Another Self in Me: Life of Pi

In Life of Pi, Martel uses the power of storytelling to present two versions of one story with Pi as the speaker, and the author-narrator as the listener. The author-narrator incites Pi, who is the sole human survivor of the sinking of Tsimtsum to tell his castaway tale of the Pacific Ocean of over seven months. The narration splits Pi into two, where his immoral behaviours such as cannibalism and murder on the ship are sources of conflict within himself. His empirical self tries to conform to the social norm, however his animal self inevitably emerges for the sake of his survival. Through fantasy, Pi blames Richard Parker for his misbehaviour as a psychological defense mechanism. Richard Parker, as a symbol of Pi’s moral deviances, allows Pi to work through his mental suffering and finally accept his animal-self through a spiritual journey. As a result, the jumbled stories leads readers to consider the effect of their animal instincts on themselves.