Life of Pi Q&A
- 1
Pi argues that Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba should take the “better story” as the true story. Argue that either the first or second story is the “true story.”
Pi offers the Japanese officials a second story that features humans instead of animals and then asks them to choose between the two stories. It is impossible to conclude with complete confidence which of the two stories is the true one, but there are several pieces of evidence that one can cite for either case. The second version of the story featuring a human seems far more likely since Pi manages to survive those initial days of the voyage due to the french cook who may be greedy and cruel but is also resourceful and intelligent. It is quite possible that Pi chose to create the animal version of the story to repress the memory of his mother suffering such an undignified death at the hands of the French cook while Pi helplessly watched. Further evidence can be found in the greeting that he bestows on Orange Juice when he first sees her come into his vision floating on bananas. The greeting seems more fitting for his mother than an ape that he visited at the zoo.
- 2
Yann Martel has said that the hyena is meant to represent cowardice. Explain how this is true.
The Hyena precipitates the bloodshed that occurs on the boat, and though the creature is motivated by feelings of greed and viciousness, its most apparent trait is cowardice. The hyena's fear of Richard Parker causes him to run around in circles while he is aboard the boat, and it is this same fear that causes him to attack both the Orangutan and Pi.
