Hunting hatchet

The Hunting hatchet is a working tool in Pi Patel’s struggle to survive at sea. Its uses shift with his circumstances: it can drive a shark away from the Lifeboat, proves less efficient than a knife for killing small sharks, and helps prepare a mass of algae for towing when Pi Patel leaves the island.

Use aboard the Lifeboat

Sharks sometimes struck the Lifeboat’s hull with their tails. Pi Patel used the Hunting hatchet to hit one on the nose, after which it disappeared into the deep. The blow made the hatchet a means of defending the boat and its occupants, though the sharks remained a recurring presence in the water around it.

A tool with limits

Pi Patel also tried killing smaller sharks with the Hunting hatchet, hacking at the tops of their heads. He found this method more tiring and slower than stabbing them through the eyes with a knife. The comparison places the hatchet among his improvised survival tools, but shows that usefulness depended on the task: for this one, another tool worked better.

Preparing to leave the island

When Pi Patel decided to leave the carnivorous island rather than remain there in isolation, he used the Hunting hatchet to cut off a large mass of algae. He worked a rope through it and tied it to the boat, intending to tow the algae away with him. The plan failed during the night, when the algae’s acid dissolved the rope. The hatchet had helped Pi Patel prepare for departure, but could not make the island’s resources safe to carry with him.