Answers for "Big Fish"

Answers for “Big Fish”

1. What does the phrase “a big fish in a small pond” mean to you?
The phrase “big fish in a small pond” means that the other fish is not being with other fishes of the same size.

2. What is the purpose of Edward Bloom’s tall tale about the big fish and the wedding ring?
It implies that the son’s story would be similar to his father’s since both of them have a father-son relationship.

3. How does William Bloom as a boy feel about his father’s telling of the tale? How does this feeling change as he gets older?
He enjoys his father’s tale when he was young, but after he grew up, William Bloom felt that his father’s tale is embarrassing for both himself and his father.

4. Why does Edward Bloom feel the need to keep repeating the tale throughout his life?
Edward Bloom caught the biggest catfish ever known to a man when he was a boy.

5. What does the tale reveal about the relationship between Edward and William Bloom.
The tale tells me that the relationship between Edward and William Bloom was not very good as both of them had broke off direct contact after William Bloom’s wedding night.

6. Consider the following quote: “In telling the story of my father’s life, it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn’t always make sense, and most of it never happened, but that’s what kind of story this is” What stories have you been told that match this description? What is the effect of telling a story in this way?
Stories of someone’s encounter with supernatural objects or things like aliens or ghosts. It often leaves the thinking, not sure whether to believe or not to believe.

7. Does bending or exaggerating the truth for the purpose of conveying an entertaining story undercut the believability of such a story? Is a tall tale less valid than a straight reportage of the facts? Why or why not?
Yes it does. No, a tall tale usually involves some exaggeration which would allow the listener to step into the narrator’s shoes, feeling for himself how the narrator felt. Whereas, when you just narrate the facts, the listeners may find it boring.