Life of Pi
By Yann Martel
Summary
A boy named Pi has to move from India to America. His father owns a zoo so they transport all of the animals with them. On their boat trip over, their boat starts to sink in a storm. During the storm, Pi makes an escape to the lifeboat. He manages to stay alive. In the morning, he finds that the lifeboat has also inhabited a zebra, a hyena, a tiger and an orangutan. Throughout the next few days, the zebra, the hyena and the orangutan are slowly killed off. Soon only Pi and tiger remain. Pi names the tiger Richard Parker. They spend 100 days at sea until they finally arrive at shore. During the 100 days, Pi documents his experience at sea and tries to keep himself and Richard Parker alive. When they arrive at shore in Mexico, Richard Parker leaves without the goodbye that Pi hopes for. Pi is taken to the hospital where he tells his story to two Japanese men who don't believe him.
Five Life Lessons
- To overcome your fear, you must become your fear (183).
- It's okay to create situations for yourself to help you cope (217).
- People (or animals) come in and out of your life without warning (294).
- Expect the unexpected (102).
- Sometimes things can't be explained (249).
Connection to the text
I have a close bond with my cat, Whiskers. We "hang out" a lot and I've developed a close relationship with her. If she were to just up and leave me, I would be completely devastated and confused. She means a lot to me and even though we can't even speak to each other, we are able to understand each other. Whiskers comforts me when I'm sad. I feel like Pi and Richard Parker have developed a close bond just like Whiskers and I have.
Diary Entry
I'm running out of food. Richard Parker is getting restless. He also needs food. We are both hungry. Richard Parker seems less aggressive. I managed to get closer to him today. I hope to hit land soon and get off this lifeboat. It rained today so we got some water. That was good. I am thankful for rain.