As the reader examines the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, he recognizes the similarities between the animal story and real history. The main character Piscine Molitor Patel, known as Pi, faces many hardships once stranded on a lifeboat in the Pacific Ocean, as shown in both of his stories. Throughout the novel, Martel describes to readers the relationships Pi has between the animals in the animal story and the real people in the real story. In Life of Pi, Pi encounters many different animals during his lifeboat journey that influence him in many ways, including the zebra, which represents the Taiwanese sailor; the hyena, representing the chef; Orange Juice, the orangutan, who represents Pi's mother; and the Royal Bengal Tiger, Richard Parker, representing Pi himself. A beautiful Grant's zebra jumps into the lifeboat while floundering in the ocean water; while doing so, he suffers a broken leg. The human character represented by the zebra is the Taiwanese sailor who survives the sinking of the Tsimtsum. This character is very shy, sad and lonely and just wishes he could be safe again, but knows the slightest possibility that this is a result of the horrible situation. The character of the zebra is shown to be a non-dominant character when the author writes, “[the] zebra [is] eaten alive by the Hyena from the inside” (Martel, 139). The zebra is weak in this situation and is unable to react due to its broken leg; this causes the death of the zebra. In relation to the story with animals, in the factual story, the sad, shy and beautiful Taiwanese sailor is depicted as the zebra. Being a non-dominant or aggressive character, t...... middle of paper...... Richard Parker wants to put the zebra out of its misery. Richard Parker, along with the other animals on the lifeboat, are what really keeps Pi alive during the 227-day voyage at sea. In Life of Pi, Pi is influenced by the decisions the animals make while aboard the lifeboat and by the human characters they represent in Pi's real-life story. Many readers believe that the story of the animals is just a figment of Pi's imagination and was just something to keep him alive. Others believe that the story of the animals really happened in the time of Pi in the Pacific Ocean. No one will ever know what the true story of Pi's journey was, but anyone who has heard of Pi's multiple stories will have their own opinions and interpretations of what really happened. Works Cited Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Toronto, Canada: Canongate Books, Ltd., 2002. Print.