Context
Life of Pi is set against the tumultuous period of Indian history known as the Emergency. In
1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was found guilty of charges related to her 1971 election
campaign and was ordered to resign. Instead—and in response to a rising tide of strikes
and protests that were paralyzing the government—Gandhi declared a state of emergency,
suspending constitutional rights and giving herself the power to rule by decree. The
Emergency lasted for eighteen months and was officially ended in March 1977 when
Gandhi called for a new round of elections. The historical legacy of the Emergency has
been highly controversial: while civil liberties in this emerging democracy were severely
curtailed and Gandhi’s political opponents found themselves jailed, abused, and tortured,
India’s economy experienced a much-needed stabilization and growth. In Life of Pi, Piscine
(Pi) Molitor Patel’s father, a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India, grows nervous about the
current political situation. Speculating that Gandhi might try to take over his zoo and faced
with depressing economic conditions, Pi’s father decides to sell off his zoo animals and
move his family to Canada, thus setting the main action of the novel into motion.
Though only a relatively brief section of Life of Pi is actually set in India, the country’s
eclectic makeup is reflected throughout the novel. Pi is raised as a Hindu but as a young
boy discovers both Christianity and Islam and decides to practice all three religions
simultaneously. In the Author’s Note, an elderly Indian man describes the story of Pi as “a
story that will make you believe in God,” and Life of Pi continuously grapples with questions
of faith; as an adherent to the three most prominent religions in India, Pi provides a unique
perspective on issues of Indian spirituality. India’s diverse culture is further reflected in
Martel’s choice of Pondicherry as a setting. India was a British colony for nearly two
hundred years, and consequently most of the nation has been deeply influenced by British
culture. However, Pondicherry, a tiny city in southern India, was once the capital of French
India and as such has retained a uniquely French flavor that sets it apart from the rest of the
nation. Perhaps reflecting Yann Martel’s own nomadic childhood, Pi Patel pointedly begins
his life in a diverse cultural setting before encountering French, Mexican, Japanese, and
Canadian characters along his journey.
Life of Pi can be characterized as a postcolonial novel, because of its post-Independence
Indian setting as well as its Canadian authorship. Like many postcolonial novels, such as
those of Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez, Life of Pi can also be classified as a
work of magical realism, a literary genre in which fantastical elements—such as animals
with human personalities or an island with cannibalistic trees—appear in an otherwise
realistic setting. Martel’s novel could equally be described as a bildungsroman (a coming-of-
age tale) or an adventure story. Life of Pi even flirts with nonfiction genres. The Author’s
Life of Pi is set against the tumultuous period of Indian history known as the Emergency. In
1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was found guilty of charges related to her 1971 election
campaign and was ordered to resign. Instead—and in response to a rising tide of strikes
and protests that were paralyzing the government—Gandhi declared a state of emergency,
suspending constitutional rights and giving herself the power to rule by decree. The
Emergency lasted for eighteen months and was officially ended in March 1977 when
Gandhi called for a new round of elections. The historical legacy of the Emergency has
been highly controversial: while civil liberties in this emerging democracy were severely
curtailed and Gandhi’s political opponents found themselves jailed, abused, and tortured,
India’s economy experienced a much-needed stabilization and growth. In Life of Pi, Piscine
(Pi) Molitor Patel’s father, a zookeeper in Pondicherry, India, grows nervous about the
current political situation. Speculating that Gandhi might try to take over his zoo and faced
with depressing economic conditions, Pi’s father decides to sell off his zoo animals and
move his family to Canada, thus setting the main action of the novel into motion.
Though only a relatively brief section of Life of Pi is actually set in India, the country’s
eclectic makeup is reflected throughout the novel. Pi is raised as a Hindu but as a young
boy discovers both Christianity and Islam and decides to practice all three religions
simultaneously. In the Author’s Note, an elderly Indian man describes the story of Pi as “a
story that will make you believe in God,” and Life of Pi continuously grapples with questions
of faith; as an adherent to the three most prominent religions in India, Pi provides a unique
perspective on issues of Indian spirituality. India’s diverse culture is further reflected in
Martel’s choice of Pondicherry as a setting. India was a British colony for nearly two
hundred years, and consequently most of the nation has been deeply influenced by British
culture. However, Pondicherry, a tiny city in southern India, was once the capital of French
India and as such has retained a uniquely French flavor that sets it apart from the rest of the
nation. Perhaps reflecting Yann Martel’s own nomadic childhood, Pi Patel pointedly begins
his life in a diverse cultural setting before encountering French, Mexican, Japanese, and
Canadian characters along his journey.
Life of Pi can be characterized as a postcolonial novel, because of its post-Independence
Indian setting as well as its Canadian authorship. Like many postcolonial novels, such as
those of Salman Rushdie and Gabriel García Márquez, Life of Pi can also be classified as a
work of magical realism, a literary genre in which fantastical elements—such as animals
with human personalities or an island with cannibalistic trees—appear in an otherwise
realistic setting. Martel’s novel could equally be described as a bildungsroman (a coming-of-
age tale) or an adventure story. Life of Pi even flirts with nonfiction genres. The Author’s
