'Life of Pi': The ending explained
Did the ending of 'Life of Pi' leave you more confused than satisfied? Here's what it all meant.
'Life of Pi' is directed by Ang Lee and stars Suraj Sharma (r.) as Pi.
20th Century Fox/AP
Ang Lee鈥檚 is racking-up critical acclaim () and pre-award season buzz along with solid box office numbers. Though, for every mention of the film鈥檚 beautiful 3D or amazing CGI tiger, there鈥檚 a fuddled viewer confused by the movie鈥檚 controversial ending.
Readers of Yann Martel鈥檚 original novel (the ones who made it to the end) have already faced the challenging last-minute question presented by the story鈥檚 narrator, but filmgoers expecting a fanciful adventure at sea have been understandably caught off-guard by the finale. No doubt, viewers will debate the ending with friends and family 鈥� but to help steer discussion we鈥檝e put together a brief analysis of the Life of Pi ending, explaining why the final question may not be as cut and dry as some moviegoers seem to think.
It goes without saying that the remainder of this article will contain MAJOR SPOILERS for Life of Pi - the movie and the book (especially the ending). If you do not want to be spoiled about either, turn away now.
For anyone who hasn鈥檛 seen (or read) Life of Pi聽and isn鈥檛 concerned about having the ending spoiled, Pi鈥檚 adventure concludes in a Mexican hospital bed 鈥� where he is interviewed by a pair of Japanese Ministry of Transport officials. The agents tell Pi that his story 鈥� which includes multiple animal companions and a聽carnivorous island 鈥� is too unbelievable for them to report, so Pi tells them a different version of the story: one that paints a much darker and emotionally disturbing variation of events. After both stories have been shared, Pi leaves it up to the viewer (or reader) to decide which version they 鈥減refer.鈥�
Personal 鈥減reference鈥� has larger thematic meaning, when viewed in the context of the overarching story; however, before we analyze the ending (via the question) in greater detail, we鈥檙e going to briefly lay out the two versions of Pi鈥檚 story.
In both accounts, Pi鈥檚 father contracts a Japanese ship to transport his family, along with a number of their zoo animals, from India to Canada in an effort to escape political upheaval in their native country.聽The stories are identical up until Pi climbs aboard the lifeboat (following the sinking of the cargo ship) only re-converging when he is rescued on the Mexican shore. The 227 days that Pi spends lost at sea are up for debate.
The Animal Story
In this version of Pi鈥檚 tale, the cargo ship sinks and, during the ensuing chaos, he is joined on the lifeboat by a ragtag group of zoo animals that also managed to escape:聽an orangutan,聽a spotted hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, and a Bengal Tiger (named Richard Parker). After some time, Pi watches helplessly as the hyena kills the zebra and then the orangutan before it is, subsequently, dispatched by Richard Parker. Pi then sets about conditioning the tiger through rewarding behavior (food and fresh water), so that the two can co-exist in the boat. Though Pi succeeds, the pair remain on the verge of starvation 鈥� until, after several months at sea, they wash ashore an uncharted island packed with fresh vegetation and a bountiful meerkat population. Pi and Richard Parker stuff themselves, but soon discover that the island is home to a carnivorous algae that, when the tide arrives, turns the ground to an acidic trap. Pi realizes that eventually the island will consume them 鈥� so he stocks the lifeboat with greens and meerkats and the pair sets sail again. When the lifeboat makes landfall along the Mexican coast, Pi and Richard Parker are once again malnourished 鈥� as Pi collapses on the beach, he watches the Bengal Tiger disappear into the jungle without even glancing back.
Pi is brought to a hospital 鈥� where he tells the animal story to the Japanese officials. However, when the agents do not believe his tale, the young survivor tells a different version of his journey.
The Human Story
In this version of Pi鈥檚 tale the cargo ship still sinks, but instead of the ragtag group of animals in the lifeboat, Pi claims that he was joined by his mother (Gita), the ship鈥檚 despicable cook, and an injured Japanese sailor. After some time, fearing for the limited supplies in the boat, the cook kills the weakened Japanese sailor, and later, Gita. Scarred from watching his mother die in front of his eyes, Pi kills the cook in a moment of self-preservation (and revenge).
Pi does not mention his other adventures at sea (the carnivorous island, etc) but it鈥檇 be easy to strip away some of the fantastical elements in favor of more grounded (albeit allegorical) situations. Maybe he found an island but realized that living is more than just eating and existing 鈥� deciding to take his chances at sea instead of wasting away in apathy on a beach eating meerkats all alone. Of course, that is purely speculation 鈥� since, again, Pi does not elaborate on the more grounded human story beyond the revelation that he was alone on the lifeboat.
Even if the connection between the lifeboat parties was missed, the writer makes the connection for the audience (or readers):聽the hyena is the cook, the orangutan is Pi鈥檚 mother, the zebra is the sailor,聽and Richard Parker is Pi. However, the film鈥檚 juxtaposition of the animal story and the human story has led many moviegoers to view the last-minute plot point as a finite 鈥渢wist鈥� 鈥� which was not the original intention of Martel (with the book) or very likely Lee (with the film).聽Viewers have pointed to the look of anguish on Pi鈥檚 face during his telling of the human story in the film as 鈥減roof鈥� that he was uncomfortable facing the true horror of his experience. However, the novel takes the scene in the opposite direction, with Pi expressing annoyance at the two men 鈥� criticizing them for wanting 鈥渁 story they already know.鈥澛燛ither way, much like the ending of (read our ), there is no 鈥渃orrect鈥� answer 鈥� and Life of Pi intentionally leaves the question unanswered so that viewers (and readers) can make up their own mind.
Facing the final question, it can be easy to forget that, from the outset, The Writer character was promised a story that would make him believe in God. In the first part of the narrative, we see Pi struggling to reconcile the differences between faith interpretations (Hinduism, 海角大神ity, and Islam) 鈥� acknowledging that each of them contained valuable elements, even if they tell different stories (elements that together help him survive his ordeal at sea regardless of whether or not he was there with a tiger).
As a result, the larger question is impossible to answer definitely and, as mentioned, the 鈥渢ruth鈥� of Pi鈥檚 story is of little concern to Martel or Lee. The real question is 鈥� which story do you, the viewer/reader prefer? Interpretation is subjective but the question is intended to serve as a moment of theological reflection. Are you a person that prefers to believe in things that always make sense/things that you can see? Or are you a person that prefers to believe in miracles/take things on faith? There are no right or wrong answers 鈥� just an opportunity for introspection.
Pi is faced with a heavy challenge: telling a story that will make a person believe in God. Some listeners might remain unconvinced but in the case of The Writer, who openly admits that he prefers the story with the tiger, and the Japanese officials, who in their closing report remarked聽on the feat of 鈥渟urviving 227 days at sea鈥� especially with a tiger,鈥� Pi successfully helps skeptics overcome one of the largest hurdles to faith 鈥� believing in the unbelievable.
Since Pi marries The Writer鈥檚 preference for the Tiger story with the line, 鈥渁nd so it goes with God,鈥� it鈥檚 hard to separate the question entirely from theology. Evidenced by his multi-religious background, Pi does not believe that any of the world鈥檚 religions are a one-stop shop for the truth of God 鈥� and his goal is not to convert anyone to a specific dogma. Instead, his story is set up to help viewers/readers consider which version of the world they prefer 鈥� the one where we make our own way and suffer through the darkness via self-determination, or the one where we are aided by something greater than ourselves (regardless of which version of 鈥淕od鈥� we may accept).
That said, aside from all the theological implications, and regardless of personal preference, it鈥檚 insular to view the ending as simply a dismissal of everything that Pi had previously described (and/or experienced) 鈥� since, in keeping with his view that every religious story has worthwhile parts, a third interpretation聽of the ending could be that the 鈥渢ruth鈥� is a mix of both stories. Like Pi and his three-tiered faith routine, the viewer/reader can always pick and choose the parts that benefit their preferred version of the tale.
The 鈥渢ruth鈥�: Pi survived for 227 days at sea, married the girl of his dreams, had children, and lived to tell two stories.
Ben Kendrick blogs at .