Richard Parker Symbolism

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Pi Patel is a unique character in the book Life of Pi and he embarks on a treacherous journey to start a new life. Pi shows heroism in this and a lot of symbols help support that. Symbolism has a huge role in this story; many of the symbols include shapes and objects. A symbol that is very important is color. There are many colors that symbolize Pi’s heroism during this novel. Richard Parker is a prominent character in Life of Pi and has a symbolic role. Pi finds the colors of this Bengal tiger fascinating and they portray important aspects of the book. Richard Parker’s orange fur represents encouragement, determination, change, and joy. This is relevant because Richard Parker is an encouragement for Pi to keep surviving and to stay determined to find land. White represents safety, goodness, and purity. Richard Parker has stripes of white which shows that even…show more content…
Pi describes the sea as an infinite circle around him that he cannot escape. This geometric shape represents eternity and cycles, which applies to Pi and the changes of the sea during his time aboard the lifeboat. The ocean also portrays the beginning or new life, and that is affiliated when the Tsimtsum sinks and Pi is forced to start new. The sun is the giver and destroyer of life and this is relevant because Pi states that some days he wishes for the sun when he is cold upon the lifeboat, but other days he wishes it would be chilly again because the sun gives off a blistering heat. Orange also symbolizes success and freedom, which is what Pi gets from using the orange whistle to train Richard Parker. The island represents a place where there is a temptation for isolation. The island looks safe, but loneliness will kill. 3.14 or Pi is a complicated set of numbers that very ends and this embodies Pi’s character because he is very complicated. All the symbols represented here point to one thing, Pi’s
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