Paradox

The purpose of the paradox of Richard Parker was to give Pi's perspective of the story. Because Richard Parker was not real, Pi used him to show his wild side. The names Richard Parker is a human name, but Yann gave that name to the tiger with a purpose, to show that the name is connected to Pi.
Pi the 3 religions to tame his wild side, or tiger, and keep himself under control. When Richard Parker left Pi alone, it was like the animal inside wasn't needed anymore. Pi's name means irrational, so this whole story about the animal story is irrational.  Pi's perspective gave readers an insight of pi's train of thought, that we need to believe in something to keep ourselves tamed. Martel gives us the story of Pi and Richard Parker to show us that we have different sides and it's an interdependence type relationship, that we need to rely on one's self, we can't survive being alone. Richard Parker helped Pi survive the ordeal, Richard relied on Pi and Pi relied on Richard.