Attitude toward self, narrator

“I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of

order…we must give things a meaningful shape…that’s one

thing I hate about my nickname, the way that number runs

on forever. It’s important in life to conclude things properly”

(Martel 285).

Attitude toward life, existence

“I have nothing to say of my working life, only that a tie is

a noose, and inverted though it is, it will hang a man

nonetheless if he’s not careful” (Martel 6).

Imagery to create Tone

“A foul and pungent smell, an earthy mix of rust and

excrement hung in the air. There was blood everywhere,

coagulating to a deep red crust. A single fly buzzed about,

sounding like an alarm bell of insanity” (Martel 127).

Diction, word choice to create tone

“The ship sank. It made a sound like a monstrous metallic

burp. Things bubbled at the surface and then vanished.

Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart.”

(Martel 97).

Theme

“I wept heartily over this poor little deceased soul. It was

the first sentient being I had ever killed. I was now a killer.

I was now as guilty as Cain…I had blood on my hands. It’s

a terrible burden to carry” (Martel 183). 

Pi’s obsession with “form” and “the harmony of order”

explains why religion appeals so strongly to him. He finds

great importance in concluding things “properly”. Pi is

essentially asking what kind of life would we be leading if,

when it was over, we simply died and remained dead to rot

for eternity? Pi hopes and believes that there is more. He

believes what he is told about afterlives and moral

judgment because he is afraid of his life ending in a

pointless and almost anticlimactic manner. Pi’s obsession

with closure can also be found in the founders of almost

any religion to have ever been preached throughout

history.

Pi respects the importance of work, however finds much

more value in the beauty of life itself. Pi believes that to

ignore the offerings of life and to focus too much on work is

detrimental to one’s health.

Martel paints a disturbing picture in his description of the

lifeboat following the slow painful death of the zebra. He

describes the air as smelling like “an earthy mix of rust and

excrement”, the boat as having “blood everywhere”, and his

only companion as “a single fly…sounding like an alarm bell

of insanity”. Through this shockingly filthy and revolting

portrayal of the lifeboat, Martel establishes a tone of

absolute disgust.

When describing the sinking of the Tsimtsum, Martel utilizes

a variety of strong and violent words to establish a tone of

disorder and fear. Martel describes the sound of the ship

sinking as a “monstrous metallic burp” simultaneously

noting its enormity and its violent, industrial nature. He also

says that “everything was screaming” suggesting disorder

and confusion.

Another theme found in Life of Pi is the loss of innocence.

Prior to his being stranded at sea, Pi is a god loving

vegetarian who would never even consider eating the flesh

of an animal. Once forced to end the life of another

creature in the interest of prolonging his own, Pi is

overcome by guilt. At this point, he has entered a phase of

existence that, until his problem of being stranded is

resolved, he is forced to endure, therefore making a

transition from an innocent vegetarian to a hunter with

“blood on my [Pi’s] hands”.