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Part 1: In Which He Speaks to Animals
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Big Fish, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ambition, Courage, and Personal Fulfilment
Truth, Myth, and Immortality
Love, Flaws, and Acceptance
The Redemptive Power of Laughter
Summary
Analysis
Although it never snows in Alabama, it does snow the winter that Edward is nine. The snow comes down hard and fast, covering everything in ice. Edward and his father build a colossal snowman using a makeshift contraption with pulleys. The snowman is 16 feet tall and has wagon wheels for eyes. As the snow comes down harder, Edward’s father realizes they’re in a “situation.” The house is swiftly getting buried. A snowdrift even fills a bedroom and the roof starts to creak under the weight of the snow. They gather blankets and food and decide to go outside. They sleep in the trees that night.
William’s description of the snowman as 16 feet tall with wagon wheels for eyes informs the reader of how reality (a powerful snowstorm) and fantasy (the impossibly tall snowman) intertwine in these tales about Edward’s life. The tales are rooted in real events but embellished with fantastical elements that transform Edward’s life into mythical adventures that are imbued with metaphorical symbolism.
Themes
The next day, it’s stopped snowing, so Edward’s mother says Edward better get himself to school. As Edward’s walking, he passes by a man frozen in a block of ice. Edward nearly freezes himself. The school is buried, and only its weathervane peeps out above the snow. Edwards discovers the teacher sitting inside reading, and as they greet each other, Edward realizes he’s forgotten his homework so he goes back home to get it. William says it’s a “true story.”
The fact that Edward braves the extreme cold twice, determined to retrieve his homework, alludes to his perseverance in the face of a challenge. William’s postscript that this tale is a “true story” reminds the reader that even though the tales are clearly embellished, they’re rooted in actual events. William thus subtly prompts the reader to think about the metaphors in each tale and what they might symbolize.
Themes
