There are basically two aspects of Martel's writing in part 2 that make it effective, in literary terms. Firstly, he has the ability to make the reader feel like something is actually happening, which, compared with part one, is a welcome change. Regardless of the fact that, in terms of plot, not a whole lot happens throughout the whole novel, Martel manages to extract an extraordinary tale from what would probably have been a very monotonous 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific. Which leads well into the second strength of part two. More than any other section in the novel, part two works on parabolic level. It is written in such a way that it emphasizes the fact that this IS a story being told by a storyteller, and that it is meant to be taken with a grain of salt. Having the whole novel told in this way allows us to identify with Pi in ways that we would never have been able to before, because of the fantastical nature of the story. Martel writes in such a way that the events themselves(Carnivore Island, the blind man, even Richard Parker himself) take the place of basically extraneous details, while Pi and all of his morals, thoughts and ideas take the spotlight. It is this which creates parabolic or metaphoric nature of this novel, and it is this which makes act two strong
There are basically two aspects of Martel's writing in part 2 that make it effective, in literary terms. Firstly, he has the ability to make the reader feel like something is actually happening, which, compared with part one, is a welcome change. Regardless of the fact that, in terms of plot, not a whole lot happens throughout the whole novel, Martel manages to extract an extraordinary tale from what would probably have been a very monotonous 227 days on a lifeboat in the Pacific. Which leads well into the second strength of part two. More than any other section in the novel, part two works on parabolic level. It is written in such a way that it emphasizes the fact that this IS a story being told by a storyteller, and that it is meant to be taken with a grain of salt. Having the whole novel told in this way allows us to identify with Pi in ways that we would never have been able to before, because of the fantastical nature of the story. Martel writes in such a way that the events themselves(Carnivore Island, the blind man, even Richard Parker himself) take the place of basically extraneous details, while Pi and all of his morals, thoughts and ideas take the spotlight. It is this which creates parabolic or metaphoric nature of this novel, and it is this which makes act two strong
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