Adrift in the Pacific With a Bengal Tiger
Abstract
Adrift in the Pacific With a Bengal TigerMarcia Goin, M.D. There are differing schools of thought about the origins of aggression. Some postulate that an infant comes into the world with a template of aggression that is tamed by a nurturing environment. Others see the infantâs psyche as a pure Petri dish. In their view, savage responses in human beings occur in reaction to negative life experience. The allegorical novel Life of Pi by prize-winning novelist Yann Martel artfully describes an example of the latter hypothesis. The protagonist, Pi, through unusual circumstances, ends up adrift on the ocean sharing his lifeboat with several wild animals including a Bengal tiger. In time, as the others kill each other off, only he and the tiger, named Richard Parker, remain. Once shock and fatigue recede, Pi recognizes the imperative not only to feed himself, but also to get hold of food to train and keep Richard Parker at bay. When swarms of flying fish swoop by, he easily catches one. Piâs struggle begins as he tries to gather the emotional fortitude to kill the fish: âSeveral times I started bringing the hatchet down, but I couldnât complete the action. . .