Life of Pi: The Use of Archetypes

Nikki Dietz
Yann Martels best-selling novel Life of Pi hosts a young Piscine Molitor
Patel, Pi, and his Hindu-based, zoo-owning, family in Pondicherry, India, in
the mid 1970s. The novel commences by elaborating on Pi Patels early life
and his interests regarding religions. Patel claims to be Hindu, Christian and
Islamic. His parents decide to move their family of four to North America and
sell the animals in the zoo once there. They board a ship, the Tsimtsum, with
all of their belongings and animals; later, the boat sinks. At first, the only
survivor seems to be Pi Patel, who escapes on a lifeboat alongside a hyena, a
zebra, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. A few animals
pass away and Pi Patel is left with Richard Parker on the lifeboat for the
remainder of the 227 day journey across the Pacific Ocean. They eventually
reach the shores of Mexico where Richard Parker disappears and Pi Patel is
rescued and nursed back to health. Patel lives to tell the tale to a writer who
wishes to write a novel about the adventure. In his recount of the events, Pi
discusses the different animals aboard the lifeboat. Much to the readers
surprise, the animals actually represented different humans all along. The
use of archetypal literary theory in Yann Martels novel Life of Pi highlights
the many different archetypes, such as figures and symbols, used to
enhance the plot, characters and overall sense of the book. Archetypes such
as the heros quest and will for survival, symbolic animals and colours, and
character types are all present and significant to the overall comprehension

of the novel. Archetypal literary theory is a tool used to aid a reader in terms
of understanding the text. Archetypes are universal symbols that are widely
recognized and commonly used by author and writers.
In Life of Pi, the archetypal heros quest and will to live allows the
reader to further comprehend the text. By incorporating this archetype, Pi
Patels mindset is easier to understand. Pi Patel does everything he can to
survive on the lifeboat; he eats disgusting food, he tames a tiger, keeps
faith on the boat and channels all the courage and bravery he has into his
continuing existence. A reader may question why Pi Patel was mentally set
on surviving. The archetypal heros quest explains that without surviving,
there would be no story; the novel would become an obsolete tragedy. The
novels purpose is to illustrate the importance of faith, both faith in yourself
and in God. By eliminating the protagonists life, an author can no longer
force the reader to question the power or significance of faith. Yann Martel
writes, If you have the will to live, you will (Martel, 185). Additionally,
using the heros quest to highlight the significance of faith would not have
been logical if Pi would have passed away in the end. Once the ship sinks, Pi
shouts out, Vishnu preserve me, Allah protect me, Christ save me, I cant
bear it! (Martel, 108). Pi cries out to three different Gods. If he would have
died, all three Gods would be seen as shamefully uninterested in saving the
life of a young boy in despair. Exploring the archetypal heros quest also
explains the story line. First, the reader learns that Pi Patel has trouble at
school with some bullies. This is followed by his fathers shocking decision to

move his family overseas. Next, the boat sinks. A tragic fate seems to await
Patel but he makes a comeback and survives, like any hero would. If Pi would
have died, his faith would have failed him and the authors intentions would
not have been reached.
Like the heros quest is important in establishing the significance of
keeping faith, archetypal symbols such as animals play a role in illustrating
how humans resort to uncivilized, animal-like behaviours when put into
trying situations. These animal symbols also represent different character
traits of a certain individuals who may be more implicit or implied. Firstly,
Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, is Pi's version of himself, particularly, his
fear(s). In the beginning, Pi is afraid that the tiger will somehow kill him. As
the novel continues, Pi finds ways to assert his dominance over the tiger by
using a whistle, food, and other types of weapons. Then, Richard Parker
conveniently disappears before Pi is rescued on Mexican beaches. Using
archetypal literary theory, it becomes obvious that Richard Parker leaves the
lifeboat when Pis fears subside. At this point, Piscine Patel is no longer afraid
of being lost at sea as he is about to be rescued by the Mexican authorities.
Pi Patel states that, Richard Parker, companion of my torment, awful, fierce
thing that kept me alive, moved forward and disappeared forever from my
life (Martel, 316). Pi knows fear kept him alive. The fear of the endless
means to his own demise helps Pi to find the courage inside of him to focus
on surviving. Pi uses his struggle with the tiger, a feared and ferocious
animal, to illustrate the struggle he had with his own fears during his time on

the lifeboat. In doing so, the use of the tiger becomes crucial in
understanding Pis fearlessness throughout some sections of the text. It
becomes clear that in fantasizing his fears as a fierce animal, he is able to
distract himself from his realistic fears of hunger, starvation or even death.
Conclusively, when Pis fear begins as the Tsimtsum sinks, Richard Parker is
introduced; as Pi is rescued and his fears subside, the tiger forever
disappears. The tiger does not depict Pis general fears, only his fear of life
on the raft.
The second animal archetype that enhances a readers understanding
of the text is the orangutan. The orangutan is named Orange Juice and is a
representation of Pis mother, Gita Patel, on the lifeboat. Pi is most concerned
about the well-being of the orangutan, which makes sense seeing as she is
technically his mother. Pi loves his mother very much and uses the zoos
most nurturing animal, Orange Juice, to play her part in his recount of his
journey. Furthermore, Pi uses the most human-like animal to represent his
mother, the most humane individual in the realistic version of his story. Using
a kind, caring, and nurturing animal to represent his mother proves how
much she means to him. Gita Patel is the archetypal good mother and acts
as Pis protector whenever she can. After Orange Juices death, Pi describes
the event as being, ...a sight horrible to the eyes and killing to the spirit
(Martel, 146). As the reader learns it was his mother who passed away, not
an animal, Pis emotional response to the orangutans tragic death becomes
more acceptable. By using a beloved animal that the reader had already

been influenced to admire, to represent Pis beloved mother, the novel

becomes simpler to comprehend. Using the archetypal literary theory, the
symbolic orangutan helps a reader to relate to the actions or emotional cues
of other characters that may not have been obvious beforehand.
Alongside the tiger and the orangutan, the hyena is an archetypal
animal symbol responsible for making parts of the novel more transparent.
The hyena represents the French cook, who in both the film and the novel, is
construed as a horrible man. The hyena eats the zebra, who is a Taiwanese
sailor, while aboard the lifeboat. He also ate a rat and slapped Pis mother.
When Pi describes the French cook, he says, He was a disgusting man. His
mouth had the discrimination of a garbage heap. He also ate the rat
(Martel, 337). When a hyena eats a zebra, the natural response of a human
is to deem it part of natures cycle. However, when the reader finds out that
the animals were actually two different races of humans, it becomes
unnatural, unacceptable, and morally wrong. By engaging in cannibalistic
behaviours, selfishly eating more than his fair share of the rations of food,
and slapping a beloved character in the novel, the French cook becomes the
villain. However, this would not be clear without the use of the archetypal
hyena. From this standpoint, hyenas become a symbol for greed or
starvation. They also have low moral standards. Without including the
archetypal animal, the extent of the French cooks evil would not be
documented as distinctly.

In addition to the archetypal heros quest and symbolic animals,

colours are used as an archetype to add clarity to the content of Life of Pi. In
the novel, the colour orange is used frequently to represent hope, faith and
survival. Firstly, there are both physical instruments and various symbols of
orange hues present. The colour orange represents the Hindu religion, and Pi
states that, I feel at home in the Hindu temple (Martel, 52). Later, Pi also
states, It seems orange- such a nice Hindu colour- is the colour of
survival (Martel, 153). This comparison shows how Pis faith in Vishnu, the
Hindu equivalent to the Christians God, helps him to relax and feel safe
while aboard the lifeboat. Early on in the novel, Pi also states that he was
Hindu first; Pi was born Hindu, and therefore has been Hindu the longest. As
stated previously, having hope contributes to the will to survive. Using
orange to represent Hinduism shows that Pi used his faith in God to survive,
even though he doubts him many times throughout his 227 day journey.
Also, there are many orange devices used to help Pi stay alive on the
lifeboat. These include the tarpaulin, the whistle, and the buoy. Pi recalls,
...the whole inside of the boat and the tarpaulin and the lifejackets and the
lifebuoy and the oars and most every other significant object aboard was
orange. Even the plastic, beadless whistles were orange (Martel, 153). The
whistle is used in an attempt to tame Richard Parker while he and Pi are on
the lifeboat. The buoy was also used as a floatation device and saved Pi from
an unimaginably terrifying fate. The buoy kept both Pi and his spirits afloat.
The tarpaulin offered shelter and was Pis makeshift turf and boundary on the

small vessel. Without these objects, Pi may have lost hope or the will to
survive. Using the colour orange as an archetypal symbol to connect each
item illustrates how each item play an individual, yet prominent, role in Pis
livelihood. This helps a reader understand why each item was used and for
what purpose.
Another use of the archetypal symbol of the colour orange is through
the character of Pi's mother. Mrs. Patel is represented by Orange Juice the
orangutan on the lifeboat after the Tsimtsum sinks. When Orange Juice joins
him on the lifeboat, Pi cries out, Oh blessed Great Mother, Pondicherry
fertility goddess, provider of milk and love, wondrous arm spread of comfort,
terror of ticks, picker-up of crying ones, are you witness to this tragedy too?
Its not right that gentleness meet horror (Martel, 123). Pis excitement
regarding Orange Juices arrival is that of a child reunited with their mother.
Pi relies on his mother and trusts her to help him relax and achieve a sense
of security; this is evident in his greeting to Orange Juice on page 123.
Orange Juice, Pi's mother, and Richard Parker, Pi's version of himself, are also
the only orange animals on the life raft, symbolizing their close relationship
and family bond. Piscine Patel credits Richard Parker for his survival as he
does his mother. Pi finds comfort, strength and perseverance in his mother.
This is evident in the way he treats Orange Juice, the animal representation
of his mother, and favours her over the other animals on the lifeboat while
she is still alive. By using an orange animal with a name that literally
contains the word orange, the author consciously ties together Pis mother

and faith. Using this archetypal symbol further connects Pi to his mother and
highlights the importance of her character. It shows how he is protective of
her and relies on her as any child relies on their maternal figure.
As well as the heros quest, animals, symbols and colours, archetypal
character types are present throughout the novel, which irrefutably provide
comprehensibility of the actual events of the story. Each archetypal character
type allows the reader to better understand the actions, emotions and
personalities of each character. The archetypal good mother is undoubtedly
present throughout the novel. By using this archetype, it becomes clear as to
why Pi represents his mother with an orangutan named Orange Juice. As
previously discussed, the colour orange is comforting to Pi, which explains
the name and species choice of Mrs. Patels animal representation. Pi
chooses the most nurturing animal in their zoo to depict his mother. He does
so in order to connect the nurturing nature of both the orangutan and Mrs.
Patel. It is important that Pis representation of his beloved mother match
her caring, kind and motherly demeanor. Pi describes his mother as being his
guardian angel of wisdom (Martel, 107). Pi's mother is his protector and
comforter. She calms him down and he turns to her when he is frightened
and afraid. When Mr. Patel unleashes a goat into the cage of a starving tiger
to show his sons how dangerous tigers can be, Pi immediately turns to his
mother for refuge. Furthermore, Orange Juice was the only female character
represented on the lifeboat after the Tsimtsum sank. There were
straightforward similarities between Orange Juice and Mrs. Patel, which

symbolize the main character's attitude towards his mother. All of these
examples show how significant the archetypal good mother is throughout the
novel. A reader is able to understand that since his mother is a positive
influence on Pi, he is more emotionally tied to Orange Juice and the
devastation of her death.
Another archetypal character type is that of the villain. Villains are
callous, mean and have low moral standards. The villain in this novel is
obviously the French cook/hyena. The cook becomes a self-serving cannibal
in efforts to outlive the rest of the people on the lifeboat. He is represented
by a hyena, animals that are greedy and self-serving and, like the cook does,
will eat almost anything they can to survive. When the Taiwanese sailor, who
is the zebra, is injured, the cook decides to eat him instead of trying to save
him. This is like the hyena attacking the hurt zebra and eating the animals
remains on the lifeboat. The French cook is also responsible for the death of
Pis mother. By killing an injured man and a kind woman, the cook becomes
the villain. Pi describes the French cooks butchering of the sailor as, He cut
up everything, including the sailors skin and every inch of his intestines. He
even prepared his genitals (Martel, 341). The cook exudes many villainous
qualities, all of which enhance his characterization. By portraying the man as
a villain, the author helps readers using archetypal literary theory in
understanding his low moral standards and heinous actions against Pis
mother and the Taiwanese sailor.

Conclusively, the use of archetypes in Yann Martels Life of Pi enhance

the readers level of comprehension of the text. Be it the archetypal heros
quest, symbols, animals or character types, the archetypes used in this novel
are greatly significant. Not only do they allow a reader to further understand
the plot and characters, they also help the reader to appreciate much more
than just the story line. It is ideal to use archetypal literary theory while
analyzing this novel as it brings clarity to many different aspects of the book.
Using universal archetypes allows readers all over the world to enjoy Yann
Martels Life of Pi just as much as anyone else.

Works Cited:

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi: A Novel. Toronto: Vintage Canada. 2002. Print