At the end of
Yann Martel's masterpiece, Life of Pi, the protagonist's companion, a Bengal
tiger named Richard Parker, trails off into the jungle without turning his head
to acknowledge or bid farewell to Pi, his savior. The moment is poignant and
sad, as the tiger fails to conclude their relationship. (*Please see Pi's words
below.)
After all, Pi protected the tiger from drowning and
starvation during their struggle to survive on a life raft in the Pacific
Ocean.
Many of us
animal lovers believe that nonhuman animals are able to experience and express
gratitude. When Elephants Weep, the Emotional Lives of Animals by J.M. Masson
and S.M. McCarthy is a beautiful
exploration of this theme.
The mystery of
why the tiger fails to acknowledge the meaningful bond is left to the reader or
moviegoer to answer. I'll take a stab at this baffling question and relate it
to a story of my own.
Recently I
underwent a routine colonoscopy required by the medical profession. I resented
having to endure the preparation and the invasive procedure, although it was
admittedly, a minor one. I had to reach into my soul to muster gratitude to the
doctor who successfully and skillfully performed the (unwanted) procedure.
I suggest that
Richard Parker resents Pi because the tiger connects Pi to the ordeal, associating
Pi to trauma, rather than salvation. Imbued in suffering, Parker can't soar to
the heights of gratitude.
A good-bye can be seen as an expression
of gratitude. Could the absence of a farewell (abbreviation from the archaic
Fare thee well; go with God) be an
expression of the opposite of
gratitude, of resentment? If
Parker were human, would we accuse him of a kind of narcissistic
self-involvement?
Striking
examples from my practice stand out. One client, after concluding therapy,
continued to phone to wish me well at holiday time. When she stopped phoning I
knew she had passed away. Another client who had done good work begrudged
having to see a therapist at all. In spite of substantial progress, she
expressed resentment by missing her last appointment.
I suggest that a
Pi and a tiger lurk within each of us, the seeds of gratitude and the potential
for resentment. It may be a lot to project onto a tiger, but I think he lacks gratitude.
Conclusion: A
proper good-bye, expresses appreciation for the relationship. But sometimes we have to settle for less.
Dear Reader, I welcome your comments.
jsimon145@gmail.com
*(from Yann
Martel, Life of Pi)
One of my last
images of Richard Parker
at that precise
moment
he jumped over
me
His body
immeasurably vital
stretched in the
air above me
a fleeting,
furred rainbow
He landed in the
water
his back legs
splayed
his tail high
and from there
in a few hops,
he reached the beach
He went to the
left,
his paws gouging
the wet sand
but changed his
mind
and spun around.
He passed
directly in
front of me
on his way to
the right
He didn't look
at me
He ran a hundred
yards
or so along the shore
before turning
in.
His gait was
clumsy and uncoordinated
He fell several
times
At the edge of
the jungle, he stopped
I was certain he
would turn my way
He would look at
me
He would flatten
his ears
He would growl
In some such
way, he would
conclude our
relationship
He did nothing
of the sort
He only looked
fixedly
into the jungle.
Then Richard Parker,
companion of my
torment, awful,
fierce thing,
that kept me alive,
moved forward
and disappeared
forever from my
life.
Jane -- I really like your explanation of why the tiger did not express gratitude. Although my dogs' vets do wonders for them and even have saved their lives -- they never say thank you! Indeed the one who nearly died and was saved after 5 days in the hospital still cowers when we go to back to that office for a checkup and tries to hide behind me when we are in the vet's examining room. She wants nothing more than to escape from the hero who saved her! Pi remains true to the animal perspective in his tale. If he were making the tiger up he might have anthropomorphized a fond farewell. The fact that the animal behavior is so accurate is what makes me prefer the tiger tale.
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