Free Essay

The Fish

In: English and Literature

Submitted By enderlax
Words 825
Pages 4
Enderson Velasquez
ENC 1102

A normal day fishing in the ocean can bring surprises with it. “The Fish” is a poem written by Elizabeth Bishop about her own story when she catches a huge fish while she is in a rented boat. After she catches the fish, she holds it up half out of the water. The fish looks pretty ugly, tired, and old with “shapes like full-blown roses, stained and lost through age” (lines 14-15). Algae is growing on it, and she realizes that the fish has five fishing hooks with the lines still partially attached hanging from its jaw. The speaker start to think how tough this fish must be and how much the fish probably fought through his life to survive. She begins to respect the fish. The story takes a final turn when she lets the fish go. The Theme of the poem is that great lessons can be learned from simple situations in life like a normal day fishing in the ocean. At first the speaker says “I caught a tremendous fish” (1). That is a simple description, then the speaker gives some detail about the fish and how it looks “his brown skin hung like strips like ancient wall-paper”. At this point, the fish is nothing special. After that, the speaker begins to examine the fish more closely, and she imagines the inside of the fish “dramatic reds and blacks,”(30) and a “pink swim-bladder.”(32) The fact that she is using her imagination in connection with the fish implied that the fish has a meaning behind simply being caught. The narrator learned from the persistence and dedication that the fish has. The fish has been caught five time as his fishing hooks shows, and he has survived. The poet using the expression “like medals.” Shows the respect she feels for the fish. At the end, she seems to have a sense of victory. She caught the fish that always got away before. But her respect for the fish who has won five battles makes her decide let the fish go.
Detail and imagery help to solidify the reader’s personal relationship with the fish. The beauty of detail and imagery in this poem establishes the ironic beauty in the fish.” His brown skin hung in strips/ like ancient wall-paper, / … shapes like full-blown roses/ stained and lost throughout age.” (Lines 14-15). Normally, people do not see beauty in suffering in death, but somehow Bishop washes the reader’s with sensitive images. After noticing the five other lines grown into the fish’s lip, the fisherman compares them to “medals with their ribbons/ frayed and wavering, / a five-haired beard of wisdom/ trailing from his aching jaw.” Personification is also present in the poem, the way she describes the fish helps the reader to visualize and respect it. Here, the fish is depicted as gentle, aged, wise, and respected, like a war hero. The fish is vaguely personified in that he wears the medals of victory in battle, and he sports a five-haired beard of wisdom. Bishop is a master of similes. The first in the poem discusses his skin; “his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper”. Bishop uses the word “ancient” instead of a simply “old” to tell the reader “the fish is ugly but it is a respect creature”. Another simile includes her comparison of his “coarse white flesh packed in like feathers.” This gives the reader an idea of how the flesh might have felt. "He hung a grunting weight, / battered and venerable, / and homely." Here the fish is again described in the terms one would use for an old man.
The narration would not be as good as it is without the use of detail because these elements works together inside the narration to create successful language. Bishop uses of tone helps the readers to feel sympathy within and triumph at the end of the poem. The tone in this poem can be different since the speaker is having a normal day which ends in a great learned experience. The tone at the beginning of the poem is proud, admiring and with a sense of triumph. The speaker is proud when she says “I caught a tremendous fish”, the speaker also uses words such as “venerable”, “like medals with their ribbons… a five-haired beard of wisdom”, and “I admired his sullen face, / the mechanism of his jaw…I stared and stared.” To show her admiration for the fish, and “victory filled up the little rent boat” to express triumph. A Humble and compassion tone is also present in the poem. When the speaker says “I looked into his eyes/ … shallower, and yellowed, the irises backed and packed/ with tarnished tinfoil.” Bishop expresses her sense of compassion for the fish. At the end of the poem, the speaker says “and I let the fish go.” Showing also compassion.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Aqua Fish

...To: Guy Mills From: Adam Rice Date: Februrary 22,2014 Subject: Reports for Aqua Fish Canada Inc. Executive Summary Aqua Fish Canada Inc.(AFC) is facing with several challenges that the board ofdirector decided to adopt new business strategies to meet its corporate strategic goals. Currently, Site 3 employees' neglect of duties and increasing competitive aquaculture industry has made AFC's position at a disadvantage. Therefore, they determined to implement proper strategies (diversifyinto shellfish farming or Project Blue Wave) to enhance its profitability in a better way. The detail of analysis will be shown in the following report. Based on the analysis, the proper recommendation for AFC is to diversifyits shellfish farming by leasing theblue mussel farm site in PEI, which could provide an upward progitability in the future. To achieve its strategic goals, AFC should provide anappropriate inplementation plan: • Training new employees for mussel farm site • Improving oversea shipment system • Maintaining high quality to create reputation in oversea market Introduction Currently, all the internal and external factors (such as the growing intense competition of aquaculture industry, AFC's Site 4 quality issue, Site 3 employees issue, and seasonal gap of this industry) put AFC in negative position. This report will explain the curent situation for AFC, analyze alternatives quantitatively and qualitatively...

Words: 1915 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

A Life of Fish

...gills, median fins supported by rays of cartilage or bone, and often paired fins, are all characteristics of fishes that allow them to live successfully in water. No fishes have limbs with digits. The diversity of forms among fishes provide evolutionary biologists with some of the best examples of natural selection, adaptation, divergence, speciation, and historical development of fauna on scales from regional to continental. Far from being the "dead-end" that we land-dwelling creatures tend to assume, fishes are extraordinarily diverse and their watery habitats provide a vast array of places in which to live and thrive. Fish species range in size from the smallest known living vertebrate, Trimmatom nanus, a goby, which is mature at a mere 8 millimeters, to the giant whale shark, Rhincodon typus, which can grow as large as 12 meters. There are species of fish living at 5,200 meters above sea level in Tibetan hot springs and fishes that live in a depth of eight thousand meters below the ocean surface — this is an incredible span, over 13 kilometers of vertical distance. No other vertebrate group occupies such a wide band of habitable space. Marine habitats include the deep...

Words: 1142 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Bata Fish

...distributed throughout Indian subcontinent including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Myanmar and also Pakistan (Talwar and Jhingran, 1991; Devi and Ali, 2013). This fish is commercially important and target species for commercial small and large scale fishers in Bangladesh. It is also used by both culture and capture fisheries nowadays. L. bata is highly popular in the market because of its high nutritional value, good taste and qualities (Bhuiyan, 1964). This fish contains about 15.42% of protein and 3.73% of lipid (Ahmed et al., 2012). L. bata is a freshwater fish in Bangladesh. This species is a non-migratory fish and remains...

Words: 1134 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Aqua Fish

...To: Guy Mills From: Adam Rice Date: Februrary 22,2014 Subject: Reports for Aqua Fish Canada Inc. Executive Summary Aqua Fish Canada Inc.(AFC) is facing with several challenges that the board ofdirector decided to adopt new business strategies to meet its corporate strategic goals. Currently, Site 3 employees' neglect of duties and increasing competitive aquaculture industry has made AFC's position at a disadvantage. Therefore, they determined to implement proper strategies (diversifyinto shellfish farming or Project Blue Wave) to enhance its profitability in a better way. The detail of analysis will be shown in the following report. Based on the analysis, the proper recommendation for AFC is to diversifyits shellfish farming by leasing theblue mussel farm site in PEI, which could provide an upward progitability in the future. To achieve its strategic goals, AFC should provide anappropriate inplementation plan: • Training new employees for mussel farm site • Improving oversea shipment system • Maintaining high quality to create reputation in oversea market Introduction Currently, all the internal and external factors (such as the growing intense competition of aquaculture industry, AFC's Site 4 quality issue, Site 3 employees issue, and seasonal gap of this industry) put AFC in negative position. This report will explain the curent situation for AFC, analyze alternatives quantitatively and qualitatively...

Words: 1915 - Pages: 8

Free Essay

How to Fish

...How to fish Fishing really is not as simple as it may seem, however just about every child has been fishing once in their childhood. There are many different kinds of fish just as there are many different kinds of techniques. You can use artificial bait, as well as live bait, aswell as many different everyday household items. But before you can pick any of that you need to pick a location, location and weather is the key! When it comes to being successful at fishing, location is everything. You can not catch what is not there. Typically, Fish and other critters like structures, dips and dives in the creek, river, or ocean floors. Depth of the area is not always that important. But tide usually is. When fishing a river, bay or ocean you have to pay attention to the tide. High tide is usually best as the water is deeper, which allows fish access to areas where they can only feed periodically. Bridges are great spots; they offer cover and protection to the fish. And if the bridge has lights they can act as a bonus since most fish are attracted to the lights. But then you need to figure out which fish is in season. When fishing a bay, ocean or river the time of year and the temperature play a big role in whether you will have a successful day on the water. A lot of fish are only around for certain months. Some migrate north, while others migrate south, and then some will go out into the deeper water. Although water temperature in my book is more important than air temperature...

Words: 757 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Whales and Fish

...Who’s Eating All the Fish? The Food Security Rationale for Culling Cetaceans A Report to Humane Society International By Wilf Swartz and Daniel Pauly Presented at IWC 60 June 23, 2008 Santiago, Chile Table of Contents Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................... 2 A re-packaging of the whaling debate ........................................................................................ 2 Fish and food security................................................................................................................. 3 Fish (and food security) in crisis................................................................................................. 4 Marine Mammals: Threat to Food Security? ............................................................................ 7 The ‘whales-eat-our-fish’ argument ........................................................................................... 7 Flaws of the argument................................................................................................................. 7 Political success of the ‘whales-eat-our-fish’ lobby ................................................................. 10 Globalization of Fisheries: A Real Threat to Regional Food Security..............

Words: 14391 - Pages: 58

Free Essay

How Fish Reproduce

...How Fish Have Evolved To Become Suited To Its Environment Erica Twilley BIO 101: Principles of Biology October 30, 2012 Angela Romo, Facilitator University of Phoenix Fantasy Literature and Fantastic Language Fish are aquatic organisms that have several features that allow them to survive in their environment. All fish have fins, which help them keep going in a specific direction by guiding them and providing thrust. Their bodies are streamlined to help reduce friction as they swim through the water. Their skeleton is important for this, too. The skeleton provides the framework for the outer structures and the muscles provide the power that allows the fins to thrust them through the water. The hindbrain is responsible for sending the signals for movement and keeping the fish balanced. The swim bladder is also important for swimming. It is a gas-filled organ found in the abdomen of fish that allows the addition or removal of gas to let the fish move up or down in the water. If fish did not have this organ, they would have to keep swimming so that they would not sink. This organ allows them to expend less energy as they adjust the depth at which they want to float. Some fish can use their swim bladder to send or receive sounds. Their eyes allow them to see their prey and predators. The midbrain of the fish is responsible for vision, motor responses, and learning. Gills allow for gas exchange so that they can breathe in the water. The oxygenated blood will be circulated...

Words: 607 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Declining Fish Stock

...The Problem: Seeing the video on Declining Fish Stock VLR, expose the challenges between fishermen and environmental concerns. This video shows how fishing fleets have depleted the oceans of almost 90% of its big fish; therefore, claiming the ocean is not as resilient as it once was. The majority of the largest fish have already been pulled from the oceans, leaving only 10% of its remaining fish for Commercial fishermen to make a living. Most fishing fleets today are two to three times larger than they need to be to catch large fish and other seafood. Because of commercial fishing many fish are not able to reproduce fast enough to maintain their species. A manageable and sustainable plan will need to be implemented to avert these fish from completely disappearing from the oceans. The plan will need to be a partnership between fishermen, communities, governments, and environmentalists. Overfishing has considerably exhausted certain species in the ocean and they are now extinct. To think we can continue to hunt fish, with no major regulations or limits to feed billions of people is extreme. Since biodiversity do continue to decline, the aquatic surroundings will not be able to maintain our human consumption for seafood. This situation can still be reversible by working together with some basic ground rules. Because of the current conditions and the magnitude of the problem, replenishing the ocean may take a decade or perhaps even centuries to restore....

Words: 917 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Jonah and the Big Fish

...for Tarshish, attempting to hide out from God. At night, a huge storm comes up and tosses the boat wildly. The sailors are afraid and all start to pray to their gods, while Jonah sleeps soundly below deck. (Jonah 1:4-6) The captain goes down to Jonah's cabin and pulls him out of bed. "And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this trouble has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah." (Jonah 1:7 ) The sailors all question Jonah about what he's done to bring this storm on them. He confesses that he is running away from the Lord's will and tells the sailors to throw him overboard to spare their lives. They do as he says. (Jonah 1:8-15) As Jonah is sinking into the sea, a big fish swallows him. (Jonah 1:17) Here we see God's great mercy. He could have let Jonah suffer the consequences of his actions and drown. Yet, God...

Words: 965 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Cross Breeding Fish

...to cross breed two different species of fish in an attempt to combine certain traits of the two species in the offspring. Research suggests that breeding the common swordtail breed aka the Xiphophorus helleri and the common Platy breed aka Xiphophorus maculatus will result in viable offspring that have the swordtail trait.The objective of this experiment is to determine what percentage of offspring will get the swordtail trait. Research Question:When breeding six female platies to two male swordtails how many offspring will have the swordtail trait? Hypothesis: If six sixe female platys bred with two male swordtails then I believe that fifty percent will have the swordtail trait. Background Research Scientific names of fish Kingdom-Animalia Phylum-Chordata Class-Actinoptergii Order-Cyprinodontiformes FamilyPoecilidae Scientific name-Xiphophorus maculatus “platy” Scientific name-Xiphophorus hellerii “green swordtail” (Source:http://www.itis.gov/) Platies are little freshwater 5.1-6.4cm fish that live for 3-5 years they were found in South America and now are household pets. Females have a fan shaped anal fin with wide bellies and a dark gravid spot witch is a sign that they are pregnant and as the fish gets more pregnant the gravid spot becomes darker and darker . Males on the other hand have a rod like anal fin and the fish are smaller than the females. A good ideal living environment these freshwater fish need to have a water temperature of 70-78...

Words: 1176 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Fish (Mouth Positions)

...able to live) in water. And of course, reptiles like turtles that can live up to hundreds of years, snakes, and alligators that can go back and forth to land and water. In general, these fishes in aquatic ecosystems have fins and scales, they utilize their gills for breathing, and obviously, they are cold-blooded. This includes the bony fishes (belonging to Class Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fishes (belonging to Class Chondrichthyes), and the jawless fishes (belonging to Class Agnatha). And they all have spinal columns which makes them “vertebrates”. In some dictionaries, the meaning of “fish” is the meat of a fish eaten as food, which is right. Most people know that fishes are only food – white meat, just like that. There are also people, especially children, that haven’t really seen a fish, a real fish, a live fish with fins, scales, gills, bones, and head. Because when they eat fish in restaurants, only the meat is served on their plates. Consider the context that before fishes could be eaten, they also need to eat first, to grow. Even though they differ in their physical appearance, the common denominator of fishes is...

Words: 963 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Literary Devices in “the Fish”

...Literary Devices in “The Fish” The poem "The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop is one of the masterpieces to study. It is written in free verse, that is, it does not have any consistent rhyme or form. However the poem shows control of the poet over the verses as the lines are of equal length and kept short and trim. The poem is a colorful epiphany of several literary devices used by the poet to describe a fish and why, even after catching the fish, the poet let it go. To begin with, the poet has made use of imagery to describe the fish. The poem begins with an author explaining that she caught the fish, continuing on to describe the fish as “battered, venerable and homely” (8-9). In these very words, the reader gains an understanding of the empathy the poet is feeling towards the fish caught: then begins description. The brown colored skin of the fish which hung “like ancient wallpaper” (11) seems apt as it imposes an imagery of an old waning wallpaper, there by implying the old age of the fish. The age implied imagery continues in the lines which follow saying “like full-blown roses/ stained and lost through age” (14-15). Further on, the poet describes other parts of the fish- as she could see a few lime figures, the white speckled sea lice infestation, and a few green weeds clinging on. The entire description makes use of imageries to bring home the point and help the reader see and envision the fish in the same manner as...

Words: 739 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Fish Keeping in an Aquarium

...Keeping fish in an aquarim Did you know the average ration of fish kept alive in an aquarium vs. how many perish just trying to make it to the exhbit and survive there is 50%? I ask you this because, although we all appreciate the beauty of the diverse animals and swirling colors, in the end is the loss worth it? Before a fish is placed into an aquarium it goes through quarantine. Quarantine can be described as a different process to most facilities, but one goal is in common, to add "healthy" fish to the main exhibits. Most fish are brought in from an extremely stressful transfter that consists of being shipped in small, air depleted bags (yes, fish do breath oxygen from the water that is taken from outside air mixed into the water; dissolved oxygen) and temperature fluctuations that leave the animals immunity lessened. After they are acclimated, some quickly, the are introduced into quarantine tanks. At a proper aquarium the fish is given time to get used to the surroundings and usually should be observed eating before any chemicals are added to the tank, some, however begin right away. A common chemical used is Copper. Copper is deadly to fish in high doses, but if you use just the right amount you can kill any "hitchhikers";parasites that have survived the trip. This may be used in conjuction with other chemicals and temperature fluctuations to produce a parasite free specimen. Imagine yourself packed into a tiny box depleted of air, added to an alien environment and...

Words: 528 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Game And Fish Research Paper

...The Game and fish have a lot of negatives as well as positives. Most of the negatives are working in extreme heat or in the freezing cold they also might have to work in the rain. To be a game warden you have to have a lot of skills such as animal instincts, they need to learn how to track animals or people. Having this job you have to take a lot of risks you have to be in shape in case you have to walk for a long time and hike up hills. In this speech I am going to talk about the good things about the game and fish department, the bad things about it. The game and fish have a lot of negatives as well as positives. http://work.chron.com/disadvantages-being-game-warden-26383.html One of the good things about the game and fish department is that they are still trying to seek information from people either by email or other texting apps about poaching crimes and illegal crimes people are doing that affect the wildlife. Another reason the game and fish are good is that they keep the wildlife population at a good level they also take the sick animals and give them tests to make them better and learn new ways to make the sick animals better also. Another good thing about being...

Words: 724 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Snakehead Fish Research Paper

...the snakehead fish. The snakehead fish is threatening our lakes and rivers for the worse. This invasive species fish is threatening people’s livelihoods, and their hobbies. If we do not take action and do anything about the snakehead fish, we may not have excellent waters anymore for our sports, and pass-times that we put so much money, time, and energy in to. Snakeheads are a fish native to eastern Asia and were recently introduced to North America. They were first introduced by Asian food importers to establish a population of harvestable snakehead to supplement, and reduce the foreign import of the highly desired food product. They have also been introduced through release of pet snakeheads into the wild illegally. The first reproducing population were found in a pond in Maryland in...

Words: 817 - Pages: 4