Life of Pi
The one with the tiger, thats the better story!
What makes Storytelling so real?
The book "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel takes us on an unexpected journey as an Indian teenage boy is left helpless at sea with only a boat and yes, a Bengal tiger. Its a book that heavily relies on themes such as Survival, Religion and Faith, and of course Storytelling.
Storytelling enables the reader to create a whole new world where things that seem impossible in real life become possible. Throughout Pi's life he has followed a number of religions and this is one of the reasons why he survives in the end as he never stopped believing in life after. “Solitude began. I turned to God. I survived.”
Yann Martel gives the reader two stories to choose from at the end of the book, one where he is stranded on a boat with wild animals and one with humans. He doesn't reveal which story is true, he wants the reader to decide. I think he's able to persuade most readers to choose the animal story as he knows the people want something that seems impossible to be real, something different in life. The reader wants to believe in the impossible, something they haven't experienced before.
"Love is hard to believe, ask any lover. Life is hard to believe, ask any scientist. God is hard to believe, ask any believer. What is your problem with hard to believe?"
Pi's asking the journalists to take a leap of faith in what he's trying to say. He wants them to believe his story with the animals as everything in life is hard to believe. I think Pi decides to tell the story with the animals because its something that he's used to. The fact that he grew up in a zoo shows us that animals are his comfort zone, its what he connects to best.