Life of Pi

The motif of territory appears throughout Life of Pi as both a psychological construct and literal boundary-marking. The blurring of boundaries between animals and humans permeates the text, but it is given the highest salience in Pi’s second rendition of his story. In this version, Pi cannibalizes the cook, effectively replacing Richard Parker as a murderous beast. Therefore, we might interpret Pi’s original account as an effort to create psychological distance between himself and the animalistic aspects of his nature. The original version likewise includes an observation from Pi that he became aware of his increasingly animalistic eating habits that mirrored Richard Parker. Pi’s obfuscations possibly stem from self-denial over the psychological and moral boundaries he has crossed. Moreover, Pi’s grasp of animal territory, evidenced by his repeated musings on animal social behavior, allows him to create literal boundaries between himself and Richard Parker. Pi asserts his alpha status by demarcating territory with his urine.

Life of Pi also explores the idea of territory through religion. Pi’s pantheistic and perennialist beliefs inherently reject distinctions between religions. In the comical encounter between Pi and the priest, imam, and pandit, the three religious leaders bicker over the merits of their respective faiths. The pandit refers to Islam and Christianity as “foreign religions” (68), while the imam rebukes Hindus and Christians are “idolaters” with many gods (67). The priest, meanwhile, chides Hindus as “calf lovers” (68) and considers Islam worthless in the absence of resurrection-style miracles. Pi describes small-minded, dogmatic, and boundary-obsessed notions of religion as depraved. Later, he observes that animal social hierarchies, despite being built into their nature, are actually more fluid and pragmatic than religious ones.

Ritual is a predominant symbol of Life of Pi which manifests in multiple ways. From a religious point of view, ritual is an act of devotion with clear benefits, particularly mystical rituals such as fana’ and dhikr. These rituals seemingly allow Pi to attain gnosis, or knowledge of esoteric truths. But Pi also experiences the “presence of God” (62) in mundane activities, such as swimming or bike-riding. This is an acknowledgement of God’s omnipresence, but it also illustrates the profound effect repetitious acts have on Pi. Pi’s daily regiment on his lifeboat alters little, but its ritualistic aspects allow him to forget, and thus survive. Pi’s “forgetting” is not just tied to his survival, as he professes, but it can also be viewed as annihilation of self or ego. Despite a clear proclivity for harmony engendered by ritual, Pi is also cognizant of how rituals are weaponized to delineate boundaries between religious communities. He says of this narrow-mindedness, “religion is more than rite and ritual” (48). Pi’s universalism is undercut by public religious distinction, literalism, and ritual practice.