Big Fish Character Analysis

Edward Bloom (William’s Father)

Edward Bloom, William’s father and Sandra’s husband, is one of the story’s two protagonists. Edward is about to die of cancer when the story starts, and William narrates the story of Edward’s life… read analysis of Edward Bloom (William’s Father)

William Bloom

William Bloom, Edward’s son, is the story’s narrator and one its two protagonists. While coming to terms with Edward’s impending death, William narrates the story of his father’s life as a series of metaphorical… read analysis of William Bloom

Sandra (William’s Mother)

Sandra is Edward’s wife and William’s mother. Edward and Sandra meet when Edward is at college in Auburn. A popular beauty, Sandra is dating a bully named Don Price at the time but… read analysis of Sandra (William’s Mother)

Don Price (Gang Leader)

Don Price is Edward’s romantic rival for Sandra during his college days in Auburn. Don is a bully who’s metaphorically described as running an evil gang, which in reality likely means a fraternity. Don… read analysis of Don Price (Gang Leader)

Jenny Hill

Edward’s love interest, Jenny Hill is a beautiful 20-year-old-woman with blue eyes and dark braided hair who lives in a town called Specter. Edward meets and falls in love with her when he is… read analysis of Jenny Hill

Dr. Bennett

Dr. Bennett is the Bloom family’s longstanding doctor, who has nursed Edward through his cancer. Dr. Bennett has become more like a friend to the family after tending to their medical needs for so long… read analysis of Dr. Bennett

Dog

Dog is a metaphorical beast who guards the boundary between the comforts of home and the world at large. In one of the story’s metaphorical tales, Edward has to cross Dog’s path to leave Ashland… read analysis of Dog

River Girl

River girl is a metaphorical siren whom Edward sees from a distance in the water at several instances in the story. She represents hope, and emerges three times: first, in the place where Edward feels… read analysis of River Girl

Karl the Giant

Karl is a metaphorical teenage giant who is perpetually hungry. Karl, who has been abandoned, wreaks havoc on Edward’s home town of Ashland until Edward seeks him out and soothes him with empathy. Edward… read analysis of Karl the Giant

Willie

Willie is an ageing man who is trapped in the place that had no name. He shows Edward around and explains that the place is where people who are too afraid to seek their… read analysis of Willie

Ben Jimson

Ben Jimson is an old man who runs a country store. Edward meets Ben after being brutally beaten and robbed, but will not accept “charity” from Ben. Instead, he tries to clean Ben’s store in… read analysis of Ben Jimson

Old Lady

The old lady is a woman with a glass eye who’s rumored to be a witch. She provides Edward shelter when he first arrives in his college town of Auburn. In one of the story’s… read analysis of Old Lady

Muriel Rainwater

Muriel Rainwater is a hefty, rich woman who seeks a girdle strong enough to hold her in. Edward meets her when he is working in the lingerie section of a department store, a phase in… read analysis of Muriel Rainwater

Jennifer Morgan

Jennifer is a three-year-old girl who wanders out into the street where Edward and Sandra live as newlyweds. The town is being terrorized by a vicious dog, and Jennifer is about to be eaten by… read analysis of Jennifer Morgan

Old Man

The old man appears in Edward’s dream about dying. Towards the end of his life, Edward has a dream about in which many people flood to his house and camp out on his lawn… read analysis of Old Man

Minor Characters

Jasper “Buddy” Barron

Buddy is Edward’s business partner in the sales firm he establishes, Bloom Inc. William tells the story of Edward’s first night in the adult world as Buddy would tell the story. Buddy emphasizes Edward’s tenacity, courage, ambition, and perseverance.

Karl’s Mother

Karl’s mother is a woman who can’t keep up with feeding her son, a ravenous teenage giant. She slips away in frustration one day, leaving Karl to fend for himself.

Man Even Older Than Willie

The man who is even older than Willie is yet another person trapped in the place that had no name. He tries to dissuade Edward from facing Dog.

Amos Calloway

Amos is a beloved local man in Alabama who died some years earlier. When Edward and Sandra are newlyweds, they buy Amos’s old house. The townsfolk, however, miss Amos so much that they snub Edward and Sandra and make life difficult for them in their new home.

Mr. Templeton (Sandra’s Father)

Sandra’s father is senile and obsessed with horse riding. Edward and Sandra visit him to inform him of their marriage, but he forgets almost as soon as they tell him.

Edward’s Mother

Edward’s mother is a woman who lives in Alabama. She gives birth to Edward during a drought.

Edward’s Father

Edward’s father is a man who lives through a drought in Alabama that ends when his son, Edward, is born.

Al is a shop owner in Specter, the town that Edward buys.

Wiley

Wiley is a local person in Specter, the town that Edward buys.

Big Fish

Daniel Wallace

Big Fish Characters