To many people the ending to a book is the most important aspect of the story. Depending on their views, it can make or break the entire book. Novels with conclusions that do not appropriately, and with a sense of closure end the story, are sometimes considered to be faulty and unfulfilling. In Life of Pi by Yann Martel the story ends appropriately, revealing Pi’s brutal experience aboard the lifeboat, and the realization that he created an imaginary story in an attempt to hide human natures flaws.
In the last section of the book, Pi’s story took on a new perspective when Pi revealed another version of his passage on the lifeboat. This one featured humans instead of animals. The tiger represented Pi, fierce, inert, alert, and independent. The hyena illustrated all the horrible traits of the cook. The zebra represented the righteous Chinese sailor. And the female orangutan (Orange Juice) signified Pi's own mother. Both of Pi’s stories (either with or without the animals) were possible, however Pi seemed to admit that he fashioned Richard Parker as a way to cope with the death of his family.
Towards the ending of the novel the phrase “the better story”, is used to describe the tale with the animals. With that said the focus of the book turned into how people choose what to believe and how reality is often more terrible than what they can tolerate. Pi explained to his two interviewers that his imagination and creativity helped him survive his isolation as a castaway.
Pi was aware that he had two very dissimilar stories. He was also aware that the one with animals was the one people would much rather remember. The story with the Bengal tiger is incredible, however the version with the cannibalistic cook and the death of Pi's mother, is heartbreaking and extremely shocking. It reveals the truth of human nature, something that many do not like to know about themselves. So in a way it is understandable why Pi created the story about Richard Parker.