What is Richard Parker?

Draft Zero

The similarities between the two stories are undeniable. It doesn’t matter which one is true, or if any of it is true. In my mind the “true” story continues to morph, building on new epiphanies and thoughts in my mind at the time. One such thought is this: what is Richard Parker?

Assuming that both stories are true and the animal counterparts are tools to help us grasp the essence of the story better, then that means that the hyena is the cook, the orangutan is the Mother, the zebra the poor sailor and Pi is Richard Parker.

But isn’t it strange that he separates himself and Richard Parker when he tells the story? It’s almost as if Richard Parker were something completely foreign to him, as if he had never known him, even though it was a part of himself.

If you look at the two stories from this perspective, Richard Parker is Pi’s will to live.

This gives the book an entirely new meaning. Pi is afraid of himself, the fact that he could so easily kill the cook, that there is this monster inside of him, keeping him alive no matter the cost. When he first approaches the problem of Richard Parker, he realizes that in order to stay alive he has to keep Richard Parker alive too. He can’t give up. Without Richard Parker he wouldn’t have made it.

His own will could’ve swallowed him whole, driven him insane trying to stay alive. In a way it almost did. In order to train it, he separated himself from the tiger. He kept the monster at a distance, close enough to give him strength, to make it through, but far enough away that he could place the blame of the cook’s death on the tiger, freeing himself of guilt. This way he could justify his actions. It was his need to live; his will to live that had caused him to do such terrible things, not his real self.

When he reaches land, the need to live is no longer there. It leaves him. He has people around him to take care of him, food, water and supplies are all taken care of. He no longer has to provide for himself and that is wonderful but it’s also hard.

It must have been hard to let go of something that has been apart of you for nearly a year, a driving force that gives you the power to do some truly amazing things. It’s one things to say “do your best” when your best isn’t necessary and another when your life depends on it.