which he draws the strength and the desire to survive his ordeal. During times when Pi wants to give up hope, he prays or remembers a story from one of the religions he knows so well. He is strengthened to keep on fighting for his life. In chapter 60, Pi wakes up in the middle of the night and is overwhelmed with feelings of insignificance. He remembers a Hindu story of a character named Markandeya:

I felt like the sage Markandeya, who fell out of Vishnu's mouth while Vishnu was sleeping and so beheld the entire universe, everything that there is. Before the sage could die of fright, Vishnu awoke and took him back into his mouth (177).

Vishnu saves the sage in this story, and Pi awakes in the morning revitalized to continue fighting for his life. He says, "I mumbled words of Muslim prayer," which shows how he also draws strength from mixing religious prayers and practices. Furthermore, in chapter 63, Pi's daily schedule is listed, and his prayers and rituals play a vital role in giving him something to do. By having religious practices to accomplish each day, he keeps his mind active and his hope alive. In chapter 74, Pi explains how his religious practices bring him comfort:

At such moments I tried to elevate myself. I would touch the turban I had made with the remnants of my shirt and I would say aloud, "This is God's hat!" . . . Despair was a heavy blackness that let no light in or out. It was hell beyond expression. I thank God it always passed (209).

On a superficial level, Pi's faith contributes to his survival by providing daily ritual.  On a deeper level, Pi's faith contributes to his survival through answered prayers.

Let's explore Pi's survival on the physical level first.  If you look closely at chapter 63, you will see that exactly how much keeping busy with daily rituals contributes to Pi's survival.  This chapter contains Pi's daily agenda.  In regards to your specific question, what is the most interesting is the number of times Pi has recorded the word "prayers."  Pi prays more than he does anything else on the raft.  He prays no less than five times every day.  Pi considers these prayers just as important as any other physical, survival preparations:  "I kept myself busy.  That was one key to my survival."

Now let's explore Pi's survival on a spiritual level.  As a scholar of the religions of the world, I am going to suggest a deeper meaning here.  Keep in mind that the deeper meaning I suggest is purely subjective (and not necessarily the opinion of the author).  This is because I believe that Pi actually survives because of the deity/deities in which he calls upon.  There are two instances where Pi (probably even subconsciously) calls upon these deities from the three major world religions of which he has combined:  Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.  Both of these instances involve life or death situations.

Interestingly enough, the first instance involves Richard Parker's survival and the second instance involves Pi's survival (spared FROM Richard Parker).

I could see [Richard Parker's] head.  He was struggling to stay at the surface of the water.  "Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu, how good to see you, Richard Parker!  Don't give up, please.  Come to the lifeboat! ... Swim, swim!"

Here, Pi is absolutely ecstatic to see Richard Parker.  They knew each other from the zoo, of course.  Pi is happy to have any creature survive with him.  (In reality, even after almost a year at sea, Pi will admit that this kinship with the tiger is the very thing that kept Pi from death.)  Pi's prayer is answered when Richard Parker enters the lifeboat. 

The next prayer is a bit different, to say the least:

My heart stopped and then beat triple speed.  I turned. "Jesus, Mary, Muhammad and Vishnu!" I saw a sight that will stay with me for the rest of my days.  Richard Parker had risen and emerged.  He was not fifteen feet from me.  Oh, the size of him!  The hyena's end had come, and mine.

Here it is Pi who is on the point of death.  Richard Parker, a deadly animal, could have easily killed Pi.  However, due to Pi's prayer, Pi is saved.  A miraculous rat "appeared out of nowhere" that Pi is able to fling at Richard Parker who, already a bit hesitant to leap on the less than firm tarpaulin, accepts the rat as an "offering" and flops back down on the bottom of the lifeboat.

I'll start with a broad overview of Pi and his knowledge of science and religion. First, Pi's knowledge and usage of religion is quite broad and tolerant. That's why he is able to combine Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Pi takes bits and pieces of each religion in order to make himself feel better, have more hope, and have a more positive outlook on life.

"Bapu Gandhi said, 'All religions are true.' I just want to love God," I blurted out, and looked down, red in the face.

As for Pi's knowledge of science, his knowledge doesn't cover as wide of a spectrum as his knowledge of religion. His scientific knowledge is firmly rooted in animal behavior. He might be able to explain a bit of chemistry or genetics here and there, but his useful scientific knowledge is from animal behavior. Pi uses this knowledge to a great extent on the lifeboat so that he can co-exist with Richard Parker. Pi makes sure that Richard Parker never sees Pi as possible prey. That would be the end of Pi, and Pi knows how to establish this basic scientific environmental organization and relationship. As for religion and faith while on the lifeboat, Pi admits that he used his faith beliefs and rituals in a way that brought him hope and comfort.

I practised religious rituals that I adapted to the circumstances—solitary Masses without priests or consecrated Communion Hosts, darshans without murtis, and pujas with turtle meat for prasad, acts of devotion to Allah not knowing where Mecca was and getting my Arabic wrong. They brought me comfort, that is certain. But it was hard, oh, it was hard. Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love—but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up.

In part 1 of the story, Pi is reflecting on his journey. He relays that he found peace in the harmony of religion and zoology. Pi’s father was a zoologist and sparked the interest in him. Pi was raised Hindu; however, he also practices Christianity and Islam.

Pi was able to use his knowledge of zoology to survive on the boat alone with a tiger, Richard Parker. He masters and trains the tiger so that the animal comes to understand him as the leader. He uses a whistle, similar to what his father showed him as a child, to control the tiger. In addition, he cares for the tiger and provides him food. Pi also uses his understanding of physiology and science to survive. For example, he is aware of the impact of dehydration and chooses to make finding water a priority. His knowledge of the environment is essential to his survival.

Pi prays every day on the boat and uses his faith to propel him forward. Pi’s practice of three religions was rejected by many religious leaders, and his family had some objections. However, it turned out that his deep understanding of faith through his plural practice of religion is what sustained his hope for survival.

Science, especially in the form of zoology, helped Pi quite a bit in his survival on the lifeboat.  Pi was able to use his knowledge of animals, especially in regards to the concept of "alpha males" and territorialism.  As soon as Pi realized that he was alone on a life raft with a starving tiger, he knew that he had to establish himself as the alpha male, with very clear-cut boundaries, so that Richard Parker would not harm him.  He very cleverly enlists the use of the whistle and intimidation tactics to establish boundaries, and the fact that he is the sole provider of food and nourishment for the both of them.

Pi also uses his knowledge of science in gathering water for drinking, in providing food for himself and Richard Parker, and in many other ways as he struggles to survive.  Religion comes into play also; he still prays every day that he can on the lifeboat, and his faith keeps him from total and complete despair.  Studies have shown that in survival situations, faith in God is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not someone survives.  Pi, coming into the situation with faith in many different religions, had more resources than others in his attempts to survive.

Both science and religion were crucial factors in Pi's survival; Martel spent the entire first third of the book discussing both of those issues at length, because they did play such an important role.  I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!

At the end of the story, Pi is met by two Japanese officials who interview him regarding the shipwreck. After they refuse to believe the story that has been told throughout the book, he tells them a second, far more gruesome tale. The implication is that the second story is true, the first being something of a psychological defense mechanism.

Pi creates a story involving animals being violent rather than have to process the reality of humans behaving like violent animals themselves. In this story, it would be Richard Parker who would have to commit a violent act in self-defense rather than Pi himself.

Pi's commitment to not just one religion, but three, gives him hope and comfort throughout his time on the lifeboat. It allows him a beautiful means of escapism and to make sense of a situation that was senseless.

Both Pi's dependence on religion and his affection for storytelling help him to survive because they provide an element of escapism for him. Pi goes through a terribly traumatic experience, one that should have emotionally scarred him beyond repair. However, because he is able to introduce the entire experience as a story in his mind—one that involves Richard Parker doing all of the dirty work and the animals being the ones that are inhumane—he is able to survive it. He is able to pretend that it is all just a grand story, instead of a horrifying reality. That helps him to cope emotionally and go on to live a normal life. It is a defense mechanism for his psychological health.

Pi's religion is helpful in the fact that it gives him something to cling on to during the tough times on the lifeboat and to add meaning to his life after the incident. His religions provide explanations and comfort regarding his family's death and where they might be afterwards. Pi's reliance on three different religions also set him up well for the love of stories and the use of them as a way to make sense of our world. That is exactly what he does with his lifeboat experience—create a reality that makes the experience bearable. Pi is already practiced at being faithful in those religions, so it isn't too far of a leap to be practiced at believing his own version of the events.