how to train your tiger

Pi's initial reaction when he realizes that Richard Parker, the 450 pound Bengal tiger, is in the lifeboat with him is dread. Not surprisingly, Pi is scared half to death and immediately begins to devise a way to get rid of Richard Parker before eventually figuring out that he would rather face death by a tiger than suffer with his despair and loneliness by himself.

"I had to tame him. It was at this moment that I realized this necessity. It was not a question of him or me, but of him and me. We were, literally and figuratively, in the same boat. We would live- or die- together." p. 236

By training Richard Parker, Pi creates and alpha-omega relationship with him in which Richard Parker believes that Pi is the dominant individual. Like in Le Petit Prince when the little prince must perform rituals in order to tame the fox, Pi must follow rituals in order to tame Richard Parker as well. The ritual that Pi goes through to tame Richard Parker is similar to the method used by ringmasters at the zoo and involves making loud noises to provoke the animal and triggering some sort of switch that will make the animal feel sick when it attempts to counterattack. Pi chooses to exploit Richard Parker's seasickness and associates his feeling of uneasiness with the blowing of Pi's whistle.

I thought that this aspect of the relationship between Pi and Richard Parker was fascinating because even though Richard Parker could easily kill Pi if he wanted to, he is tricked into believing that Pi is more powerful than he is. This is a classic example of brains over brawn, which, unfortunately ruins some of the mystery of the lion timers at the circus.