Pi is left in the black, raging sea without Richard Parker following him into the water. He grabs the floating oar he meant to use as a club and reaches the now-empty lifebuoy, realizing he would not survive long without it as waves pound him and he struggles to breathe.

As Pi treads water near the lifeboat, he spots shark fins cutting the surface and panics. He swims to the tarpaulin-covered end of the lifeboat, searching for Richard Parker; Pi sees that the tiger is not on the benches but down at the bottom of the boat, while the zebra’s head thrashes at the opposite end.

Noticing a slight looseness where the orange tarpaulin is laced over the lifeboat’s short prow, Pi forces the oar handle into the gap between rope and tarpaulin. Using the oar as a makeshift support, Pi pulls himself up out of the water and clings above the waves, though crests still strike him.

Pi registers his impossible situation—alone and orphaned on the Pacific, a tiger in the boat, sharks below, and a storm all around—but he does not give up. When he can, Pi threads the lifebuoy onto the oar and works it down until it hugs his body, freeing his arms and steadying himself as he focuses on surviving the ocean before facing the tiger.