Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Life of Pi, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Survival
Religion and Faith
Storytelling
Boundaries
Summary
Analysis
Pi reduces his rations as the biscuits get low, and he is constantly hungry. He fantasizes about Indian food, and comes to view raw fish and turtles as great feasts and delicacies. When the biscuits run out he views anything and everything as food. In a moment of desperation Pi tries to eat Richard Parker’s feces, but he can immediately tell that there is no nutrition in it. Soon Pi’s body starts to deteriorate from starvation.
As Pi’s levels of desperation grow, so does his humanity sink lower. The creatures he once refused to kill now bring him great joy to eat raw. Pi’s attempt to eat Richard Parker’s feces is a low point at the start of his state of starvation.
Themes
