In this chapter we go back to where Richard Parker is trying to get into to the life boat. Pi holds onto a buoy to keep away from Richard Parker. He realizes that underneath him are sharks. He has no choice but to go back on the boat with Richard Parker,
“I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on to an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging about me" (Martel 127).

Chapter 40