Hiearchy of a Lifeboat; details through the description

• 1 boy with a complete set of light clothing but for one lost shoe
• 1 spotted hyena
• 1 bengal tiger
• 1 lifeboat
  
• 1 ocean
• 1 God

Welcome to Pi's lifeboat.

As many people have already discussed, the author has given us descriptive detail of all of these items as well as a Part I to Pi's previously life before the life-changing shipwreck. We know that these items are more than just items, they're possibilities, that there is more happening than just the animals inside of the lifeboat.

Like his inclusion of the last three items on that list: lifeboat, ocean, God; all of these, except the lifeboat itself, of course, are outside of the lifeboat. From previous reading we know that Pi is anything but short sighted in the world around him because of his long descriptions of the various animals, of the people he met, and of his religious views really help us to understand where he is coming from and how he's thinking. Knowing this, it's easy to forshadow that those items, particularly God, are going to play a huge part in the story to come because they already have played a role in Pi's life before the shipwreck.

These details and the significance of these three items and the rest of the list really pulls the reader into the story because we know that there has to more to the situation than just a quick snap of the neck; with so many different components there are so many possible outcomes. It creates mystery, tension, and questions of what will happen next. The author has already hooked us with his various references to situations involving Richard Parker and Mexico, now we want to see what will happen with all of these various components to the situation Pi is in.