The Big Fish by Daniel Wallace - Essay Example

The novel revolves around a story of a young male character called William Bloom and his father the main character called Edward Bloom. At his father’s deathbed, William Bloom tries to understand who his father is through memories. He, therefore, tries to understand his father’s exaggerations and the impact in reality. The novel involves first-person narration; and the chapters involving “my father’s death” shows William planning his final discussion with his father, Edward Bloom, with a view of eventually understanding him.
In the novel, William Bloom uses a first-person narration literary style and this has made the storytelling capability very effective.

In chapter one of the novel, William Bloom uses first-person narration to explain the circumstances under which his father was born; his father was born during one of the worst summers, drought and famine were experienced in the land food was scarce. The story is also mostly told in the past tense, despite the first-person narration style. He also says that the birth of his father was a blessing because on that birthday clouds formed and it rained. William Bloom also uses first-person narration in the first chapter of the book to demonstrate the cordial relationship his father had with animals. He explains that cows and horses liked his father, and they followed him around, and a chicken once laid a mysterious small brown egg on his lap.

William Bloom also uses a lot of symbolism as indicated in chapter one of Big Fish. For example, he equates his father to a big fish to illustrate or symbolize his abundant knowledge. Edward Bloom read widely on Philosophy, Arts History, and other literary areas; hence, his knowledge was more than that librarian or any other person (Wallace 137).

The big fish representation of the father also illustrates his extraordinary ability to communicate with animals; for example, birds rested on his shoulders as he worked with his father in the field. William Bloom says that his father is a myth in the story; this symbolizes and explains the mysterious nature of his father because has never understood him. The adventures his father told him about were unbelievable and confusing for example; claims that he found and lost a dinosaur egg one day, and the day his father was born clouds formed mysteriously and it rained.

Conclusion
William does not understand his father Edward because he mostly wasn’t at home. The little he knows about his father was through the stories he heard over the years. As he watches his father die, William becomes desperate to know his father before death takes him but he recalls his father’s life through myths and legends he collected. Through these tales, William starts to understand his father’s great successes and failings. These tales enable William broom to reckon with his father, and he manages to say goodbye. Read More