Storytelling Theme In Big Fish

The collections of stories, “Big Fish” has an interesting take on the theme of storytelling. The book includes multiple tellings of a the death of Williams Bloom’s Father. William tells his father's death takes to bring dimension to their relationship. On the surface, he provides more information about the life, and eventual death, of his father. The death takes provide an multidimensional view on the value of William's relationship with his father and the theme of storytelling, as the detail along with comedic and mythic qualities become amplified with every telling.

The first death take provides a great deal of insight and is likely the least embellished of all the tellings. After the doctor brings the word of his father’s soon coming death,

Bennet, and the irony that the very old doctor is going to live longer that William’s relatively young father. The doctor is portrayed to silently exclaim: “‘Edward Bloom! Who would have thought! Man of the world! We all thought he’d live forever. Though the rest of us fall like leaves from a tree,” the old doctor thinks(107). While in the text, this is portrayed as the doctor's personal thoughts, it is quite obvious it is the feeling of all the characters, whether they admit so or not. While this take further expands on the telling of jokes to cover up feelings, we learn more about, as the above quotation suggests, the impact Edward Bloom has on the world around him. The reader learns of Edward’s father, and more of his business life. Most importantly, more information is given about his hometown of Ashland. This fits with the theme of bringing depth to the relationship between Edward and William; In this indeterminately short period of time William learns more about his father than he ever has

When looking down on his dying father, William describes his father's body: “Sheltered inside an oxygen tank at Jefferson Memorial Hospital, his small, emaciated body seemed bleak and translucent, a kind of ghost, already, even then.”(169) Edward is in far worse condition in this take, seemingly already dead, despite the doctors keeping his blood pumping. Then he, while weak, wakes up, and chats with William, providing a brief foundation to bond with his son. He manages to keep the shielding of his emotions to a minimum, letting that truth finally flow. “We're staring at each other, showing each other our last looks, these faces well take with us into eternity,” they both simultaneously think, staring into eachoters eyes for the last time. This is one of the first truly genuine moment Edward and William share, ultimately defining their