Life Of Pi Coming Of Age Analysis

Yann Martel’s novel Life of Pi is a coming of age story about a young man reaching maturity through a story filled with tragic and loss. His novel is based on a tragedy that creates a journey with the survival aspect of life. The story takes place in the 1960’s in a lifeboat. Pi Patel finds himself on the lifeboat because his family was on their way to Canada when their ship had an accident. Pi found himself on a lifeboat with a zebra, hyena, orangutan, and a tiger. “Things didn 't turn out the way they were supposed to, but what can you do? You must take life the way it comes at you and make the best of it”(Martel 91). The sadness begins and longing of Pi 's mother is kicking in. Some things don 't turn out as planned. This was foreshadowing …show more content…
He is interviewed by two Japanese Ministry of Transport officials. They are asking questions about the sunken cargo ship. Two different versions of the story were told by Pi to explain his survival on the Pacific. “In both stories the ship sinks, my entire family dies, and I suffer” (317). Pi faces reality and either way you tell the story reality sometimes sucks. There are always two sides to the story and then there’s the actual story. Pi is being adult about this and accepting the fact that he will suffer. The one with animals represents the people and the one with out animals, in both the narrator is Pi because he is symbolizing this journey. The agents tell Pi that his story the one with multiple animals and a carnivorous island is unbelievable for them to report. So Pi tells them one that is more disturbing. In the animal version Pi puts himself as Richard Parker the tiger. Pi tried to tame the tiger or himself on his treacherous journey. In the peoples version there are four survivors on the boat but there were five. Yann Martel leaves it up to the reader to choose which story, is it both or just one. Pi has grows up through out the story because he doe not have a choice. He must grow up and face