Life of Pi
by Yann Martel
Contents
Chapter Forty Two
Overview
Orange Juice, the zoo’s orang-utan matriarch, reaches Pi’s lifeboat on a banana raft entangled in a nylon net, bringing Pi brief comfort but also new complications. Pi instinctively saves the net—a small act that becomes vital—yet wastes the chance to gather food as the bananas drift away. Orange Juice is in profound shock, and the chapter ends with the hyena’s scream, raising the stakes of survival with predators nearby.
Summary
At sunrise, Pi Patel sees Orange Juice, the Borneo orang-utan from the Pondicherry zoo, drifting toward the lifeboat on a raft of bananas caught in a nylon cargo net. In shock and desperation, Pi addresses her as a comforting, almost holy presence, confessing love while realizing they are both helpless at sea.
Orange Juice arrives surrounded by black spiders clinging to the banana mass. As Orange Juice steps into the lifeboat, the banana raft rolls and breaks apart, loosening the net.
Without thinking, Pi grabs and pulls the nylon net aboard before it sinks, an impulsive act that he later recognizes as crucial for survival. The bananas scatter and the spiders, unable to escape, drown as the “island” collapses, leaving the lifeboat briefly amid floating fruit.
Pi fails to collect any of the bananas before the sea disperses them, a waste that he knows will later torment him with regret. Orange Juice remains dazed and unresponsive from trauma, lying still on the tarpaulin and then slipping into the lifeboat proper.
As Orange Juice settles in, Pi hears the spotted hyena scream, signaling the predator’s presence and the danger intensifying aboard the lifeboat.
Who Appears
- Pi PatelCastaway narrator; welcomes Orange Juice, salvages a nylon net, regrets wasting the bananas.
- Orange JuiceBorneo orang-utan matriarch; drifts in on bananas, boards lifeboat, remains in profound shock.
- Spotted hyenaHidden predator aboard the lifeboat; its scream underscores imminent threat.