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Wisdom Through Adversity
The events described in Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish" take place in a matter of minutes, perhaps even seconds. Yet with the seemingly mundane action of catching and releasing a fish, Bishop constructs a complex query into the natures of knowledge and power (McCabe). Bishop uses the speaker's encounter with the fish to examine the interplay of assumption and truth, to muse on the meaning of victory, and finally to question the methods by which one acquires wisdom. Although the fish provides the starting point for these reflections, the speaker ultimately must choose to delve into a deeper truth alone (Upton).
Having caught the fish, the speaker holds him "half out of water" (Bishop 3), suggesting that something about this creature prevents him from automatically throwing it into the boat. The speaker notes that the fish is not and has not been struggling against him: "In the traditional battle between man and fish [. . .] the old and decrepit fish [.......

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Approximate Word Count: 1531
Approximate Pages: 7 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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