Explication of Ambition in The Life of Pi by Yahn Martel

I chose to do an explication of Ambition for this novel because I feel that the central theme in The Life of Pi is discovering a sense of purpose and the meaning of life. Throughout the odd and often confusing nature of the novel, I couldn’t help notice Pi’s ambition for discovery emanate from his character. The book is a chronicling of Pi Pattel’s discovery of meaning and purpose behind his life - his ambition fuelled solely by intellectual curiosity and a yearning to achieve a higher understanding of self. His ambition echos throughout the book - from beginning to end. This novel is much more than a survival story of a seemingly helpless boy cast out into the sea. It is a story of a boy on an intellectual journey that could only be catalysed by such a catastrophic event.

As the novel started out, I learned of Pi’s origins. When I began reading the story in a figurative context, the text held greater meaning. Pi’s full name is Piscine Molitor Patel - he abbreviated his name to Pi because of teasing. In a figurative context, Pi’s new name is a major symbol in the novel, as Pi himself explains "And so, in that Greek letter that looks like a shack with a corrugated tin roof, in that elusive, irrational number with which scientists try to understand the universe, I found refuge." (Martel, 26)Pi is a lowercase Greek letter, and more commonly known as quotient of circumference divided by diameter. It is also a paradox in the sense that it is an infinite constant. It is often trunicated to the value 3.14, but in reality it is a never ending string of numbers with no apparent pattern or end. We cannot comprehend the idea of pi as it is infinitely big with no end. This can relate to the beginning of Pi’s journey. Pi is attempting the impossible: figure out life - much like a mathematician solving Pi for the last decimal place. The value of pi is infinitely large and seemingly endless - it shares this property with Pi’s intellectual journey. To most individuals, this journey would certainly be a lost cause and hold no promise for fulfilment - but Pi continues eagerly toward his goal with a constant stride. Pi’s dogmatic behaviour is due to ambition - nothing else.


Pi shares some values as he teaches us that "To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation." (Martel, 27). In this Yahn Martel is setting up the mindset for the rest of the novel. It also echos an explanation of Pi’s unyielding ambition. The Life of Pi reads much like a parable - full of animals, symbols, and unrealistic events. You will not gain much from this novel if you read it in a literal sense - taken in a figurative context however, many inferences and allusions can be made to discover true themes and motifs Martel presents. This is akin to Pi’s philosophy; he criticizes people who approach out-of-the-world and unlikely stories with a pretense of doubt. The argument he makes is that they cannot look beyond the confines of scientific fact, and by this, they are severely limiting their understanding of life; abstract thoughts and ideas cannot always be explained as literal and factual data - life is not always quantitative and systematic.

At the end of this novel, Pi asks his inquisitors "So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?" (Martel, 326). His inquisitors both answer that they liked the story with the animals better despite their criticisms of it lacking in reality. I believe this is a reflection on modern society as a whole; we have lost ambition for self-discovery - throwing away wonder in lieu of data and fact. Ambition is the ultimate driving force for success with anything, but it is becoming scarce. Pi's ambition is seemingly endless and unyielding. It never dies throughout the novel even as Pi is put through catastrophic and disturbing events. Pi's ambition is a definite theme in The Life of Pi, and I believe that it fits the novel best out of the 36 Polti dramatic themes.

- Tyler Scott


Works Cited
Martel , Yahn. Life of Pi. Vintage Canada Edition. Toronto, CAN: Vintage Canada, 2001.
Winston, Amanda. "Life of Pi Wins Booker." The Daily Telegraph 2002 14 Nov 2008 .
Krist, Gary. "Taming the Tiger." New York Times 2002 14 Nov 2008 .
Mullan, John. "In the Same Boat." The London Observer 2002 14 Nov 2008 .