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Big Fish
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 man with an insatiable appetite for adventure, Edward Bloom has a strong affinity for water throughout his life. He sees himself as a big fish who doesn’t want to be limited by swimming in a small pond and perpetually seeks larger waters to swim in, so that he can grow—that is, so he realize his personal ambitions and continually level up to bigger and better challenges. Even when Edward is fighting cancer, he still loves to swim. And, when he can no longer swim, he wants to sip water. It’s almost as if the tactile experience of sipping water reminds Edward of the feeling of being alive.
Water and Swimming Quotes in Big Fish
The Big Fish quotes below all refer to the symbol of Water and Swimming. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1: My Father’s Death: Take 1
Quotes
“I wanted to be a great man […] I thought it was my destiny. A big fish in a big pond—that’s what I wanted.”
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Part 1: The Day He Left Ashland
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And the sun set, and the moon rose, and the water in the lake began to gently ripple, and in the white light of the moon then he saw the girl, her head breaking the surface a good ways out, the water flowing through her hair and back into the lake, and she was smiling.
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Part 3: Big Fish
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And that’s when I discovered that my father hadn’t been dying after all. He was just changing, transforming himself into something new and different to carry his life forward in. All this time, my father was becoming a fish.
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Get the entire Big Fish LitChart as a printable PDF.
Water and Swimming Symbol Timeline in Big Fish
The timeline below shows where the symbol Water and Swimming appears in Big Fish. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Prelude
...as a man.” They stop by a river and his father wades in to the water barefoot, smiling in a way that William hasn’t seen for a while. His father starts...
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Part 1: The Day He Was Born
...his father’s birth. Edward is born during a drought in Alabama. The food and the water have dried up, and the animals have died. A man goes crazy and dies from...
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...cloud, and her cries sound like distant thunder. Suddenly, a massive thunder storm erupts and water starts falling to the ground, bringing an end to the drought. Edward Bloom is born...
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Part 1: My Father’s Death: Take 1
...he doesn’t really know his father. William enters the guest room and gives Edward some water. He thinks that Edward—who’s hard to look at, with mottled, scabbed skin—looks like a flawed...
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Part 1: The Girl in the River
...he’s napping in the shady moss, he spots a beautiful river girl bathing in the water, cupping the cool water over her smooth, round breasts. Edward tries to stay calm, so...
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Part 1: In Which He Goes Fishing
...of both,” as that’s exactly what Edward tries to do, using mice for bait. The water starts bubbling around Edward, but he keeps fishing. Suddenly, Edward realizes he’s being pulled forward...
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Part 2: My Father’s Death: Take 2
...nap. Edward looks happy, sad, tired, and blessed—and sort of “curdled”—all at once. Edward drinks water shakily, dribbling a little and apologizing, with a pained look on his face. William reassures...
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...thought he’d spend today in the pool before because Edward likes the sound of splashing water. Slowly, Edward says “I’ll miss you,” and William responds in turn. William wants to ask...
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Part 2: He Goes to War
...which is bigger than his hometown. Edward is standing on deck, feeling good surrounded by water, when a torpedo rips into it and flings him across the deck as the ship...
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...under the oil-coated surface of the sea. Eventually, he sees the light break through the water and goes up for air in a clear spot, and emerges far away from the...
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Part 2: In Which He Has a Dream
...says there isn’t really, and the man ponders this deeply. He asks if Edward’s still swimming, and William says yes. Suddenly, the man raises his hands and shouts “he’s still swimming!”...
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Part 3: How It Ends
...doesn’t die yet. He starts swimming instead. He swims every day and takes to the water like a natural. His swimming is beautiful to watch, even with the lesions, scars, and...
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Part 3: My Father’s Death: Take 4
...realizes William really needs a joke right about now, wakes, briefly. Edward pleads for some water and says he’s worried about William. William tells Edward not to worry. Edward says he’s...
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Part 3: Big Fish
...where they’re going. Edward reaches out with a scaly hand, and pours a glass of water over himself, telling William to drive north to “Edward’s Grove” as Edward starts to gurgle.
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