‘Life of Pi’ Chapter Summaries
Author’s Note
The fictional author arrives in India, tired and unhappy with
his current progress on a novel. He decides it isn’t working
and mails the
notes for it to a fake address in Siberia. While he ponders his novel in
Pondicherry, he meets a man named Francis Adirubasamy in a coffee
shop. The man has a story for the author, one “that will make [him]
believe in God.” At first unsure, the author thinks the man is a religious
fanatic. Adirubasamy refers the author to a man in Toronto by the name
of Patel.
PART ONE
Chapter 1
The novel changes to Pi Patel’s voice now, told in the first person as a
memoir. The narrator first introduces himself as a graduate in both
Religious Studies and Zoology at the University of Toronto. He describes his
thesis on the thyroid gland of a three-toed sloth and goes on in detail about
that sloth. He was given great credit for his knowledge in the zoology field
but also held back because of his inability to divide religion and science. He
describes the Goddess Lakshmi, a Hindu deity and how he misses India
despite his love for Canada. He also describes how he misses Richard
Parker. He goes on to mention his time in Mexico and a situation in an
Indian restaurant in Canada.
Chapter 2
Returning to the Author’s narration, we learn that Pi Patel lives in
Scarborough and is a small man of about forty. He speaks very fast and
begins his story. This Chapter reminds the reader that Chapter one was the
beginning of an interview, which will continue.
Chapter 3
Pi relates about Francis Adirubasamy, a friend of the Patel family. As a
world champion swimmer, he always tried to teach the Patel family to
swim, but only succeeded with Pi. We also learn that Francis was a great fan
of the swimming pools of Paris, including one in particular, the Piscine
Molitor, which his family subsequently named Pi after. It is only at this point
1
,that the reader is given Piscine Molitor Patel’s full name.
Chapter 4
Pi describes the beautiful Pondicherry Zoo, run by his father, a former hotel
operator. He compares the keeping of a zoo to the keeping of a hotel and
how animals are similar to hotel occupants. While growing up in a zoo, Pi
learns much of the world of nature. He loves the beauty and perfection of it
all and sees the animals as happy for having their own territories. He claims
that animals in the wild do not truly have freedom because they are dictated
by their predators and the space restrictions.
Chapter 5
Pi was unhappy as a child with his name (Piscine), as it was often
mispronounced as “pissing” when it is meant to be pronounced as “pea-
seen”. For that reason, as he grows up and enters the next level of school,
he makes a show of jumping up during roll call and announcing to the class
that his name is “Pi” even illustrating it with the mathematical symbol on
the chalkboard.
Chapter 6
The author interjects again, describing Patel’s cooking
ability as an adult and his back stock of food, enough to
“last the siege of Leningrad.”
Chapter 7
Pi meets with Satish Kumar, a very particular teacher of his – a
communist, atheist, biology teacher, and one of Pi’s favorites. Satish
Kumar begins to relay his belief that all things can be described
scientifically, describing his bout with polio and how medicine saved him
as a child, not God. Pi comments on how atheists are more acceptable than
agnostics, who are full of doubt.
Chapter 8
Visitors to the zoo are responsible for performing a great deal of horrible
things with the animals, declaring humans as the worst of all animals. Pi’s
father shows the boys a tiger that has not been fed for three days, a
standard condition in the wild. Watching what occurs when a goat is
2
, introduced to the cage scares “the living vegetarian daylights” out of Pi.
His father goes on to describe the strength of every animal in the zoo
against human beings, that is of course except guinea pigs.
Chapter 9
Starting here, Pi describes some of the science of zoology and zoo keeping.
Here he goes on about flight distance and how far an animal will stay from
an enemy. That distance can be diminished by offering ample food, water,
and shelter.
Chapter 10
Pi describes animals that would not enjoy captivity, those that were
captured and brought to the zoo or those few zoo bred creatures that
temporarily feel the instinctual call to leave. He describes how animals are
leaving something not seeking something when they escape.
Chapter 11
As an example, Pi tells of a leopard in the mountains of Switzerland who
survived there for two months.
Chapter 12
Going back to the author, we learn that Pi is often upset about something,
that whoever Richard Parker is, he still “preys on his mind”. He mentions
that he visits Patel often and that every time he’s there Pi cooks very spicy
food.
Chapter 13
Again focusing on animal training, Pi discusses lion taming. He discusses
the act of establishing dominance over a lion with a whip and
establishing alpha male status. It actually calms most animals to know
their place in the order of things. Without unknowns, they don’t need to
worry.
Chapter 14
With more on lion training, Pi describes how the lower the social standing
of an animal, the easier it is to train them. It will be loyal and loving with a
3
Author’s Note
The fictional author arrives in India, tired and unhappy with
his current progress on a novel. He decides it isn’t working
and mails the
notes for it to a fake address in Siberia. While he ponders his novel in
Pondicherry, he meets a man named Francis Adirubasamy in a coffee
shop. The man has a story for the author, one “that will make [him]
believe in God.” At first unsure, the author thinks the man is a religious
fanatic. Adirubasamy refers the author to a man in Toronto by the name
of Patel.
PART ONE
Chapter 1
The novel changes to Pi Patel’s voice now, told in the first person as a
memoir. The narrator first introduces himself as a graduate in both
Religious Studies and Zoology at the University of Toronto. He describes his
thesis on the thyroid gland of a three-toed sloth and goes on in detail about
that sloth. He was given great credit for his knowledge in the zoology field
but also held back because of his inability to divide religion and science. He
describes the Goddess Lakshmi, a Hindu deity and how he misses India
despite his love for Canada. He also describes how he misses Richard
Parker. He goes on to mention his time in Mexico and a situation in an
Indian restaurant in Canada.
Chapter 2
Returning to the Author’s narration, we learn that Pi Patel lives in
Scarborough and is a small man of about forty. He speaks very fast and
begins his story. This Chapter reminds the reader that Chapter one was the
beginning of an interview, which will continue.
Chapter 3
Pi relates about Francis Adirubasamy, a friend of the Patel family. As a
world champion swimmer, he always tried to teach the Patel family to
swim, but only succeeded with Pi. We also learn that Francis was a great fan
of the swimming pools of Paris, including one in particular, the Piscine
Molitor, which his family subsequently named Pi after. It is only at this point
1
,that the reader is given Piscine Molitor Patel’s full name.
Chapter 4
Pi describes the beautiful Pondicherry Zoo, run by his father, a former hotel
operator. He compares the keeping of a zoo to the keeping of a hotel and
how animals are similar to hotel occupants. While growing up in a zoo, Pi
learns much of the world of nature. He loves the beauty and perfection of it
all and sees the animals as happy for having their own territories. He claims
that animals in the wild do not truly have freedom because they are dictated
by their predators and the space restrictions.
Chapter 5
Pi was unhappy as a child with his name (Piscine), as it was often
mispronounced as “pissing” when it is meant to be pronounced as “pea-
seen”. For that reason, as he grows up and enters the next level of school,
he makes a show of jumping up during roll call and announcing to the class
that his name is “Pi” even illustrating it with the mathematical symbol on
the chalkboard.
Chapter 6
The author interjects again, describing Patel’s cooking
ability as an adult and his back stock of food, enough to
“last the siege of Leningrad.”
Chapter 7
Pi meets with Satish Kumar, a very particular teacher of his – a
communist, atheist, biology teacher, and one of Pi’s favorites. Satish
Kumar begins to relay his belief that all things can be described
scientifically, describing his bout with polio and how medicine saved him
as a child, not God. Pi comments on how atheists are more acceptable than
agnostics, who are full of doubt.
Chapter 8
Visitors to the zoo are responsible for performing a great deal of horrible
things with the animals, declaring humans as the worst of all animals. Pi’s
father shows the boys a tiger that has not been fed for three days, a
standard condition in the wild. Watching what occurs when a goat is
2
, introduced to the cage scares “the living vegetarian daylights” out of Pi.
His father goes on to describe the strength of every animal in the zoo
against human beings, that is of course except guinea pigs.
Chapter 9
Starting here, Pi describes some of the science of zoology and zoo keeping.
Here he goes on about flight distance and how far an animal will stay from
an enemy. That distance can be diminished by offering ample food, water,
and shelter.
Chapter 10
Pi describes animals that would not enjoy captivity, those that were
captured and brought to the zoo or those few zoo bred creatures that
temporarily feel the instinctual call to leave. He describes how animals are
leaving something not seeking something when they escape.
Chapter 11
As an example, Pi tells of a leopard in the mountains of Switzerland who
survived there for two months.
Chapter 12
Going back to the author, we learn that Pi is often upset about something,
that whoever Richard Parker is, he still “preys on his mind”. He mentions
that he visits Patel often and that every time he’s there Pi cooks very spicy
food.
Chapter 13
Again focusing on animal training, Pi discusses lion taming. He discusses
the act of establishing dominance over a lion with a whip and
establishing alpha male status. It actually calms most animals to know
their place in the order of things. Without unknowns, they don’t need to
worry.
Chapter 14
With more on lion training, Pi describes how the lower the social standing
of an animal, the easier it is to train them. It will be loyal and loving with a
3
