Life of Pi

Main Ideas

• Survival in extreme conditions: the book details how the protagonist, Pi, survives a shipwreck on a lifeboat, finding ways to procure food and water, and building a relationship with the tiger named Richard Parker.
• Faith and religion: the book explores themes of faith and religion through Pi's practice of three religions simultaneously (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) and how his faith helps him endure the grueling voyage.
• Human and nature relationships: the novel touches on the relationship between humans and nature, particularly through the interaction between Pi and the tiger, as well as through the depiction of picturesque yet harsh ocean and island landscapes.
• Search for identity: through Pi's adventures and his religious and philosophical reflections, the book addresses questions of searching for and forming personal identity.
• Storytelling as a means of survival: the book raises the idea that storytelling and creating one's own realities can be a means of psychological survival in difficult circumstances.