The idea of self-deception can be tricky to fully grasp. According to David W. Hamlyn, former Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College in London, self-deception is “a technique which human beings use to protect themselves from themselves, and from the various things which may threaten them” (Hamlyn). Fortunately, novels exist such as Yann Martel’s Life of Pi to create a clearer, yet more complex, perception of the topic. Exhibited within the novel continuously is the idea of creating false realities as a means of escape. But what drives this yearning to escape? At the core of it all is fear, dread from something unpleasant. Martel lays this notion of fear as a platform on which the entirety of the story is built; without a fearful state of mind held by the protagonist, Pi Patel, his self-deception would not exist. It is the desire to escape this fear that creates false realities.

        Along with fear comes the desire to rid oneself of that fear. Fear is constantly a force against Pi; however, it comes in varying forms. In the face of pain, anxiety, and immense trauma of being stranded in the Pacific Ocean, Pi wishes to get away. He deludes himself into attaining a new perspective on events that are beneficial to his situation because he gives himself an essential component of motivation: hope. However, the reader is unaware about this self-deception until the end of the novel, when two Japanese men question the legitimacy of Pi's story. The role of self-deception in Life of Pi is critical; it allows for the escape from fear and despair into a sense of hope. The novel acts as a metaphor for how individuals lie to themselves and others to get through especially trying situations that either cannot be accepted or cannot be controlled.

        One of Pi’s fears during his adolescence is his name. Known to all as Piscine Patel, often he is made fun of because his name sounds like “Pissing Patel” and he becomes so hurt by the “cruelty of children” that day in and day out it destroys his self-confidence (20). The pain only worsens when the teachers also begin to call him Pissing. It stings, and “the hurt would linger, like the smell of piss long after it has evaporated” (20). This fear of his own name is detrimental to his own self; it is unbearable for Pi, and he sees the only way for him to escape it is to create an entirely new identity altogether—an identity that he, his peers, and his teachers would have to acknowledge as his true identity. He plans to “escape” and establish “the beginning of a new time” for himself (21). On the first day of school he puts his plan in place, and it works. Eventually Pi soaks himself in this delusion that Pi is his actual name; when he raises his hand and teacher calls upon him, the “single syllable” is like “music” to his ears (24). Pi is successful in escaping this torture that his former name brings him; in deceiving others, he begins to find “refuge” in his new identity, underlining his escape from a past identity into a new one entirely.

        When things seem bleak, Pi is convinced that he will see a positive outcome in the near future; he is wrong. Immediately after the Tsimtsum ship sinks, Pi rationalizes the situation and deceives himself into believing that help would come right away. The opposite proves to be true; however, instead of acknowledging the possibility of the alternative of rescue, Pi surrounds himself in a positive illusion. Only optimistic thoughts: that he was sure he “wasn’t alone,” that “Right now … alarm bells were ringing … hands were reaching for phones … and pilots were running to their planes,” that “a ship would appear on the horizon” (113). It’s evident that Pi truly believes that these events will happen in the near future. But this reluctance to perceive reality through a crystal clear lens actually benefits him: it allows for him to build up a strong sense of hope and motivation so that his confidence stays high and negative thoughts do not enter his mind. Somewhere within him lies a desire to rid himself of the anxiety associated with the trauma of the shipwreck. When reality creates stress, the tendency is to get away: “People move because of the wear and tear of anxiety” in a specific reality, and if it is a seemingly never-ending anxiety, “happiness and prosperity are possible only somewhere else” (79). This leads to Pi’s tactic of ‘moving’ away from his situation to an alternative viewpoint. He stays optimistic even though he is deluding himself of the simple truth that there may not be a “rescue ship” (113). It is a complete situation of despair, and out of it Pi produces hope because of the simple tactic of self-deception.

       The idea that stressful, unpleasant realities prompts an individual’s desire to escape into a changed perception of reality is the core of Martel’s story. Confusion and discomfort of a specific reality can result in a feeling of anxiety: anxiety because common norms are no longer met. In the novel, Martel first addresses the idea of escape and uses zoo animals as a means of explanation. However, it can be presumed that it is an analogy for humans and their own desire to escape. When their habitat conditions are not met, often times zoo animals want to escape because their comfort is not at a suitable level. “Whatever the reason for wanting to escape, sane or insane, zoo detractors should realize that animals don’t escape to somewhere but from something” (41). Fear makes its return: “the intrusion of an enemy, the assault of a dominant animal, a startling noise” are all frightening occurrences that can drive animals to seek to escape, even if in reality these are not what they appear to be to the animal (41). The self-deception that follows this is when these animals escape into the unknown. “Escaping animals usually hide in the very first place they find that gives them a sense of security” and captured wild animals often “are too set in their ways to reconstruct their subjective worlds and adapt to a new environment (41). In other words, the animals continue to stay secluded to anything in the world that is unknown to them, that confuses them, or that they do not feel comfortable in. They live in the past, not the present, which is representative of people who live in denial of current events and who try their best to live in the false reality that is now the past.

        It is not until the end of the novel that Martel unveils the revelation that Pi’s story may not be completely true. Two Japanese Maritime Department employees question Pi shortly after his arrival back on land about why the ship might have sunk. Pi has told them of his experiences with the hyena, zebra, and orangutan during the first few days at sea, and of his fascinating journey of survival with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker (which makes up almost the entire novel). In the midst of the novel, these events’ legitimacy is somewhat convincing because of Martel’s attention to detail and the reader’s desire for them to be true. But it sounds incredulous: a young boy surviving over 200 days in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. That is exactly what these Japanese men thought: too good to be true. They want “to know what really happened” from Pi with “words that reflect reality” rather than this story that is too strange to believe. Pi agrees, but warns of a less jaw-dropping story: “You want a story that won’t surprise you. That will confirm what you already know. That won’t make you see higher or further or differently…” “...You want a dry, yeastless story” (302). The second story is probably the true story. He uses people instead of the animals, and parallels between each animal and person can be easily drawn (the orangutan and his mother, for example). It is a far less thrilling story and does not extract the same level of emotion as the first story does. The point he tries to make is that because these men know nothing about what happened out in the Pacific, why does it matter how Pi survived? All that should matter is that he did survive, and as long as that is known, Pi can describe how he survives in any manner he pleases.

        He chooses to view the events in the Pacific in his own way; it is his method of blocking out the horrendous experience he had and using this false interpretation of reality with zoo animals as a means of coping with the harsh truths of what actually happened on the lifeboat. Now, it cannot be certain whether Pi truly believes that he was on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger when he actually was not, or that he simply uses the story as a barrier to make it less hard on himself and more interesting for the listener when he tells it. Nonetheless, if his original story is false, Pi deceives himself by submerging himself in this false reality because he wants to escape the terror associated with the real story. By doing this, he successfully creates a sense of confidence and disregards the negative to only focus on the positive.

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Along with the false front Pi puts up comes the will to survive. He relies on Richard Parker to keep going when death consumes his thoughts. In the supposed true story, Pi is the only one left in the boat after the cook, sailor, and his mother all die. Therefore, assuming that Pi is alone in this boat for almost 200 days, the tactic Pi installs, be it consciously or subconsciously, aims at creating a source of motivation out of desparation. Brilliant. To conjure up such a false reality wherein a Bengal tiger serves as a 'project' to keep his mind occupied on and continue his own will to live is impressive. A part of him is "glad about Richard Parker" because "if he died I would be left alone with despair, a for even more formidable than a tiger" (164). For it not for this distraction from the true status of reality, Pi’s will to survive simply would not have been enough to last the entire journey.

        It is evident that situations that bring about fear for Pi are those that cause him to seek a way out, an exit path toward a preferred false reality. If not the creation of a false reality, it is the creation of a mindset based around positivity that aims to elevate an individual past the unwanted anxiety of a specific situation. The instinct of survival is inherent in human nature, and as long as this instinct remains in tact, we will create our own realities in order to survive. These diversions from reality are essential to how an individual molds his or her life and how he or she wishes others to perceive it. It is a matter of a changing mindset; the ability to view events in a fresh perspective to escape fear and anxiety is what ignites the progression towards a state of content.