Yann Martel describes the story in the author’s note as one “that will make you believe in God” (x). Throughout the novel, I had this tagline in my mind as I searched to find the moment when it all came together. However, I found it so subtle that I nearly missed it entirely. Pi tells two stories to the investigators from the Japanese Ministry of Transport: one with animals and one without animals. At the end of the second tale, Pi asks the investigators which one they think is better story. When the investigators respond that the story with the animals is the better one, Pi replies, “Thank you. And so it goes with God” (317). Reality can be a terrible place filled with pain, loneliness, fear, suffering, and hopelessness. In such a world, a purely rational examination of the facts might lead us to believe that our existence is devoid of any higher meaning. Pi suggests that this is one of the reasons we need the notion of God and the supernatural: to give us hope so that life is livable. If I can believe that there is a higher purpose to my life, that death is not the end, then I might have enough hope to hold on. But without God, without the idea of something beyond our current suffering, we can easily lose our souls to pain and give up on life. I think we can rephrase Pi’s question to the investigators in this way in light of his response: Do we prefer a universe with God or a universe without God?
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