For 227 days Piscine Molitor Patel was stranded at sea. Whether you want to believe that he survived by resulting to forms of cannibalism or he survived solely on prior knowledge and help by some unexplainable occurrences is the readers choice. Yann Martel wrote Life of Pi to tell the story about a young indian boy that was stranded at sea and tells of two stories, one having a more atheistic view and the other involving the use of imagination and faith.
In the first story that is told Pi is on a boat called the Tsimtsum that ends up sinking and being thrown overboard onto a lifeboat by crew members as bait to hopefully rid the lifeboat of the hyena that was already on board. A zebra then jumps aboard breaking its leg, meanwhile Pi is helping Richard Parker, a 450 pound, adult Bengal tiger, which at that time he regrets and wonders why he did that. Later an orangutang floats close by on a ton of bananas and hops aboard the lifeboat. The hyena takes advantage of the zebra being crippled and eats it. A fight between the hyena and the orangutang then takes place in which the hyena comes out victorious and yet again feasts on another animal. While this is all taking place Pi is wondering where Richard Parker is but figures that he must have went overboard at some point. Pi discovers Richard Parker under the tarplin and is frightened beyond belief. He is thankful for Richard Parker though because Richard Parker ends up killing the hyena and the lifeboat is then only occupied by Richard Parker and Pi. Pi looks for the survival kit that he believes should be on the boat, after finding it he then calculates how long he can survive if he rations his food out. Being a vegetarian he has no interest in eating any animal but realizes that he has to eat animals to survive. Many days pass and still no sign of a rescue party of any sorts. He is starting to contemplate if it's even worth living anymore but a ship goes by and Pi is ecstatic he fires a flare in the air but it sadly ricochet off and into the pacific.