The ship sinks in a storm. Pi escapes onto a lifeboat. So do a zebra, a hyena, an orangutanāand Richard Parker, the Bengal tiger, who has been hiding under the tarpaulin. The hyena kills the zebra and the orangutan; Richard Parker kills the hyena. Pi is alone with the tiger on the Pacific.
Pi loses his family and everything he knew. The violence is sudden and total. He is left with the lifeboat, the supplies, and the tiger. The ocean is vast, indifferent, beautiful, and deadly. He has no choice but to adapt.
"I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on to an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging about me." ā Yann Martel, Life of Pi
The tiger is not a companionāhe is a predator. But he is also the reason Pi must stay alert, find food, maintain the raft, and keep a routine. In a perverse way, Richard Parker gives Pi a reason to survive. Pi decides he must tame himāor at least establish that he is the dominant oneāor he will be killed.
The tiger can symbolize fear, the unconscious, or the raw will to live. Surviving with Richard Parker means accepting what we cannot eliminate and finding a way to coexist.