In the novel Life of Pi, Yann Martel uses indirect characterization to portray how the harshest elements can bring out the most primal instincts in man, and the unexpected cooperation in the most primal of animals. This is used to symbolize the close similarities in the behavior of man and animal, although seemingly worlds apart at first glace. It is a constant switch between Pi's thoughts and Pi's actions that is needed to extend this characterization to the fullest. Martel does this by showing Pi's religious and peaceful vegetarian personality in the beginning of the novel; one that wouldn't even drink milk because it came from an animal. Yet when the time comes to survive he shows m ...view middle of the document...
It was then that his personality begun to change. His animal instincts had begun to show when he killed his first fish with his bare hands and ate it raw; a feat he would not have dared to do prior in his lifetime even if the fish had been cooked. This instinct had also created safety from Richard Parker. Richard Parker could have easily killed Pi at any time, but Pi began to show a superiority that kept the tiger from attacking. It was superiority stronger than that of physical characteristics. In the tiger's mind, Pi was the alpha male of the boat, regardless of Pi's size. This was the key element in both of their survivals. Without the constant will to find enough food for both himself and the tiger in fear that the tiger would grow desperate and eat him out of hunger, and the dominance Pi wielded that kept Richard Parker from attacking his only food source, neither would have survived.Nature often plays a key role in any novel dealing with survival. Any method of survival is in adaptation to nature. Without adaptation, there is no survival, and without nature, there is no adaptation. It is the key element in that which is living. However, it is the element of nature that made Pi and the tiger's struggle to survive even more of a challenge. Bengal tigers as well as young boys do not normally live out in the middle of the ocean, so it is likely that both would hav...
