The Fish Dichotomy

Within Elizabeth Bishop’s The Fish, the Fisherman holds the fish in his hands, staring deeply with contemplation into the clouded and scratched lens of the eyes. Inadvertently, a shift of light causes a stir of the fish’s eyes, returning the Fisherman’s gaze. Yet, depth is understood by the Fisherman, who exalts this interaction to divine revelation. Similarly, all of us grasp for an understanding of personal experience. Fantasy replaces stark reality. Religion projects a personal distortion of events. However, the raw and grueling nature of truth reveals the imperfections ignored with perspective amnesia. Within the poem, the fish exists as both a warrior and priestly figure – secular and religion – to fully represent the facets of human nature

Venerable is defined both as respect conferred due to old age, as well as referring to a title given to a person of sanctity within the Church. Therefore, the actuality points to a clear shift and contrast between an image of struggle and willful indifference to the situation. It seems as though Bishop expects us to take both aspects into account. It is often, when faced with difficult situations, people willingly yield to their circumstances while silently fighting. The dichotomy of utilizing two perspectives therefore serves as an encompassment of the human emotion, which may be aggressive and violent while being expressed as silent and indifferent. Further, venerable exists as the first characteristic observation of the fish’s being by the fisherman, which cannot be solely described by physical attributes. On some level, the fisherman recognizes the dual nature of the fish – the physical experience and the intangible soul within. The fisherman gives credence to the belief that the fish may be both a symbol of war and

Religion becomes extended beyond boundaries of understanding, polluting realistic perception and thereby creating a projection on what really is. The fisherman justifies his actions, and their consequences, by seeking meaning through this change of perception. The oil spill at the end, as previously stated, provides the fisherman with a revelation about his person and relation to a higher power. However, the oil spill will destroy the lake. As much as the fisherman wants to believe he is redeemed, he has polluted the water and predetermined the destiny of the fish and the ability of nature to survive. He corrupts the exact source of purity which served as his religious experience. Therefore, the rainbow also exists as a sign of mortality – time will degrade, corrupt, and pollute everything to an eventual non-existence. This is further proven by fisherman’s disregard to stop the pollution - it continues to spill into the water as a “victory” of man over nature fills up his boat. Further, the fisher’s mercy for the caught fish is negated by the reality that this fish will die from the gallons of pollution that have poured into the lake. Rather, this act of mercy is an extension of his corruption and pollution of the mind by religion. The fisherman wanted to fish, regardless of the consequences, and therefore did as he pleased.