1. Discussion Questions
Life of Pi
Chapters 37-55

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. 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.

5. All #2s and #3s Move Clockwise
How has Martel used lightness and darkness / day and night in Part Two, and to what effect?

6. 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.

7. All #1s and #4s Move Clockwise
Why does Pi deem Plan Number Four to be a “clever, suicidal plan”?