Discussion Questions
Life of Pi
Chapters 37-55
In your current group…
• In Part Two, the author/narrator’s
voice disappears; all of the chapters
are told in Pi’s voice. In terms of the
structure of the novel, why does
Martel do this?
All #1s Move Clockwise
• At what point does the reader clearly
conclude that Richard Parker is the
name of a tiger and not a person?
(Find a page reference.) How does
Martel use language to perpetuate
ambiguity about Richard Parker right
up until that point?
All #1s and #2s Move Clockwise
• Though most of the narration of
these chapters is intense and serious,
Pi’s character also has a humorous,
maybe even sarcastic, voice in
places. Find examples and discuss
how Martel’s use of language
contributes to the humorous tone.
All #2s and #3s Move Clockwise
• How has Martel used lightness and
darkness / day and night in Part Two,
and to what effect?
All #3s and #4s Move Clockwise
• Why might Martel have chosen to
give the tiger a human-sounding
name? Think of the earlier chapters
about the zoo animals. Also think
about what Richard Parker might
mean to Pi.
All #1s and #4s Move Clockwise
• Why does Pi deem Plan Number Four
to be a “clever, suicidal plan”?