Navigating Liminal Spaces: The Study of the Diasporic Identity in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi

Abstract

Yann Martel’s Life of Pi reflects a diasporic Indian boy’s transnational experiences from India to Canada. This paper reads the novel as an immigrant narrative in a framework of liminality and diaspora, explores how post-colonial immigrants construct their hybrid, fluid and dynamic national identity in a multicultural society. Through an examination of Pi’s diasporic emotions and agency in the liminal spaces of Pondicherry and the lifeboat, this paper highlights the struggles and aspirations of Indian immigrants, illustrating Martel’s engagement with multiculturalism and his reflections on constructing multicultural identities for contemporary immigrants from the Third World.