That afternoon, the hyena and Orange Juice finally fight. Orange Juice puts up a strong fight but could not prevail over the hyena. Pi could not bear to watch. After the fight ends, Pi gets up to see the result. Orange Juice is lying beheaded on the ground. He stands on a bench and looks down to see none other than Richard Parker. He scrambles onto the tarpaulin and passes out.
When Pi wakes up, he is delirious and exhausted. He has not eaten or drank since the boat sank. Pi has no choice but to risk the hyena in order to take stock of the lifeboat. He comes to the conclusion that the emergency supplies must to be under the tarpaulin in Richard Parker's domain. He carefully rolls back the tarpaulin to find a locker full of supplies and life jackets. He takes stock of his supplies and discovers that he has enough food to last 93 days and enough water to last 94 days. Pi goes to sleep again.
When he wakes up, he realizes he must do something about Richard Parker. He cannot push the tiger overboard and he cannot risk jumping overboard. Instead, he builds a raft out of oars and life jackets which he ties to the lifeboat. He was putting the finishing touches on the raft when Richard Parker emerges from under the tarpaulin. He approaches the hyena, and promptly kills it. Then Richard Parker slowly turns his head to see Pi and his message was clear: Pi was next. A rat suddenly appears as if form nowhere. It appears to be Pi's salvation until it scurries up onto the tarpaulin and onto Pi's head. The tiger gracefully eases towards the tarpaulin to finish the two of them off but he hesitates. The softness of the tarpaulin bothers him. Pi throws the rat which Richard Parker eats. Satisfied, the tiger disappears into his den beneath the tarpaulin.
(Kennedy, Joan)
Pi puts the raft into the water and spends the night getting soaked and bounced by the sea. When he realizes he cannot survive like this until he gets help, he hatches plans to try and get the lifeboat to himself. He will let Richard Parker become parched and die of thirst.
Imagery:
Yann Martel's use of figurative language in Life of Pi is a large part of what makes it such a popular book. He has a remarkable ability to relate images so descriptively that the reader can practically see them. One of the best examples of this is when Pi describes Richard Parker in chapter 53:
"His presence was overwhelming, yet equally evident was the lithesome grace of it. He was incredibly muscular, yet his haunches were thin and his glossy coat hung loosely on his frame. His body, bright brownish orange streaked with black vertical stripes, was incomparably beautiful, matched with a tailor's eye for harmony by his pure white chest and underside and the black rings of his long tail. His head was large and round, displaying formidable sideburns, a stylish goatee and some of the finest whiskers of the cat world, thick, long and white. Atop the head were small expressive ears shaped like perfect arches. His carrot orange face had a broad bridge and a pink nose, and it was made up with a brazen flair. Wavy dabs of black circled the face in a pattern that was striking yet subtle, for it brought less attention to itself than it did to the one part of the face left untouched by it, the bridge, whose rufous lustre shone nearly with a radiance. The patches of white above the eyes, on the cheeks, around the mouth came off as finishing touches worthy of a Kathakali dancer." (Martel 151-152).
("Kathakali: Warring in the Hindu Heavens")
This long, descriptive passage helps the reader to practically see Richard Parker through Pi's eyes.
Sources:
"Kathakali: Warring in the Hindu Heavens." Madame Pickwick Art Blog. 13 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2015.
Kennedy, Joan. "Life of Pi." Memes.com. Memes. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Orlando: Harcourt, 2001. Print.
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