Saving Fish From Drowning Book Report

Introduction: The novel Saving Fish from Drowning by Amy Tan follows the hapless journey of twelve Bay Area tourists destined for Burma, accompanied by the ghost of their dear friend Bibi Chen, who died under “mysterious circumstances” just before the departure. The journey continues in a downward spiral until eleven of the tourists go out on a misty lake one morning and disappear. Miss Chen, the omniscient voice of the book, is caught between two worlds and is along for this journey. It isn’t until the end of the book that readers realize many events that occur are actually a metaphor for human relations; and the central theme is that the line between reality and fantasy can be tricky to discern, and things can be vastly different from

Even if locals were to agree with the Americans, they couldn’t voice that, because they would be locked away by the government.
Without the guidance of Miss Bibi Chen, the group makes ignorant decisions that lead to them missing out on experiences that would have been truly memorable. What made the group choose to change the itinerary? No one was as knowledgeable about Burma as their friend Bibi Chen. I would have to assume that what they think they know about the country lead them to make changes. Their arrogant dispositions lead them to make some poor decisions, decisions in which lead me to cover my head in embarrassment. (294 words)
Passage 3: “The butchers and fishermen are usually not Buddhist,” Walter said. “But even if they are, the approach their fishing with reverence. They scoop up the fish and bring them to shore. They say the are saving fish from drowning” (162).
Response 3: At the time of this passage, the group was exploring Burma street markets when on their way out, they passed a pile of fish with their mouths still moving and bodies wriggling around. This troubles the tourists because they were under the impression that they were