In Continuum.

Pi

I just got finished reading "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel.Initially i thought it was a rather dreadful book,i must say.But by the third book,with that little "twist" that came along with the storyline,which in turn led to numerous discussions on the implications of the story,i found the book rather enjoyable even after finishing the last page.I cant agree with the reviews,the ones which talk about how they wished that the book would never end.Because let's admit it,more than half the book is about Pi,the main character,trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger,marooned at sea.Nothing much happens,really.Just Pi fishing,fishing,sleeping,feeling bored,storms,defending himself against the tiger and more fishing.It was a boring read initially,but when the twist came,i was pleasantly surprised.

Basically,the book tells of the story of Piscine MolitOR Patel,or simply known as Pi,after the sinking of the ship he was travelling on from India to Canada,finds himself face to face with a 400 pound tiger,the lack of food and water,other strange animals(A hyena,an Orang-Utan and a Zebra),and the biggest problem at hand: Mother Nature.

He survived the journey on sea for 227 days,and this story is not really about HOW he survived,but the journey upon the lonely ocean alone,knowing that his whole family perished in the sinking of the Japanese ship.Throughout the book he battles with the tiger,the ocean,storms,hunger,thirst,his hallucinations,an algae island full of Meerkats and so many other aspects of basic survival,all based on a survival guide found in the lifeboat.

There are a lot of very subtle things told in the book,readers wouldnt be able to decipher until further analysis.On the surface it's about a boy's journey through the ocean,like i said.But underneath that there are a lot of hidden meanings behind everything he encountered,and more than just the surface value of the words.I found my own journey of discovering these relationships with reality rather interesting,i must admit.

People say that the tiger represents Hinduism,the ocean represents Christianity and the island represents Islam(Pi is a follower of all three religions).In the book the algae consumes the ocean and spits out fresh water,purifying the water.Then there is a paragraph that states that the ocean's tides had no effect on the shores of the algae island,which seems to be implying that Christianity has no power over Islam.It seems to me,as if the author is not trying to show the supriority of Islam,but rather show the conflict between the two religions over the centuries ever since the Crusades.Im not too sure about why Hinduism is the Tiger though,but i guess that conclusion was purely based on how the author directly linked the animal to that religion in one of the paragraphs.

I cant seem to relate myself to that interpretation though.I mean,me being not totally religious aside,i think that interpretation of the story is shaky.My personal take on the story is that the tiger represents the courage inside of Pi,or a sort of guardian angel.The island represents his temptations.The Meekats are little replicas of Pi himself,and the dead body he found on the island is himself,consumed by the island and his temptations for lasting shelter and food.

I think that's a more plausible explanation,because the implications are clear.The hyena is actually a French cook,the zebra is a Taiwanese sailor and the Orang-Utan is Pi's mother.The four of them survived the sinking,and for food the cook killed all of them except Pi,and thus Pi killed the cook in the end,like the tiger killing the hyena.It was like his courage acting upon Pi.Which is why as soon as he lands in Mexico the tiger disappears.Also,as soon as Pi left the island(Temptation),he recieves salvation: Land.

It was a great read i must say,and i highly recommend it to everybody who has a problem defining "God".Such a great book to ponder over after the last page,and you start wondering to yourself what the world is coming to,through the eyes of poor little Pi.