I was brought here as a juvenile. I shall die here, in this tank. At the very most, one hundred and sixty days remain until my sentence is complete.
-- Marcellus ("Day 1,299 of My Captivity" )

Importance: As the novel opens with Marcellus the octopus addressing the audience, the author immediately begins to personify his character, endowing him with intellectual brilliance and an emotional intelligence that is in touch with his own mortality. The understanding of one's own mortality is a product of human consciousness, by granting this trait to the octopus from the beginning of novel, the author gives the reader a window into Marcellus's inner world. This enables the reader to emotionally connect with a non-human character, and as the novel progresses, it creates suspense and excitement. Marcellus's ponderings of his own mortality contribute to the thematic structure of the novel, connect him with human nature, and make the narrative more relatable.

The using, the problems...
-- Narrator ("The Welina Mobile Park is for Lovers")