In "Life of Pi," author Yann Martel presents the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, nicknamed Pi, who survives a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean. Pi is a 16-year-old Indian boy with a deep love for spirituality and the natural world. The narrative begins in Pondicherry, India, where Pi explores various religions and embraces a unique spiritual perspective that combines elements of Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. His family owns a zoo, which plays a crucial role in the story and sets the stage for Pi's extraordinary journey.
The turning point of the novel occurs when Pi's family decides to emigrate to Canada, taking some of the zoo animals on board a cargo ship. Tragically, the ship encounters a storm and sinks, leaving Pi stranded on a lifeboat in the vast ocean. He is not alone; a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker, a zebra, a hyena, and an orangutan also find themselves aboard the lifeboat. The struggle for survival becomes Pi's primary focus as he must learn to coexist with the tiger while facing hunger, despair, and the challenges of the ocean.