I was just wondering why is that when Richard parker separated from Pi and disappeared into the jungle that he didn't look back at him considering how they managed to survive the journey.
I was just wondering why is that when Richard parker separated from Pi and disappeared into the jungle that he didn't look back at him considering how they managed to survive the journey.
or a number of reasons, depending on how you interpret the film.
- Parker's stance was consistent with Pi's father's advice that tigers are not our friends, despite us projecting our feelings onto them.
- If the whole Parker story was myth, and Parker represented Pi, he -- Parker -- was no longer needed once Pi made it back to civilization. They needed to make a clean break.
If you believe the first story, then Richard Parker simply moved on. He did stop at the edge of the jungle, and that was his way of contemplating. Remember the earlier scene when Richard Parker was starring at the sky, and Pi asked him what he was looking at. That told us animals have souls.
If you believe the second story, then it's a way of Pi telling us that he had to let go of the tiger in him, and that part of him was not looking back. He's gone. Pi is letting go, but RP will forever be part of his past. RP kept Pi alive.