The Life of Pi
Hero's Journey
Ordinary World
Piscine Moliter Patel,
nicknamed Pi after the
Greek letter, lives with
his family in India
Pi is the hero of the journey
Pi is 16 and has been interested
in the animals from his father's zoo
since he was young
Pi's Journey has two different
stories, and the reader decides
which one is real. When I reference
one of these characters, the archetype
applies for both.
The Cook = The Hyena
Pi's Mother = Mother Orangutan
Injured Japanese Soldier = Injured Zebra
Pi = The Tiger
Call to Adventure
Pi's father announces
they are moving to
Canada
Pi's father acts as the
herald, the bearer of
sudden and dramatic
news
The family must take a
journey across the sea to
Canada with their animals
Refusal of the
Call
He must leave behind
his girlfriends, who he
has fallen in love with
Pi is reluctant
to move to
Canada
Pi's fears about the
journey are apparent
Crossing the Threshold
A terrible storm
capsizes their boat
Pi is the only human survivor
He is forced to accept this journey
and try to survive his days out on sea
This is the beginning of his journey
Meeting with
the Mentor
After the storm, Pi finds
himself in a raft with just
animals
He realizes he will have
to fight the environment,
"the threshold guardian,"
in order to survive
He gets help from a survival
handbook in the raft, which
acts as his mentor
Tests, Allies, and
Enemies
A large part of the book
are small tests Pi must
complete to survive
The orangutan/Pi's mother
is the main ally archetypal
character, acting matriarchally
The hyena/the cook
shows the shapeshifter
archetype, killing others on
the raft
Pi's devotion to the journey
when [he] the tiger has to kill
the cook/hyena to save himself
Approach to the Inmost Cave
Pi realizes he must become one
with the tiger "Richard Parker"
if he wants to survive, so he begins
to train him
The training is long and
tiring, but in the end it built
something momentous
Pi begins to doubt his abilities
and prepares to face his biggest
fear, death
The Ordeal
After many days at sea, Pi
asks for a thunderstorm from
God, who can be seen as the
trickster archetype in this book
God sends a variety of magical
things such as; flying fish, and a neon
whale all seemingly to taunt Pi's faith
When miraculous and frightening
lightning strike hits the raft, Pi
hides under the tarpaulin as he
makes it extend to cover the entire
rafr
The event completes Richard
Parker and Pi's bonding into
one, possibly at the cost of their
lives
Reward/ Resurrection
Half dead, Pi and Richard Parker reach a
mysterious floating island of edible plants,
supporting a mangrove jungle, fresh water
pools, and a large population of meerkats
Both Pi and Richard Parker eat and drink freely
and regain strength. This can be seen as their reward
for surviving the second storm.
That night however, the island transforms into a
hostile environment and Pi faces the final resurrection
Pi is cleansed, but he cannot let him self die at
the resurrection
Richard Parker senses that the island is carnivorous
and convinces Pi to leave with him after he finds a
human tooth in a flower on the island
The Road Back
After being cleansed at the island, Pi and
Richard Parker finally find their road back
home, landing on a shore in Mexico
Richard Parker leaves immediately,
symbolizing the end of their relationship
and of their journey
Return with the Elixir
Pi arrives in Mexico with nothing,
knowing no one
Since his elixir is not wealth or fame, Pi's
deep knowledge is what he can use to share
with the world, "his journey"