Life of Pi Lesson Plan

The carnivorous island poses no immediate physical threat to Pi. Why do you think he leaves?

The carnivorous island is arguably the most mysterious part of the novel, so there is much room for speculation. One answer might be that Pi is morally horrified by the island’s existence: a deceptively beautiful but ultimately predatory organism that exists only to consume. Life on the island is a life without struggle and purpose, ending in a death that leaves no record that the individual ever existed. Pi wants more than that: he wants to be part of a grander narrative. Pi’s flight from the island is not an escape from death or hardship (the threat of both are much greater in...