Human Castaways In Yann Martel's Life Of Pi

The pair of Japanese officers who interview Pi at the conclusion of Life of Pi represent society as a whole. After the recounting of Pi’s story, Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba make their opinion clear. They do not believe the story with animals to be authentic and that “He[Pi] thinks we’re[they’re] fools.” Life of Pi contains a vast amount of extraordinary events, such as the botanically impossible island, as well as the very fact that there is a tiger aboard Pi’s lifeboat, so understandably, the reader’s first response will be one of disbelief. When experiencing or observing events unknown, the reader will regularly make reasonable excuses for the happening of that event based on previous knowledge. After Pi inquires how there could be meerkat bones in the boat if the island was impossible, Mr. Okamoto counters, “They could be bones from another small animal.” Much like how one hears a bump in the night and dismisses it as common house noises, readers will rationalize inconceivable situations by finding a plausible explanation. Despite society believing the version of the story with animals to be invalid, readers undeniably prefer the point of view on Life of Pi enhanced with multiple species instead of the expected human castaways. …show more content…
Coincidingly, when facing the question of which version they prefer more, the Japanese officers consider “The story with the animals is[to be] the better story.” How the officers doubt the story with animals and counter the version with acceptable but reasonable occurrences instead, yet prefer the story with animals for its aesthetic appeal correlates directly to how society reacts to Life of