The big ideas to keep in mind when exploring this section of the novel are to do with SURVIVAL and NATURE. Pi is going to be forced to change the way he lives and sees the world in order to survive, and his survival is going to become increasingly intertwined with that of Richard Parker. But Pi, ever philosophical and attune to the importance of belief, also offers some telling reflections on the world around him, as his experience leads him to new realisations about how we observe and experience beauty.
Chapter 56: Fear
Pi discusses the danger posed by fear and how it can take over a person. Fear, driven by a sense of hopelessness, is going to become Pi’s biggest enemy in his struggle to survive.
- Read the chapter carefully and record key quotes and ideas for later reference.
Pi says that “only fear can defeat life”, recognising that his survival is linked to overcoming fear. It is difficult to combat this fear - “disbelief is a poorly armed foot soldier” and “reason…despite superior tactics and undeniable victories…is laid low”. Bit by bit, fear result in “every part of you, in a manner most suited to it, fall[ing] apart”.
“fear is but an impression” – a way in which we interpret our surroundings and situation.
“fear is life’s only true opponent”… “it goes for your weakest spot…”
Chapter 57: Plan Number Seven
Pi comes up with a new, final plan that is going to allow him to survive: “Keep Him [i.e. Richard Parker] Alive”.
- What is the importance of this ‘plan’ in helping Pi survive?
RP is key to Pi’s survival because “if [RP] died [Pi] would be left alone with despair, a foe even more formidable than a tiger”. RP gives Pi a purpose and something that he can focus on, beyond his immediate situation, and give him someone he can care for, giving meaning to his immediate existence. He brings Pi “peace, purpose and…wholeness”. We begin to see the emergence of a mutual dependence upon each other, which will become the cornerstone of their relationship and their survival (“prusten” – the sound RP makes to signify lack of aggressive intention). RP helped Pi keep his mind of his family and his immediate past circumstances – he kept him focussed in the present, in the moment – and the process of taming RP also allows Pi to come to terms with his own fears.
“It’s RP who calmed me down”
“I looked at him, full of fearful wonder”
Chapter 58: Survival
In this chapter Pi begins by listing tips from the survival guide in the boat, but there is nothing that helps with coexisting with a full grown tiger. He realises he must create his own plan.
In this chapter, Pi comes to a realisation: “I should not count on outside help. Survival had to start with me…a castaway’s worst mistake is to hope too much and do too little. Survival starts by paying attention to what is close at hand and immediate. To look out with idle hope is tantamount to dreaming one’s life away.” 168
This chapter also ends on note of hopelessness: “My situation was patently hopeless.” 169
- What does Pi need to come to terms with in order to ‘survive’?
Pi needs to realise that no one is going to come to save him, and that he needs to break away from some of his past beliefs, such as his vegetarian lifestyle. It leads Pi to the realisation that his survival needed to begin with him – he alone was responsible for his life or death. If he were to rely on being rescued, he would not be able to recognise what was “close at hand an immediate”. It is in this immediate environment that the tools of his survival will be found – hope is a danger he can’t afford. Although his situation seemed hopeless, this actually gave him a stronger will to survive – he wasn’t rely on hope; he was instead taking responsibility for his situation.
Chapter 59: Taming Richard Parker
In this chapter Pi begins the process of taming Richard Parker and asserting himself as the alpha.
This chapter ends with Pi noticing all of the life around him, and his original assumptions about the ocean were wrong. He comments: “You are as likely to see sea life from a ship as you are to see wildlife in a forest from a car of a highway… You must stroll through the Pacific at a walking pace, so to speak, to see the wealth and abundance that it holds.” 176
- How does the raft offer a different perspective of the ocean than the ship?
The raft has forced Pi to slow down, not by choice, but by circumstance. “It’s hard to imagine being at peace in a busy subway station”. He’s down at the level of the sea, he has the time to observe and nothing else to distract him. He therefore notices more.
- How might this be a metaphor for our view of the world?
On the ship Pi was safe, protected, but unable to truly witness what was around him – his ‘protection’ also distracted him from the detail and beauty of the world.
Patience is needed to observe the world around you – rushing means that much of the detail is lost, and things aren’t noticed or appreciated.
People are more concerned with their destination, rather than the journey that takes them there, despite the fact that the journey can be filled with just as much life and wonder.
He sees a larger story, opening his mind to wealth and abundance. The large ship only skims the surface and only provides little glimpses of what is going on. In doing this the passengers miss the better story.
Chapter 60: Beauty
The beauty of the ocean at night makes Pi realise his insignificance – the finite nature of his suffering. “I can’t help but mix my life with that of the universe. Life is a peephole, a tiny entry onto a vastness – how can I not dwell on this brief, cramped view I have of things?” 177
- What does viewing the ocean at night teach Pi about his predicament?
Pi realises that his struggles are “finite and insignificant” in relation to the larger scheme of things. His “suffering did not fit anywhere”. His suffering “was taking place in a grand setting” that made it appear tiny against the backdrop of the universe and all creation. He “could accept this” and “it was alright”. It was only in the daylight, when he lost this broader perspective and view of the universe, that his protests began.
Life is a “peephole” because you are only able to experience or witness a small aspect of the world and the universe. The world is so vast, but we only get to experience a small aspect of it through our lives. Some people see more than others, through the breadth of their experience or through being able to see the ‘better story’ behind things. However, everyone is limited by the vehicle through which they are able to experience the world – their lives, and how tiny we are when compared with everything that does, has or will exits.
Chapter 61: Pi’s First Kill
Pi begins to catch food for himself, and as a result must make what is for him an agonising decision to kill a flying fish: “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…All sentient life is sacred. I never forget to include this fish in my prayers.”
By the end of the chapter Pi kills a dorado“gleefully”, and he comments: “it is simple and brutal: a person can get used to anything, even to killing.” 185
- Why does Pi weep over having to kill the flying fish, yet he is happy to kill the dorado without a second thought?
Pi’s lifelong vegetarianism stood between him and his first kill – this was the biggest and hardest thing for him to overcome. However, once he begins to kill, each later one becomes easier as he adjusts to a new set of principles, governed by a new set of beliefs. He is able to “get used to…killing”, like every other aspect of his survival.
- What is Richard Parker’s role in showing Pi the path to survival?
RP shows PI that, to survive, you need to find a balance and focus on the present.
RP provides by with a reason to begin bending his rules, to find new skills, and to make compromises, because Pi isn’t, at first, doing it for ‘himself’, but rather the keep RP alive. Thus he is able to take these first, necessary steps towards brutality, and this own survival.
Chapter 62: Water, Food and Parker
Pi gathers water, continues to care for and train Richard Parker. He tries fishing, but has little success.
It has been one week since the freighter sank.
Chapter 63: Routine
This chapter begins with Pi recounting other stories of survival at sea.
He then provides an outline of his own daily routine on the boat (page 190), including regular prayers. He comments that: “I survived because I made a point of forgetting…I survived because I forgot even the very notion of time.” 191-2
- What role does routine play in helping Pi to survive?
Routine helps Pi to focus on what he is doing in order to survive, rather than dwelling on what he has lost and losing the will to survive, giving into despair, which leads to fear, etc. “The feeling of business was profoundly satisfying”.
Chapter 64: Decline
This chapter describes in detail the effects of Pi’s and Richard Parker’s physical declines since being stranded on the boat. They are surviving, but are weakened by the process.
Chapter 65: Paradox
Pi reads through the navigation instructions, but they are of no use: without sea or navigation training, he cannot understand them. He realises that while he has control of his life, he has no control of the direction he is going.
Chapter 66: Savagery
Pi begins spearing fish, wrestling turtles aboard and feels “jubilant” at killing them. By the end of the chapter he reflects: “I descended to a level of savagery I never imagined possible.” 197.
- What does this chapter suggest about the human instinct for survival?
“With time and experience [Pi] became a better hunter…[He] developed an instinct, a feel for what to do.” His more animalistic survival instincts overcome his morals, and this is what allows him to survive. He may not be happy with it, but there is a growing acceptance of the need to embrace these instincts and skills. The human instinct for survival has the power to overcome nearly anything when desperation takes hold. However, it is his morals and beliefs that keep his savagery in check, to exploit these instincts in a way that prevents him from going too far and destroying the tools of his long-term survival (e.g. killing RP).
The next section of the novel discusses Richard Parker and goes into detail about how Pi tames him and makes himself the undisputed ‘alpha’ of the boat…