at the diverse sea life beneath his raft, finding solace in observing the cosmopolitan underwater world.
One night, Pi awakens with mixed emotions- partially moved and partially terrified - by the vastness of the universe. He contemplates his suffering within this grand setting and realizes that his struggle serves as a "peephole" into the unknown, providing a glimpse into something greater.
Pi's commitments to vegetarianism and pacifism gradually erode as his need for sustenance increases. After yet another close encounter with Richard Parker, Pi is saved by a school of flying fish that are fleeing from a dorado. Pi throws the fish to Richard Parker in an attempt to tame him and kills the dorado to satisfy his hunger. Pi expresses gratitude to Lord Vishnu, whom he sees as taking the form of a fish, and reflects matter-of-factly on how easily he was able to bludgeon the dorado to death. As Pi loses track of time, he experiences pure ecstasy and disbelief when his solar stills successfully produce drinkable water. Pi also calculates that he has been surviving for 227 days, making note of other famous shipwreck survivors. However, his sense of time becomes jumbled, affecting his memory.
Pi tries to learn navigation from a survival manual but finds himself lacking knowledge of spherical coordinates and constellations. Instead, he decides to let the winds and currents dictate his direction while focusing on what he can control: his routines and mental state.
Pi's willingness to kill and consume any available source of food becomes more pronounced. He butchers a sea turtle, eats crab, shrimp, and algae, and even drinks fluid from barnacles. Pi also develops a training system for Richard Parker, allowing him to encroach further into the tiger's territory using a turtle shell for protection. After being knocked into the water multiple times by Richard Parker, Pi eventually asserts his dominance by inducing seasickness in the tiger.
As time passes, Pi yearns for a book of religious scripture or a good novel to occupy his mind. Instead, he keeps a diary filled with barely legible entries that mainly consist of practical thoughts, problem-solving solutions, and observations about Richard Parker. The lack of a recognizable dating system or coherent sense of time adds to the disorienting nature of Pi's experience.
Pi attempts to practice religious rituals beyond prayer, but his commitment to God is tested in his dire circumstances. Without a sense of geographical coordinates, he struggles to remember the direction of Mecca and forgets the Arabic he once knew.Pi performs solitary Masses without priests and darshans without Hindu murtis, replacing the customary offering of prasad with turtle meat. While these practices bring him some comfort, he continues to endure immense suffering.
Richard Parker begins to recognize Pi's alpha status when Pi starts hiding the tiger's feces. As part of their training routine, Pi picks up the feces and blows a whistle to assert his dominance, which makes Richard Parker nervous. Both Pi and Richard Parker suffer from constipation due to dehydration and their protein-heavy diet. Pi's humanity and physical body begin to deteriorate. Faced with severe hunger, Pi attempts to eat Richard Parker's feces but quickly spits it out, realizing its lack of nutritional value.
Pi catches a four-foot mako shark and feeds it to Richard Parker, but in the process, the tiger accidentally bites Pi. This serves as a reminder that despite Richard Parker's power and grace, he is not perfect. As Pi and Richard Parker continue to coexist, Pi finds himself devouring his meals in an animalistic manner, mirroring the behavior of the tiger. Pi is aware that his story is incredible and that he cannot offer proof other than his own survival.
An enormous storm threatens to overturn Pi's lifeboat. He closes the tarpaulin over himself and Richard Parker to shield them from the massive waves, but the raft is ultimately destroyed. Fortunately, Pi manages to preserve his solar stills. The boundary between Pi's territory and Richard Parker's is effectively gone as they adapt to the mercy of nature. Pi observes majestic whales and dolphins, believing that he can communicate with them, but he rarely encounters birds. One day, a masked booby lands on his boat. Pi kills it, skins it, and consumes its organs, eyes, tongue, and brain for sustenance.
One day, Pi spots a ship on the horizon and desperately tries to catch its attention. However, the tanker nearly collides with Pi's lifeboat and remains oblivious to his presence. Instead of feeling dejected, Pi expresses his love for Richard Parker. As his body becomes emaciated and skeleton-like, Pi drifts in and out of consciousness. In an attempt to escape mentally, he uses what he calls a "dream rag" to induce strange thoughts. His final diary entry reads, "Today I will die."
Pi eventually goes blind and starts hearing voices in a state of delirium. He believes that Richard Parker is speaking to him witha French accent, but he soon realizes that he is conversing with another blind castaway who has attached his boat to Pi's. After exchanging bizarre stories, the man boards Pi's boat and reveals his intention to cannibalize Pi by eating his liver and flesh. Suddenly, Richard Parker attacks the man, tearing him apart. Pi is grateful to Richard Parker for saving his life, but he is forever traumatized when his vision returns and he sees the man's mutilated body.
Taking the other castaway's boat, Pi makes an extraordinary botanical discovery - an algae-covered low island. Despite initially questioning its existence as a mental delusion, Pi and Richard Parker disembark to explore the island, which is inhabited by meerkats. Pi observes the flora and feels a sense of spiritual connection, expressing how his heart exalts Allah while his mind absorbs information about Allah's creation. He marvels at the lush greenness of the island, associating it with the color of Islam. Pi and Richard Parker explore the island separately during the day but return to the boat to sleep at night.
Pi learns that the island is carnivorous as he witnesses Richard Parker
slaughtering the meerkats. He also discovers that the algae becomes acidic at night. Recognizing that staying on the island would result in a lonely existence devoid of spiritual growth, Pi decides to leave, stating that he does not want to live a life of physical comfort at the expense of spiritual death.
Eventually, Pi reaches a Mexican beach, where Richard Parker immediately runs off into the jungle without even glancing back at Pi. Pi is overcome with grief at the unceremonious loss of his companion. He is rescued by a group of villagers who provide him with care. Pi finds himself in the care of Mexican doctors, but he cannot understand their language. In a dream-like state, he vaguely recalls his journey to Canada and his time at the University of Toronto.
Pi's interview with two officials from the Maritime Department in the Japanese Ministry of Transport, Tomohiro Okamoto and Atsuro Chiba, who travel to Tomatl?n, Mexico to interview Pi as the lone survivor of the Japanese Tsimtsum. However, they arrive 41 hours late due to a series of comedic mishaps and car repairs. Exhausted from their journey, Chiba and Okamoto begin the interview. The transcript includes translated exchanges between the officials inJapanese.
The interview takes place on February 19th, 1978. Okamoto introduces himself and Chiba, the newcomer to the job. They offer Pi a cookie, which he accepts. Chapter 97 consists of only the words "The story." Okamoto and Chiba are astonished by Pi's tale, but privately express disbelief in Japanese. Pi asks for another cookie before Okamoto suggests taking a break.
Upon their return, Okamoto and Chiba tell Pi that his story is interesting but not believable. Okamoto questions Pi on the details, such as the floating bananas. Pi demonstrates by placing two bananas in a sink filled with water, showing that they do float. Okamoto then challenges the existence of the algae island, considering it "botanically impossible." He also questions the presence of Richard Parker, stating that no evidence of a Bengal tiger has been found in Tomatl?n. Pi argues that wild animals are skilled at hiding, citing the story of the escaped panther from the Zurich Zoo. Pi is offended that the officials require tangible proof and asks if they believe in abstract or metaphysical
concepts like love or God.
Chiba becomes increasingly distracted, leading to further admonishments from Okamoto in Japanese. The officials request "straight facts" without any inventions from Pi. Pi acknowledges their request, understanding that they want "dry, yeastless factuality."
Pi then presents a second version of the story, excluding the zoo animals. In this version, Pi, his mother, a Taiwanese sailor, and a French cook are the only survivors. The sailor suffers a severe broken leg, and the cook manipulates everyone into believing amputation is necessary to save him. In reality, the cook intends to use the leg as bait. Eventually, the sailor dies, and the cook immediately butchers him, despite Pi's mother's objections. Pi and his mother refuse to join the cook in eating the boy's flesh but break their vegetarianism to eat fish. A conflict ensues between Pi's mother and the cook, leading to the cook killing Pi's mother. He decapitates her and throws her severed head towards Pi before butchering the rest of her body and consuming her flesh. Pi eventually kills the cook and consumes his heart, liver, and flesh, noting that the cook had crossed a line "even by his bestial standards." Pi abruptly concludes his story, stating, "Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived."
Okamoto and Chiba are horrified by this version of Pi's story, but privately acknowledge the peculiar parallels betweenthe stories involving the Taiwanese sailor and the zebra, and the hyena and the cook. They further question Pi about technical details of the Tsimtsum's sinking, to which Pi has no answers. They realize the truth will remain a mystery. Before parting ways, Pi asks which story they prefer. Both Okamoto and Chiba respond that the version with animals is "the better story." In the final chapter, it is revealed that Mr. Okamoto sends a report to the author speculating that the ship sank due to engine failure. He adds an aside, stating that Pi's story is "unparalleled in the history of shipwrecks" and that few castawayscan claim to have survived for such a long time in the company of an adult Bengal tiger.