In his book, Martel is trying to express his views on truth and reason. Through the two different accounts of the survival journey of Pi, Martel tries to explore the nature of truth. In his views truth is greater than reason and sensory capabilities, and sometimes to understand the truth better, one has to go beyond reason and empirical devices. He presents his readers with two stories in order to establish that truth is not all about objective rationality; it is closely linked to how one interprets reality. He unequivocally believes that truth is not always determined by the senses; rationality is a helpful apparatus, but excessive exercise of the reason would obnubilate the radiance of truth; and additionally, truth relies upon how it is translated and deciphered.
The first thing Martel is trying to establish about truth is that truth and reality cannot be understood only through our senses, and it is wrong to question the truth because one has not experienced it oneself. Mr. Okamoto and his associate discredit the first story as it is clear from Mr. Okamoto’s remarks, "I'm sorry to say it so bluntly, we don't mean to hurt your feelings, but you don't really expect us to believe you, do you? Carnivorous trees? A fish-eating algae that produces fresh water? Tree-dwelling aquatic rodents? These things don't exist." "Only because you've never seen them." "That's right. We believe what we see." Mr. Okamoto and Mr. Chiba do not believe in the story of Pi as they consider it to be contradicting what they have seen and learned about the world. Mr. Okamoto and his partner depict severe skepticism, a common human reaction, when they are presented with the incredible story of Pi’s survival. People most of the times attach truth with what they already believe and if they are presented with a narration that does not fit with their experience of the world they tend to deny it. The remark, “We believe what we see” is very suggestive and Martel’s aim in the novel is to attack this conception of truth. He contends that truth and reality are not always what people observe; sometimes truth is more incredible than the observable. If one only believes what one sees, it would not always reveal the full truth. Therefore, to simply reject something because it is out of the realm of senses is not the right approach. On a philosophical level, Martel is criticizing the empirical philosophy. Empiricism states that truth can be found only through senses, and for an empiricist, reality is only that is in the realm of senses. Martial disagrees with the empiricist, and through the incredible story of Pi, he is trying to convey the message to his readers that empiricism and naturalism do not always encumber the truth. He does not deny that senses are not a source for establishing the truth, but to consider senses the sole source of finding the reality is a wrong approach. Martel is trying to say that senses do not always perceive the truth, and so, one should not reject something if sensory faculties fail to grasp it.
Similarly, Martel argues that our world is filled with wonders and surprises, and that is why, if something novel comes up, it should not be rejected flatly only because it contradicts our present understanding of the world and with our prevalent laws of science, it could be a new discovery. This exactly what Pi argues when Mr. Okamoto says, "Why has no one else come upon it?"[Pi replies]"It's a big ocean crossed by busy ships. I went slowly, observing much."
"No scientist would believe you.” “These would be the same who dismissed Copernicus and Darwin. Have scientists finished coming upon new plants? In the Amazon basin, for example?" Again Martel’s reasoning is very compelling with regards to the establishment of truth. In his views, something strange doesn’t qualify to be a false thing simply because of its strangeness. He alludes to the great scientists of the past who had made some great discoveries. He contends that when Galileo, Copernicus, and others came up with their discoveries, those discoveries were rejected because those were contradictory to the science of their time. But, history bears witness that those discoveries are true and they shape our conception of the modern science. Martel highlights that a scientist, a man of reason, does not dismiss something only because it is strange and novel. Novelty alone is no criterion for rejection rather it is an invitation for further exploration. Through the story of Pi, Martel tries to establish that new truths and new realities have always come up and will come up in the future. Pi mentions that even in today’s world people are discovering new species of insects and plants, and the knowledge about the world is far from being saturated. So, to reduce truth to the facts we already know and to leave no room for new facts and discoveries is a faulty approach to truth. Truth is a dynamic notion and to adopt a static attitude towards it, would lead to wrong mind set and wrong conclusions.
In addition, Martel states that reason is very important in establishing the truth, but excess of reason can also obscure the reality. When Mr. Okamoto asks Pi to be reasonable about his narration Pi responds by describing the relationship between reason and truth, “[Mr. Okamoto] we’re just being reasonable." [Pi]"So am I! I applied my reason at every moment. Reason is excellent for getting food, clothing and shelter. Reason is the very best toolkit. Nothing beats reason for keeping tigers away. But be excessively reasonable and you risk throwing out the universe with the bathwater." When Pi is accused of being unreasonable in describing his story, he counters it by replying that he believes in reason and he is alive because of applying the rational faculties. He remarks that his account is not void of reason; in fact, his survival is a result of utilizing the faculty of reason. However, when reason is used too much and too strictly its usefulness to determine the reality reduces. Through the lips of Pi, Martel is constructing a relationship between reason and truth. He is not disregarding the reason; he believes that reason is a crucial instrument for understanding the truth. He has a high opinion for science and he considers empirical data to be of importance. Martel is not criticizing reason, he is criticizing the over implementation of it. He does not have a problem with the application of reason; in his argument, problem arises when reason becomes the substitute for truth. He claims that truth is greater than reason and cold rational analysis does not always depict the true picture. The universe is full of wondrous realities and these realities do not always lie in the domain of reason. Therefore, excessive use of reason and cold rationality undermine the beauty of truth.
Martel’s objective behind two different narrations is to make his readers realize that truth is a subjective entity; it depends on how we interpret events and facts. Pi, the protagonist of the novel sums is up exquisitely as, "The world isn't just the way it is. It is how we understand it, no? And in understanding something, we bring something to it, no? Doesn't that make life a story?" Martel, in the above lines, provides a very interesting insight about the nature of truth and the way it is established. In his opinion, reality is not only what is present outside, it also involves what is inside the subject. Truth has both objective and subjective components and reality cannot be fully understood if taken just objectively without taking into consideration the subjective element. In Martel’s views, truth depends upon how a subject interprets things. It is interesting to note that whatever in the first story appears contradicting the reality to Mr. Okamoto and his associate does seem very reasonable to Pi. To Mr. Okamoto the presence of a tiger and boy on a boat for over 200 days looks contrary to reality. While Pi contends that tiger, boy, and boat, all are real objects and it is the sinking of the ship that brought them together. It was a strange and unexpected chain of events that brought unexpected outcomes. Pi admits that it was an incredible journey, but that does not make it an unreasonable account. But, Mr. Okamoto and his associate remain skeptical about the first story, which includes the tiger; even though they concede it is the better account. In this part of the story, Martel is trying to convey the influence of subjective interpretation over the establishment of truth and the notion of reason.
Works Cited
Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. Harcourt Trade Publishers, 2001. Print.
