How does Yann Martel (author of LoP) show the value of family?

Early in the novel we get a sense of how important family is to Pi:his family shapes him into the thought-provoking person that he is. Gita is Pi's mother, a normally calm and unruffled woman. She, like Pi, is a big reader, but unlike Pi takes no interest in religion. Santosh is Pi's father. He ran a large hotel in Madras, before moving to Pondicherry to found and direct the Pondicherry Zoo. He has an intuitive understanding of his animals, and a great respect for them. He considers himself a modern, secular businessman, and so is surprised by Pi's religious pursuits. Ravi is Pi's older brother. He is very different from Pi--popular, a talented athlete in all the right sports (he is captain of the cricket team), and a merciless teaser. All of these personalities make up parts of Pi's unique disposition and outlook on life. The animals on his raft take on a metaphorical role of family later in the book.