Life of Pi question

Banking off of what Caroline said... Adult Pi even brings up doubt he says its useful and that it keeps faith alive. So it seems the purpose of the authors book is to create doubt and it's up to the reader to overcome it and strengthen his/ her faith, or to accept the doubt and believe in the more realistic version of the story by rejecting the first story. Another thing; when Orange Juice comes onto the boat Pi asks where her boy is... If orange juice is supposed to symbolize his mother her "boy" could symbolize Pi's brother who become lost and never made it to the boat... Just a thought. I say either story may have happened but what happened after, all of his experiences may have been true whether the tiger was real or not.

As much as I would like to believe the animal story, who are the people that the 'brother' has killed in the first story? He confesses to killing one man and one woman. I found that part of the book chilling. Either way he resorts to cannibalism.

Re. belief/reliability of the narrator (i.e. God, religion etc.) - names and naming (narration and the creation of a story) are important in the book. His name is irrational. There are the twin Kumars, representing faith and science, which could signify the duality of both tales, but only if you choose to believe one of them. Then there is Richard Parker, and the concept of Tsimtsum.

I think the second story is wht actually happened. But ocourse, no o e likes it. Becoz it reflects dark side of human nature. How many of us happily hope or wish to kill someone and eat them? But people have done that in desperate situations.
Both stories are set in desperate situations, wherein life is at threat. The first story is about survival without resorting to cruel or guilt ridden means. Plz note that Pi starts killing fish only when he loses his supply of biscuits. hence, it is an outcome of struggle to survive than cruelty.
The first story gives us hope and comfort, that shud we be left alone in the world with no support, we can still manage to fight it out without losing our faith and morals. It makes us feel good, so good that we are not even willing to question the logic and feasibility of it. it never occured to us that the story might be a fake till the investigators express their doubts. we never even think if bananas cud float. we just took everything in.
The second story is uncomfortable. yes, we might have to watch our mother die a cruel death nd not be able to do anything. we might hv to eat another human being to stay alive. We may have to question the very faith we were raised upon. But we rather wish we are never made to ponder those possibilities. So we reject, look the other way. Pi did the same. We all do the same.

AS I'VE READ THE WHOLE BOOK I CAN SAY IS THE FIRST STORY IS THE REAL ONE HE WAS SAYING. WHY YOU GUYS BELIEVE ON THE SECOND STORY? PI JUST MADE UP A STORY THAT THE TWO ASIAN BOYS WOULD BELIEVE BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T ACCEPT PI'S STORY WHICH HAS SUFFERING AND HOW FAITH MADE HIM STRONGER.

Clearly, neither story is true. This is fiction.
Duh.

The double stories are a commentary on religion. The first story, the one with Richard Parker and the other animals, is the story that Pi prefers because it is his escape from reality. It represents both a belief in and preference for the miraculous, as well as a coping mechanism. The tiger story is comparable to a religious story in that while it's improbable, it's the preferable one. The second story presents a much harsher and disagreeable reality. In choosing which story to believe, you're not only looking at the facts behind the options but also the implications behind your final decision. With this in mind, the question becomes which story you want to be true, rather than which story is true.

What was the story of the island he washed up with all the meerkats.
Trying to figure that one out

You guys are all missing the point! The point is, does it really matters which story's true. Both the stories Pi told could be total bullshit! Since neither story can be proven, Pi asks a simple question, "Which story do you like better?" And the men say, "We like the first one." Pi says, "Thank you, as it is with god." Who the hell cares which story is true. In the end maybe it's better to go with what gives you hope, and helps you cope.

Look up: "The Life of Pi thug notes" Really very enlightening.

I don't think this was about religion at all, I think the dual stories were Pi's way of coping with the atrocities that humans are willing to commit if we are pushed to the edge.

In order to cope, he imagined everyone involved as animals, perhaps this gave them less emotion, less ability to relate, less moral standards which made what happened easier to cope with because it happened to species completely different to his own.

I see it as being similar to a subordinate being told to do something bad by a superior, and the subordinate copes with it by justifying it as just following orders.

As his journey is so long and lonely he becomes obsessed with this version of events and believes it to be true, but that doesn't stop him from at the back of his mind knowing that Richard Parker isn't real.