In the story “God is Not a Fish Inspector” the author explores the similarities and differences between an individual’s perception of themselves and perception others have about them. Throughout the course of the story the main idea suggested about how people perceive and are perceived by others is that a person’s opinion of themselves is molded by what they want to be, rather than the reality they inhabit. Likewise, a person’s perception of others is molded by what they want or know those people to be despite what they actually are.
To start, Fusi Bergman is an old man living in a remote fishing village in Manitoba. He does not possess a fishing licence, but nevertheless he still goes out regularly to fish in the waters near his home, catching
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roe for himself as well as the residents of the care home across his house. However, fishing is much more harmful to Fusi’s body than he would like to believe. Early on in the story it shows Fusi nearly dying on one of his fishing trips due to overexertion; he is “unable to close the fingers of his left hand” and collapses in his boat when he returns to shore. Despite this, Fusi still mentally believes himself to be young and fit. When Emma, his daughter, suggests putting him in a care home so that Fusi will not continue to damage his body and so that Fusi would be “saved from himself”, Fusi reacts angrily by throwing hot coffee into the lap of Emma’s husband. He also goes on to direct his anger at Emma, telling her to “get out of here when I get back or I’ll go out on the lake and get caught and tell everyone that you put me up to it.” At this point Fusi is so obsessed with “protecting” his own perception of himself that he would kick his own daughter out of his home and frame her for something she hasn’t done. Fusi continues to deny the opinions of others because if he were to accept their opinions, he would also have to accept that he cannot fish or be independent, which is the only thing about his life he enjoys. The people around Fusi know that his chosen lifestyle is harming him, and they also know that he is an old man, not a young one. But Fusi believes that people who disagree with his view of himself are trying to strip him of his independence and hobbies, which is why Fusi doggedly sticks to his beliefs about himself and his body. This causes Fusi to become withdrawn from his daughter and the community at large, making him view the people in the care home as “prisoners” and making him feel like he should be proud that the fishing inspectors “catch men half his age” but not him. This worldview makes him so disconnected from the truth that he thinks nothing of giving some of the fish he catches to the residents of the care home, which is strange as Fusi wishes to stay under the law’s nose, but he still gives fish to residents who know the only way he got the roe is by illegally fishing. At the climax of the story Emma tells Fusi that the inspectors have known that Fusi was fishing all along, and that they watched him to ensure his safety. Fusi tries to reject this revelation, but ultimately he ends up running “through the swinging doors” of the care home. A huge part of Fusi’s worldview was that he was an independent, strong man who never needed the help of others, and learning that there were inspectors watching him to make sure he doesn’t get hurt completely broke it. Fusi learns that the people around him view him as a weak, unstable man who needs the protection of others. Since Fusi realizes that his own narrative to himself was false, he “quits” his life in a sense and goes into the care home either because he accepted the reality around him or because his ego was too damaged to let him continue fishing. Fusi was only stable and happy when his perception of reality seemed to suit him in every way, but when part of his belief was shattered his whole worldview collapsed. Emma also has a skewed perception of herself.
From the beginning we can infer that she is a religious woman, as she insults her father by calling him a “prevaricate” and by stating he “will not be able to prevaricate at the gates of Heaven.” She is disappointed at how her father is lying to the authorities as he is hiding the truth from them. Since Emma is a deeply committed Christian she cannot bear to see her own father going against God’s law, therefore she takes it upon herself to deliver the message of God to Fusi. She and John, her husband, own a Volkswagen with all kinds of religious paraphernalia and films. Although they do not attempt to preach to the townspeople as they are Lutheran, they make an effort to convert those “along the grey dirt roads that led past tumble-down farmhouses, the inhabitants of which were never likely to enter a bank.” Emma is usually passive-aggressive towards Fusi, but after Fusi returns from a particularly difficult fishing trip, she becomes angry with Fusi. She wants Fusi to stop fishing because she cares about him, and she implores him to enter the care home as a resident. Although Fusi is in no condition to fish, he can still remain independent at home. But even knowing this Emma continues to try to get Fusi to leave since Emma knows that if Fusi stays in this home he will continue to fish illegally. Emma wants Fusi to admit the truth since she believes that God will punish him if he does not “repent” by admitting his lies. When Fusi finally gives on up trying to stay in his home and runs to the care home, Emma simply says “The Lord’s work to be done.” This shows that Emma views her actions as carrying out the work of God, which justifies it completely for herself. Rosie, a woman who was talking to Fusi when he ran off, tells Emma “You had no right”, showing that the other people around Emma disapprove of her actions. But this does not matter to Emma since she views her actions as being divinely guided. She perceives
herself as an angel, a woman delivering God’s message and will to those who require it. Unlike Fusi, Emma is unlikely to change her beliefs as she accepts them to be divine truths. It does not matter if everyone around her views her as a woman who ruined her father’s life, she still thinks her actions are morally righteous. The next example is the one of the residents of the care home. While not much is said about what they themselves think about their reality, Fusi denigrates them by saying they are “inmates” and that “there was no way a man could be a man in there”. The residents are said to have their lives controlled in every way, as they have “bells for breakfast, coffee and dinner.” To a man like Fusi who greatly values independence and self-discipline, this is a hellish place to be. But he fails to consider that others may have differing views on it. People may even benefit by being in the home, as they are being fed and they are taken care of. Some might even say this could be a paradise, as the residents don’t do any work to sustain themselves. Fusi even admits that the care home workers “were good to the tenants” but to him it doesn’t matter; they are not independent so they cannot be happy. But nevertheless Fusi’s views may have some merit. After listening to an anecdote about Jimmy Henderson, a friend of Fusi, getting drunk off of bootlegged liquor as a young man, Rosie cannot imagine Jimmy Henderson being anything other than a “bent man with a sad face.” If Rosie cannot imagine Jimmy being a young, happy man then the care home might be a place for those who have “given up” on life to go, a place where people wait miserably for their deaths as they cannot do anything else. Fusi agrees with this by telling Rosie “You give up, you’re going to die. You believe in yourself and you can keep right on going.” To Fusi, he feels “no particular sense of loss” over Jimmy’s death, despite them being friends. This is because Fusi only values those who keep the drive and determination to stay independent and disciplined, and Jimmy is not one of those people as he lived in the care home. In this case, a person’s perception of someone else is skewed by what they believe about the person and the current reality. A person’s reality and their own self-image can be very different at times if a person’s reality does not serve their self-image. Fusi, Emma and the residents of the care home all show how people can view themselves or others in a way that is not aligned with what really is occurring. If something happens to disprove a person’s perception of themselves they could react positively, negatively or not at all, depending on how strongly they hold those beliefs.
Just as nobody wants to be criticized and underestimated, so does Quoyle. While his family considers him as a root of failures and doesn’t give enough love to him, Quoyle also thinks about himself that he is not part of his family and wants to leave for somewhere. He is always despondent and not confident about his family, his appearance, and his life. However, through the picture, he finds out that he has something in common with his father. The author uses various dictions, imagery, and figurative language in order to vividly illustrate how Quoyle feels about himself and his family.
Ethan Canin’s “The Palace Thief” is a short story about a teacher who overestimates his importance in the life of his students and in the world, but eventually realizes this through a series of life changing events. The narrator, Mr. Hundert, is an egocentric individual who seems to always have the best interest of his students in mind, when in reality most of his decisions are made to further his career and better his reputation. In “The Palace Thief,” Ethan Canin explores how a person’s ego can affect their decisions and relationships with other people.
A human being is a complicated entity of a contradictory nature where creative and destructive, virtuous and vicious are interwoven. Each of us has gone through various kinds of struggle at least once in a lifetime ranging from everyday discrepancies to worldwide catastrophes. There are always different causes and reasons that trigger these struggles, however, there is common ground for them as well: people are different, even though it is a truism no one seems to able to realize this statement from beyond the bounds of one’s self and reach out to approach the Other.
The title of the poem itself dictates the simplicity Bishop wishes to convey regarding the narrator's view of his catch. A fish is a creature that has preceded the creation of man on this planet. Therefore, Bishop supplies the reader with a subject that is essentially constant and eternal, like life itself. In further examination of this idea the narrator is, in relation to the fish, very young, which helps introduce the theme of deceptive appearances in conjunction with age by building off the notion that youth is ignorant and quick to judge.
Easterlin, Nancy. “Hans Christian Andersen’s Fish out of Water." Philosophy and Literature 25 (2001): 251-77. 6 Oct. 2006.
When pondering about what an individual thinks of you, people have varying views. Some people are not concerned; to others it is the most critical matter on their mind. The feeling of being judged is a very potent emotion. Likewise, conformity is one of the largest controversies in today’s society; the behavior of someone in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards. So if someone personally made his or her expectations on what you should be like evident, would you change? In Matthew Quick’s The Silver Linings Playbook, he illustrates that judgment and expectations conform a person into someone they are not due to their personal identity. This can be seen through a character’s loyalty to another, dominance and the vulnerability it includes, and a character’s love and devotion. Conformity and the reasons for its appearance will be analyzed through samples from Matthew Quick’s bestselling novel.
"In "Lost in the Land of Oz", Madonna Kolbenschlag explores the way old societal myths, which are created from the metaphors in our life, are no longer useful in today's society. The author believes we need to embrace the ego archetype of the orphan, the most influential metaphor for the self, in order to become a whole and complete person. Madonna Kolbenschlag discusses how our society is particularly hostile towards women, resulting in an acute feeling of self-loathing, doubt, loneliness, and guilt. Today, women as the orphan feel a complete sense of powerlessness and abandonment, not only by everyone around her but also by God. Instead of suppressing our anxiety, Kolbenschlag advises that we should deal with it and remove the hidden layers of denial. We need to befriend the orphan within us and through all of this we will grasp a new insight and develop new spiritual consciousness.
This book helped me put some of the situations and feelings that I have experienced in my life into perspective and with more meaning. I could relate to many of the subjects that this book covered and could understand where the author’s ideas originated. Not only can I see his ideas appearing in my own actions, but I also see them in males in their mid-forties to fifties. This observation supports the idea of us going from innocence to doubt and back to innocence. The first idea that stuck with me is the interpretation of the salmon and how it represented Christ.
Being different can sometimes be somewhat scary because one may be considered an outcast. Being an outcast can be quite difficult especially when people can be cruel. In the short story “The Salamander,” the narrator is considered an outcast because she is different and does not follow society’s norms. The author from this short story, Mercè Rodoreda, can be compared to the narrator because she too did not follow the norms. Rodoreda’s short story includes some aspects that can be compared to her life, yet many other aspects in her story are inexplicable. “The Salamander” by Mercè Rodoreda can be described as a fantastic story because of the fantastic elements it contains, such as hesitation and liminality. The short story fits well into Todorov’s definition of the fantastic because it creates hesitation for the readers when the narrator experiences rebirth and it includes several examples of liminality. Liminality can be seen when the defined lines between human and animal, and life and death are blurred.
Individuals often have a strong desire to pursue their aspirations and desires due to their ambitious, determined innate nature. However, through these numerous achievements they have successfully fulfilled, other people’s perception of the individual will vastly differ depending on their relationship with him/her. In the poem “Prodigal”, Bob Hicok suggests that when individuals have successfully accomplished their ambitions, others will perceive the individual’s changed identity in vastly different ways depending on their relationship with the individual. An individual’s ambitious nature will also significantly impact themselves due to their ever-changing perception of themselves, which will greatly affect their own perceptions and decisions
“a person does not ‘inhabit’ a static object body but is subjectively embodied in a fluid, emergent, and negotiated process of being. In this process, body, self, and social interaction are interrelated to such an extent that distinctions between them are not only permeable and shifting but also actively manipulated and configured”
The narrator speaks about the fish in terms of commercial, where every part of the fish can be sale for different purposes, but as the speaker look in the fish eyes, starts to compare the human life through the existence of the fish. What the speaker found beautiful about the fish is that as the speaker looks into the fish eyes and start looking in a different way to the creature, she starts to identify a living creature instead of a creature that will die imminently. The speaker starts seeing the beauty of the fish when she start to compare the fish to a soldier, when she sees through the eyes of the fish the victories over death that this creature has won, and I believe that the speaker compares her own battles and victories to the one of this creature in order to survive. I believe that the “ personality” of the fish is humble, brave and that this fish have been battling for a long time for his life, that he has been involved in some sort of violence many times in order to exist. I also feel that this fish is tired of fighting and that he is venerable to the speaker
Emma's personality is largely shaped by the nature of her upbringing. Emma had no motherly figure guiding her as she grew up, due to the fact that her mother passed away at a young age, and her governess, Miss Taylor, became her best friend instead of an authority over her. At the start of the novel Miss Taylor gets married to Mr. Weston, leaving Emma with her despondent and hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse. Although Mr. Woodhouse often confines Emma to the house because of his paranoia of her being harmed, he gives her little guidance. Emma becomes accustomed to being the "princess" of her house, and she applies this role to all of her social interactions, as she develops the ability to manipulate people and control them to advance her own goals. Emma views herself with the highest regard, and feels competition and annoyance with those who threaten her position. Emma has much resentment toward Mrs. Elton, as Mrs. Elton becomes a parody for Emma's mistakes and interactions. Mrs. Elton's attachment to Jane Fairfax is much like Emma's attachment to Harriet Smith; both Mrs. Elton and Emma attach themselves to young women and try to raise their...
In Linda Pastan's poem "Ethics," the speaker recounts a moral dilemma that her teacher would ask every fall, which has been haunting her for a long time. The question was "if there were a fire in a museum / which would you save, a Rembrandt painting / or an old woman who hadn't many / years left anyhow?" and the speaker tells us through the theme that ethics and moral values can be only learned from the reflection which comes through experience and maturity. In this poem, imagery, diction, and figures of speech contribute to the development of the theme.
Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper