In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem, “The Fish”, the speaker goes into great detail to describe a fish that she catches. Her descriptions, however, lack objectivity. Her personal biases interfere with her overall perspective of the fish and her ultimate decision to let him go at the end of the poem. These biases are highly influenced by the speakers religious background. For starters, the speaker makes many references to biblical ideas that suggest she is influenced by her Christian religion. She often mentions flowers in her description of the fish. For example, she describes the “pink swim-bladder” (30) as a “big peony” (31) and his skin having “shapes like full-blown roses” (14). When speaking about the eyes of the fish she even specifically mentions …show more content…
The most obvious allusion is her comparison of the five hooks hanging from the mouth of the fish to a “five-haired beard of wisdom” (63). The speaker uses a human characteristic, a beard, to describe the hooks on a nonhuman being, the fish. Not only does she personify the fish which, gives him more Christ-like qualities but, Christ is also often depicted with a long beard protruding from his chin. In fact, there is no real evidence that Christ ever actually had a beard yet Christian’s attribute that characteristic when representing him. This is why not just anyone might understand her reasoning behind choosing to compare the hooks to a beard: those who are not religiously inclined do not have such influence on their everyday perspective. The same is true for her imagery of the fish “[hanging] a grunting weight, battered and vulnerable,” along with many other accounts of the fish which reflect narratives of the bible (7-8). This specific illustration mimics the tale of Christ dying on the cross. Yet another example of how the fish is representative of Christ to the speaker. Not to mention, she makes sure to point out that the fish is male, often referring to him by “his” (45). To her audience, the gender of the fish is irrelevant, but since she sees Christ within him, it is important to note. Such indicators are common throughout the speakers descriptions and are evidence of the obvious impact religion has on her outlook. It cannot be a coincidence that a majority of the speakers accounts can be interpreted
In Mark Doty’s “A Display of Mackerel”, Doty depicts a glorious group of mackerel perfectly united to suggest that humans should learn from them and act as a group to reach the same level of perfection. He describes simple mackerel on sale, but with the stunning image he portrays, they seem as valuable as gems: “Iridescent, watery/prismatics: think abalone,/the wildly rainbowed/mirror of a soapbubble sphere,/think sun on gasoline.” (9-13 Doty). The fish are remarkable in themselves, but their beauty supports the point of this poem, which is that there is “nothing about them/of individuality. Instead/they’re all exact expressions/of the one soul,/each a perfect fulfilment/of heaven’s template” (17-22 Doty). The earlier imagery creates a feeling
I am reading “The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, The story is about a young boy trying to choose between a beautiful girl and his passion of fishing. In this journal, I will be questioning and evaluating.
Save the Whales, Screw the Shrimp is an essay written by Joy Williams, about the overwhelming complacency that todays culture shows towards nature.Williams argues in a very satirical way, that todays culture has all but completely lost touch with what nature really is, and that unless we as a nation change our morals regarding the role that nature plays in human existence, we may very well be witnessing the dawn of our own destruction.
The development of McMurphy as a Christ figure deepends, when he leads the patients on a fishing trip. McMurphy takes the "twelve of us [patients] towards the ocean," (page 203) just like Jesus' 12 disciples, to test and strengthen their faith in him and empower them. Fish have also been an important religious Christian symbol, as the fishing trip is an important symbol of the novel. When the trip is over, the Chief describes the sense of change that most of the patients had and even claims that they "weren't the same bunch of weak-knees from a nuthouse anymore." (Page 215). This really shows the way McMurphy is starting to guide and lead the patients, just as Jesus lead his disciples.
I do not so much wish to emphasize the deconstructive rhetoric of this approach as the fact that religious texts lend themselves to creative readings that originate in the reader's experiences or historical circumstances. In other words, the history of Scriptural interpretation exemplifies the text's role as a space where emerging ideologies may be refigured and incorporated into an authoritative cultural tradition. One may think of the genesis of such readings in terms of Harold Bloom's notion of literary succession as "an act of creative correction," the difference in this case being that Anne Hutchinson's creative act involves reviewing the Scripture itself and deriving spiritual knowledge from a finite textual canon (Bloom 30).
Throughout A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean emphasizes the relationship between nature, art, and faith. The concise, simple sentence with which he chooses to open his story captures the essence of all one hundred pages: in his family, 'there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing' (1). Reverend Maclean believes that both fly fishing and spiritual belief are 'exact arts,' if such a term can exist without paradox. The Reverend holds the firm conviction that 'all good things ' trout as well as eternal salvation ' come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy' (4). This belief system obviously espouses a view of the world as meticulous and well-ordered: nature is an intricate example of perfection, painstakingly created by God over half a billion years; art, including the art of fly fishing, is best taught with scrupulous attention to form and detail; faith is best deepened through study of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, regular church attendance, and carefully written and revised sermons.
Through assisting her, he gains new experiences that contradict his traditional Christian teachings, which encourage him to be open-minded and bold as he challenges everything he believes. The Belly of the Whale demonstrates Antonio’s heroism by highlighting his courage to discover answers to his questions, even after he finds “only silence” (Anaya 233) at his first communion, as he realizes that he cannot find the peace in God that he had hoped for.
In the novel, Bless Me Ultima, written by Rudolfo Anaya, two different religions are introduced. The religion of Catholicism is the religion originally practiced by the novel’s main character, Antonio. Throughout the novel, the religion of the Golden Carp is introduced and causes a crisis of faith for Antonio. Antonio must learn to choose between the conventional values of the Church and the modern beliefs of the Golden Carp by comparing and contrasting the two religions.
Elizabeth Bishop's use of imagery and diction in "The Fish" is meant to support the themes of observation and the deceptive nature of surface appearance. Throughout the course of the poem these themes lead the narrator to the important realization that aging (as represented by the fish) is not a negative process, and allows for a reverie for all life. Imagery and diction are the cornerstone methods implemented by Bishop in the symbolic nature of this poem.
Flowers seem as the only things women have. Motif of flowers can represent the hope seen in the women of Gilead
The poet seems to share the same pain with the fish, observing the scene and enjoying the detail just like enjoying an artwork. The poet lets the fish go because she is totally touched by the process between life and death; she loves life but, meanwhile, is deeply hurt by the life. In the poem, the fish has no fear towards her; the desire to live is in the moving and tragic details when she faces the death.
A poem without any complications can force an author to say more with much less. Although that may sound quite cliché, it rings true when one examines “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Elizabeth’s Bishop’s poem is on an exceedingly straightforward topic about the act of catching a fish. However, her ability to utilize thematic elements such as figurative language, imagery and tone allows for “The Fish” to be about something greater. These three elements weave themselves together to create a work of art that goes beyond its simple subject.
..."Not a Real Fish: The Ethnographer as Insider-Outsider." In P. R. DeVita (Ed.), The Naked Anthropologist: Tales from Around the World (pp. 73-8). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
...e on a fish like this," he said. "Now that I have him coming so beautifully, God help me endure. I’ll say a hundred Our Fathers and a hundred Hail Marys" (Hemingway 80). In addition, "he also promises to make a pilgrimage to a shrine, the Virgin of Cobre, if heaven does come through and deliver the fish to him, or at least helps him bring it in" (Auer 63). Santiago, an avid Catholic, reaches out to the Higher Power when he is pushed to his greatest moment of need and desperation.
romance and love, it?s a very feminine image but then it is. said to be sick, so we instantly sense something is wrong. The rose could be damaged or hurt. I think the rose is playing the part of the woman and the worm is personified.