Gita Patel Character Analysis in Life of Pi

Pi’s mother. Gita is raised a Hindu and had a Baptist education, but she is nonreligious as an adult and questions Pi’s faith. Gita encourages Pi to read books as a youth. In Pi’s first story Gita dies when the Tsimtsum sinks, but in his second story she takes the place of Orange Juice the orangutan. She protects Pi from the French cook for as long as she can, but she is eventually murdered, decapitated, and eaten by the cook.

Gita Patel Quotes in Life of Pi

The Life of Pi quotes below are all either spoken by Gita Patel or refer to Gita Patel. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Harcourt edition of Life of Pi published in 2001.

The pandit spoke first. “Mr. Patel, Piscine’s piety is admirable. In these troubled times it’s good to see a boy so keen on God. We all agree on that.” The imam and the priest nodded. “But he can’t be a Hindu, a Christian and a Muslim. It’s impossible. He must choose…”
“Hmmm, Piscine?” Mother nudged me. “How do you feel about the question?”
“Bapu Gandhi said, ‘All religions are true.’ I just want to love God,” I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.

Related Characters: (speaker), (speaker), ,

Page Number and Citation: 69

Explanation and Analysis:

Gita Patel Character Timeline in Life of Pi

The timeline below shows where the character Gita Patel appears in Life of Pi. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Pi’s voice returns. He explains that he was raised a Hindu, mostly encouraged by his mother’s sister Auntie Rohini. He grew up with Hindu rituals starting as an infant, and he... (full context)

...four random photos, one containing the mysterious Richard Parker. None of the pictures have Pi’s mother in them, and Pi says that he has started forgetting what his mother looks like. (full context)

...a Japanese cargo ship called the Tsimtsum, departing on June 21st, 1977. Pi describes his mother’s sadness at leaving India, and how she tried to stock up Indian cigarettes (even though... (full context)

On a day he estimates as his mother’s birthday, Pi sings “Happy Birthday” for her out loud. (full context)

...his experience. In this second story, the four survivors on the lifeboat are Pi, his mother (who floated to safety on some bananas), the French cook, and a Chinese sailor. Pi... (full context)

Pi’s mother tended to the wounded sailor but his broken leg got worse, growing black and bloated.... (full context)

...the leg was for bait, and that “that was the whole point.” At this Pi’s mother realized that the cook tricked them into cutting off the sailor’s leg. The cook looked... (full context)

Pi’s mother screamed at the cook and then discovered that he had been stealing rations. Pi admitted... (full context)

The sailor died peacefully and the cook immediately butchered him, despite Pi’s mother’s protests. The cook used some of the flesh as bait and ate the rest. After... (full context)

After a while Pi and his mother grew more friendly with the cook, as he helped them to survive. One day when... (full context)

The cook butchered Pi’s mother and ate some of her flesh. Pi stayed on the raft for a day and... (full context)

...zebra corresponds with the Chinese sailor, the hyena with the cook, Orange Juice with Pi’s mother, and Richard Parker with Pi himself. Chiba asks Okamoto about the meerkats and the algae... (full context)