Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Contents
Chapter Eighty One
Overview
Pi admits that his continued survival with Richard Parker is hard to believe, even for him, and offers a key explanation beyond tactics and training. He realizes that his power came from being the tiger’s steady source of food and fresh water in an ocean with nothing to hunt or drink. This dependency helps explain why Richard Parker repeatedly refrains from attacking Pi, even when Pi is vulnerable.
Summary
Pi reflects that his survival story seems unbelievable, even to him in hindsight.
Pi explains that exploiting Richard Parker’s poor “sea legs” is only part of why the tiger did not kill him. A deeper reason is that Pi became the consistent source of food and fresh water for Richard Parker.
Because Richard Parker had lived as a zoo animal, the tiger was accustomed to sustenance arriving without effort. Even though Richard Parker could see rain fill the boat and could benefit from occasional windfalls like flying fish, the larger reality remained that the ocean offered no “jungle” to hunt and no “river” to drink from. Pi’s ability to provide therefore gave Pi power, shown by Richard Parker not attacking, even when Pi slept, and by Pi surviving to tell the tale.
Who Appears
- Pi PatelNarrator; reflects on why Richard Parker did not kill him and credits his role as provider.
- Richard ParkerBengal tiger; a former zoo animal who relies on Pi for food and water at sea.