Adult Pi Patel: So which story do you prefer?
Writer: The one with the tiger. That’s the better story.
Adult Pi Patel: Thank you. And so it goes with God.
Writer: [smiles] It’s an amazing story.
This part of the movie has intrigued many, while the rest have happened to just look past the meaning behind it. The film was well received as a visual spectacle, but little could people fish out the twist in the story which was expertly layered by director Ang Lee. This dialogue reigns as one of the best from any movie, in my book. Ang Lee has successfully created a close-to-masterpiece film from what seemed like a mountainous task.
Now, to the point. The story Pi tells the Japanese investigators is not fake, but is actually the real story. The phrase, “And so it goes with god” goes back as a reply to the writer’s question fired at Pi, somewhere in the middle of the movie about his belief in god. What I could comprehend from the whole scenario is that, if someone can believe in something so superficial that religion has become today, then why not the story with the tiger? So basically, the story with the cook, his mom and him is the real, and more logical story where Pi becomes a cannibal in order to survive and hence, the tiger reference. Although the one with the tiger is visually stunning, the truth is that the cook, a.k.a the Hyena, killed his mother, a.k.a the Orangutan and Pi, a.k.a the tiger, killed the hyena. It was the need to survive that made him this vicious and wild, to gain the soul like that of a tiger. So just like how the story with the tiger is the fake one, he tries to say that god as it has become today is more fake than real. I got this feeling because of the path he took, when asked about which religion he wanted to believe in. Just like every other kid, he was baffled as to what to choose and most of us Indians are not even given that choice, so he eventually chooses to believe in every religion.
Ultimately, for people who believe in God as the religions that stand today, the tiger story is believable.
But if you believe in no particular religion and in mere facts itself, then the fake story is real.
So I, choose the latter, for that makes more sense. What about you?
NOTE : This is based on the movie, NOT on the book. Neither have I paid much attention to the technicalities/details of the two stories so you would do yourself a favour by paying attention to the philosophical emphasis that I have brought about. Cheers.
Official Blog Page – http://www.facebook.com/BetweenMyMindAndMe
Between My Mind And Me 