Metamorphic Tales

My dear one, the jewel of my eye, Sleep my dear precious one. You are the peacock, the dancing peacock, You are the koel, the singing koel, You are the moon, light of the moon, You are the eyelid, dreams that wait on the eyelids. Rararo…Rararo… Rararo…Rararo… You are the flower, nectar of the flower You are the fruit, sweetness of the fruit. Rararo…Rararo…

Life of Pi is a story about struggling to survive through seemingly insurmountable odds. The shipwrecked inhabitants of the little lifeboat don’t simply acquiesce to their fate: they actively fight against it. Pi abandons his lifelong vegetarianism and eats fish to sustain himself. Orange Juice, the peaceful orangutan, fights ferociously against the hyena. Even the severely wounded zebra battles to stay alive; his slow, painful struggle vividly illustrates the sheer strength of his life force. As Martel makes clear in his novel, living creatures will often do extraordinary, unexpected, and sometimes heroic things to survive. However, they will also do shameful and barbaric things if pressed.