Character Development

Character development is defined as “the way that a character grows or develops whether it’s physically, emotionally or mentally throughout the story based on a series of events” (English Lesson). Pi’s character in Life of Pi develops as he experiences lessons and events throughout the book.

Thesis Statement

Character development plays a major role in the story line of Life of PI and without this theme the book wouldn’t be the same.

Innocence 

Pi’s Innocence as a child in the book has played a role in his interaction with other characters and the story line of life of Pi wouldn’t be the same if he were to continue like this throughout the entire novel this same way.

Example 1: When Pi’s innocence was shown when students would call him “Pissing” instead of his actual name, Piscine.  “He raised his arm, pointed at me and shouted, “It’s Pissing Patel” (Martel, 22). This quotation was based on a a fellow student in the school yard calling him Pissing rather than Piscine as a way to taunt and make fun of him. At this point in the book Pi took the teasing for as long as it continued without defending himself or his name.

Example 2: when he decided to go behind his father’s back to where the tiger was in an attempt to meet and feed it. “Tigers are very dangerous … I want you to understand that you are never, under any circumstances to touch a tiger, to put your hands through the bars of a cage, or even get close to a cage. Is that clear… Never forget this lesson…(Martel, 37 & 38). At this point within the book Pi’s father, Santosh taught him that animals are different than us humans because they do not have the ability to view others as friends and that you’re either seen as a prey or a predator. Santosh was able to demonstrate this point by putting a goat by the cage of the tiger where Pi was once standing upon being caught by his father. This resulted into the goat being dragged into the cage and becoming prey to the tiger.

Example 1 : when he put training to the test in order to find an appropriate approach on how to address his fellow students about calling him a name closer and more appropriate than his original name. “My name is Piscine Molitor Patel,…known to all as Pi Patel” (Martel, 24&25). As a demonstration he’d link his name to a formula used in a basic lesson of geometry and would continue this because he learned that repetition is an important aspect to training. He was training his fellow classmates to learn the name he wanted them to call him on an ongoing basis

Learning & Maturing

Example 2:  Pi's maturity is shown when it comes to his his way of thinking and his behavior after the harsh reality lesson of how animals really think by his father.  “Life goes on and you don’t touch tigers” (Mantel, 42). This quotation was taken out of the part of the book where Pi has implied that he learned and understands the lesson taught. As the reader I sense that his feelings have been hurt and that he quickly let go of the childish fantasy that animals are all friendly beings who can sustain a friendship

Pi’s stage of learning and maturing plays an important role within the book and has a direct impact on the story line and wouldn’t be the same if it were to be removed. 

Interaction with Richard Parker

Example 1: An example of how previous knowledge and experiences impacted his interaction on the boat with Richard Parker was when Pi took the initiative to train the Tiger. “Wouldn’t this make a good whip with which to keep him in line”(Mantel, 182). At this point in the book Pi made up his mind to train Richard Parker in order to increase his chances of survival in the boat. The idea of using repetition (whistling and whipping) was adapted back when he used this same technique to train his fellow student at school.

Example 2:  Previous knowledge and experiences have impacted his interaction With Richard Parker when he had applied everything that his father taught him about animals to his experience on the boat. “Life will defend itself no matter how small it is”. This quote was used when Santosh had explain to Pi that all animals have a desire to survive and will do so at any cost. Pi was aware of this and knew that if it were to come down to Richard Parker not having any food that he would be his next victim and without this knowledge he would’ve carried on the boat in direct contact with the tiger without being aware of the danger behind his actions. 

Pi’s interaction with Richard Parker is all based on previous knowledge and experiences that occurred within the book as pi was developing as a character.

Conclusion

Pi has made some major developments throughout the novel that had impacted the series of events that followed one another. Pi’s innocence stage as a child allowed the reader to understand where he started in terms of knowledge and his learning stage helped the reader notice growth and maturity that took place within the book. Being able to implement these lessons into everyday life played an even bigger role in the outcome of these series of events. The theme character development was important because it gave the reader a very clear image of how and why growth was needed in order to affect the outcome of the events that took place. Without growth from the character form the beginning to the end of the book the novel would have had a completely different turn of events.