Life of Pi Characters

Piscine (Pi) Molitor Patel

We want to state something upfront: Life of Pi isn't a character-driven book, and Martel doesn't...

Richard Parker

Depending on which of Pi's stories you believe, Richard Parker is either a real tiger...or he's...

Pi's Mother / Orange Juice

Pi's mother is named Gita, but she's mostly just referred to as "Mother." She's an incredibly...

The Hyena / The Cook

If there's anything like pure evil in Life of Pi, it comes in the form of the hyena, who, in Pi's...

The Blind Frenchman / The Cook

Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba identify the blind Frenchman, who sails up to Pi late in the telling of...

The Zebra / the Taiwanese Sailor

The Taiwanese sailor simply suffers. In the second (animal-less) story told by Pi, the cook...

Pi's Father

Pi's father, Santosh, carries the banner of the New India. This means he stands for progress, not...

Ravi

Pi feels intense guilt about Ravi. When Pi leaves to investigate the explosion on the ship, he...

Francis Adirubasamy and Assorted Gurus

Francis Adirumbasamy – also known as Mamaji – is the guru of all gurus. He's the guy...

The Author

We think it's a little cheeky for Martel to include himself as a character. In the novel, he's...

Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba

These two investigators are more than a little hapless: they disagree and lose focus. In fact,...