Rationalism vs. Faith
Life of Pi allows us to make a choice, allows us to delve into our own personal beliefs and decide on what really happened, what makes more sense to us personally, which do we believe? Is it more likely that Pi would be stuck on a life boat with a Tiger, Zebra, Hiena, and Orangutan? Or rather with four other humans and survive over 200 days at sea? Yan Martel is asking you the question of whether you are a rationlist (in which case you would most likely choose the 4 people and assume they have the appropriate nessecities to survive) or do you allow yourself to believe in the inaccuracy and have the story make up your mind (in which case you are to choose the Faith side of things, not thinking beyond the simple statement that Pi was stuck on a life raft with four dangerous animals). Personally, being a fan of fanstasy and myth-based novels, I choose to roll with it, sure he was on the life raft with four animals, it's a story so its allowed. When really in the back of my mind I know its far from beliveable. I suppose this makes me a rationlist in life, but a faithful in fiction. If someone told me my brother was killed by a fire breathing dragon I would call them crazy, but it makes perfect sense that Voldemort failed in trying to kill Harry in the forbidden forest because of the horcrux planted inside him that saved his life, in the Harry Potter series. Or that it would be extremely ill advised to pick a fight with a hippogriff, obviously it would cut you open with its talons and then trample your bleeding body with its hind legs until imminent death.