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Old Man
Big Fish
The titular big fish symbolizes the idea of constantly growing as a person and striving to meet bigger and better goals, just as fish grow as large as the pond they’re in. As narrator William…
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Water and Swimming
In Big Fish, water symbolizes abundant life—the unbounded possibility of adventure, places to explore, people to meet, challenges to fays, and ways to grow—and swimming symbolizes the act of living such a life. A…
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The Place That Had No Name
In the novel, the place that had no name represents how fear and an overabundance of caution can trap people in a small, unsatisfying life. When Edward Bloom leaves home as a 17-year-old to seek…
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The Swamp
The swamp that pools around Jenny Hill’s house as she waits unhappily for her lover, Edward, to visit her, symbolizes the deep unhappiness and stagnation that awaits all those who spend their life…
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