The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop

Bishop’s use of personification in the poem can be said to be an essential part of its development because it is used to show the essence of the poem. It can further be said that personification, being an aspect where there is the humanisation or provision of human attributes to a creature that is not human, has been most effective in ensuring that the relationship between the fish and Bishop is described. The personification of the fish can also be said to be Bishop’s attempt to show the great admiration that she feels for the fish, considering the fact that it has lived for so such a long time in fishing waters without having been caught. While at first, Bishop looked upon her catch as a great accomplishment, worthy of an amateur, her personification of the fish afterwards is a sign that she ends up empathising with it. She says, “and victory filled up
the little rented boat....And I let the fish go. This is perhaps the reason why she ends up appreciating the life which the fish may have lived and decides that it would be wrong for her to haul in her catch, in the end letting the fish go. From her description, we find that the fish is well known in the waters in which she is fishing and that many others before her have attempted to catch it without much success. She states that the fish carried the hooks that were embedded in its jaw “...Like medals with their ribbons/frayed and wavering”. This makes the fish to not only be considered to be a majestic character, but also one which has, through its own resourcefulness, been able to elude capture for so long. But the fact that she, an amateur, has managed to catch it is a sure sign that after its ling struggle, the fish has finally lost its will to live, allowing itself to be captured. This, in Bishop’s mind, is a sign that the fish has those sensible feelings that can only be attributed to human beings.

Personification in the poem is a powerful tool which has been used to show that despite the fact that fish are always hunted for sport, they are also creatures with possible feelings. It can be said that the description of the fish by Bishop is an attempt to show that while she at first seemed to detest it, after she caught it, her feelings eventually change. The fact that Bishop for the first time comes to notice “his lip” marks a turning point in her initial view of the fish since she describes it in such a way that can only be attributed to a human being. The fact that she mentions the fish’s lip can be considered to be an attempt of evoking a feeling of respect for it, since it has managed to outwit most of those individuals who would otherwise have captured it. She states, “and then I saw that from his lower lip.... all their five big hooks grown firmly in his mouth”. In addition, Bishop describes the fish’s beard, and since in human society, a beard is often associated with wisdom, it can be said that she considers the fish to be wise. Moreover, the description of the fish’s beard can be said to be a reflection of Bishop’s perception of its being highly intelligent since it had managed to live in the same waters for many years, eluding capture while at the same time attaining the admiration of those people who wanted to catch it. It is a creature that values its freedom and it goes to great lengths, using its intelligence as well as its knowledge of its home waters to ensure that it remains free, a fact that Bishop, through her description, seems to greatly admire, “.I caught a tremendous fish/and held him beside the boat.

The use of personification ensures that the fish has been given the respect and value that it deserves since it has managed to elude all those who were out to get it. It is because of the respect and value that Bishop feels for the fish that she eventually decides that it would be best to release it. She feels that it would be unfair if she were to keep the fish as a trophy because in time, her memory of her moment with it would be eventually destroyed. The fact that the fish has managed to survive for so much longer than its companions is because of its sheer will to do so. Personification, throughout the poem, is used as a means of showing how much Bishop values the fish and how much the story of its life and eluding of capture has affected her. The main theme of the poem, which is admiration, is reinforced through the personification of the fish, since it enabled the reader to consider it as though it were also a human being with the most basic and essential of feelings.

Analysis: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Restored hope for Fredrick

In the novel Persuasion, Jane Austen attempt to consider the various aspects of influence that family and friends might pressure an individual into making decisions that are not good for him or her. This is exactly what happens in the novel, where Anne is persuaded by her friend, Lady Russell, her father, and the older sister to break off her engagement to Frederick, who is a clever and ambitious young man, but with no personal fortune. As a result of this, the two go their separate ways and it is only after some eight years that the two meet again (Austen, 12). The fact that neither of them is married is a testament of the love that they share; despite the fact that circumstances have changed for Frederick, who is now an eligible bachelor with plenty of wealth. While Anne regrets her decision to break off their engagement, Frederick, on the other hand, still hurting from her rejection, does his best to ignore her through his not allowing any personal contact with Anne (Fitzpatrick Hanly, 1001). The return of Frederick into her life seems to secretly restore Anne’s hope that they would get back together and she often feels hurt from the way he treats her as well as his attention towards other younger women of her social circle.

Determined to move on and make a new life

When the Crofts rent out her family home because of the debts that Walter, Anne’s father, sustains due to his lavish lifestyle, Anne chooses to live with her own life and completely ignore Frederick’s cold treatment of her. She avoids Frederick as much as possible determined that it is best for her to do so as she has no further hope of having him as a husband; not after her rejection (Austen, 24). This creates a situation where, despite the pain that she is feeling, she keeps on living her own life, even going to the extent of joining her father and her older sister in Bath, despite their low opinion of her. Her determination to move on and make a new life for herself is rewarded through her making the acquaintance of her estranged cousin, William, who develops an interest in her not just as family, but also as a woman (Vandersluis, 88). This helps Anne to come out of her shell and enables her to regain her pride not only in her womanhood, but also in her beauty, of which until William came into her life, she had not been confident.

Making her own decisions

The fact that she chooses to avoid any association with Frederick is the first important decision that she makes on her own as this enables her to think clearly about her life and future. Because of her consequent choices, she is able to regain some pride in herself, which she had lost during her period of separation from Frederick. Since she is able to make her own decision, her life opens up to new possibilities, and not dominated by her feelings of regret concerning her rejection of Frederick through breaking of their engagement. This circumstance enables her to begin her association with her cousin, William, but while the two of them would have made a perfect couple, she chooses not to accept his suit, because she has no feelings for him.

Review: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Healthcare in the Century: Review: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia: The need to succeed and to excel in every aspect of their lives leads many women, especially in the upper classes of society, to develop th...

Rethinking Afghanistan, Again by John Kerry

John Kerry mentions some of the hard decisions that President Obama has had to make since he became president concerning the war in Afghanistan. He states that the current administration inherited a problem which had very few viable options as solutions and this was the reason behind Obama deciding to send additional troops to Afghanistan in order to stabilize the country. One of the issues that he points out is that the United States has the responsibility to ensure that the Taliban, which is allied with al Qaeda, does not get a footing in Afghanistan because to do so would mean that al Qaeda once again has the resources to attack the United States. Thus, his speech suggests that it is essential for both military and civilian solutions to be found to the Afghan war so that it becomes possible for the United States to fulfill its responsibility of protecting its people from the threat of terrorism. Moreover, this speech seeks to justify the actions taken by the Obama administration to bring the war in Afghanistan to an end  using an approach that would be advantageous for both Americans and the people of Afghanistan.

Review of the "Once" by Morris Gleitzman

I have finished reading the novel, Once, which is a story about Felix (my favorite character), a Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied Poland during the Second World War. I think that this book is very interesting considering that it is a grim story of the events of the Holocaust which Gleitzman has artfully turned into one that is full of innocence. Some of the best written parts of the book are how Felix innocently interprets the events that are taking place around him both before and after he runs away from the Catholic orphanage where his parents had placed him for his own protection. When he gets a whole carrot in his soup, he sees it as an omen that his parents are on their way to get him. When he witnesses the Nazi burning books, he believes them to be librarians from another country who have come to clean out the old books from the library of the orphanage. The innocence that Felix once had is slowly stripped away as the novel progresses as he sees the horrors which even his innocent interpretations cannot explain. My favorite character in this novel as stated above is Felix because one is able to see his development throughout the novel as his innocence is taken away and realizes the realities of life. I think that this book would be much better if it were a bit more grim just to show the realities of what exactly happened during the Jewish Holocaust. Despite this minor detail, I still found the novel to be a good read and I would recommend it to anyone who would like to know more about what happened in Nazi-occupied Poland.