Any ideas for what this quote from Life of Pi book, means?

Question

"Memory is an ocean and he bobs on its surface"

Answer 1

I have read the book but I dont remember this quote,
This is most probably from the time when Pi is in the ocean.
He is all alone and remembers his family. His mother, brother and father all of whom have died in the ship wreck.
Hence the qoute, he is bobbing in the tides of his memory.

What is special about the quote is that Pi himself is in an ocean and bobbing aimlessly here and there along with the tides...

TW K

Answer 2

Well, I haven't read the book, but since the ocean is usually a metaphor for depth and the person is bobbing on it's surface I would interpret the meaning as either:
a. he remembers very little
or
b. what he does remember has no effect or meaning in his life.

Answer 3

The metaphor, on its own (not having read the book) would mean, to me, that memory is vast and deep and uncontrollable. And within this person's memory (the person making the statement), another person (the "he" referred to) is always at the top of that vast ocean, going in and out of the "speaker's" consciousness at unexpected and frequent intervals.

Answer 4

memory is vast like an ocean, it is not smooth, not patterned, not symmetrical. Memory is not plain but keeps bobbing like bubbles back and forth.

Answer 5

i'm no longer familar with the quote yet i understand from existence that innocence is lost once you're made conscious of problems with the worldwide by way of living it. yet, the adventure additionally opens our minds to realize how priceless the innocence is and we then elect to be harmless no longer by way of lack of expertise yet by way of determination. i comprehend it sounds lame yet i've got faith it like sin and forgiveness.

Answer 6

I think it means that in the realm of self-preservation, we only remember what is least painful for us.