"The Fish" response paper

Finn McNally
The Fish Response Paper
In the Poem The Fish, by Elizabeth Bishop, the characters do not behave in believable ways. The Fish does not put up any fight even though it is evident that it has before and is capable of breaking lines and getting away. The fisherman also does not behave in a completely believable way because a fish like that should be kept and should be more of a trophy. It is clear that this fish has evaded many other fishermen and it would seem like a great feat to catch this fish. In analyzing this poem I think I saw how the author has a great deal of respect for the fish and the ways of nature. She uses terms that someone not familiar with fishing would probably not know. For her to know these things means that she does fish and she knows what it’s like to catch fish and maybe she has been in that situation before. For that reason I think that this poem is sincere and has real meaning to it.
The tone of this poem goes from being very proud, then sullen, then finally to humble when she lets the fish go. The single line that represents the overall spirit of the poem would have to be the final lines 74 to 76 “- until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.” It is these lines that you can see the respect that the author has gained for this fish be examining it throughout the poem. There is a shift in tone in line 65, “I stared and stared and victory filled up the boat.” The act of catching the fish can’t be the victory because the author already did that so it must be something else. I think the victory means something else, possibly a victory for the fish for being let go. At the end of the poem I think the world is more orderly because the fish is let go and back in the water and the author is on the boat where she started. There is no conflict with keeping and killing the fish and no problems with the author losing the fish because she threw it back on purpose.
This poem is ironic for one reason because the fish does not fight. It has given up even after fighting so many times before. Another example of irony in this poem is the fact that the author released the fish at the end and still claimed it to be victory. I think the author claimed it to be a victory because it was both a victory for the fish as well as the author because the fish got let go and the author was able to do that.
I enjoyed this poem because of the descriptiveness of it. Bishop paints a picture in my head with every line in this poem. I enjoyed the similes and the descriptive imagery. The author was able to turn a regular fish into an almost majestic creature just be describing it in detail throughout the poem without ever telling how the author actually felt. I wonder why the author decided to let the fish go. I think it was because the author learned to admire the fish and almost pity it for giving up the fight after it had so many times before.

Response Story of an Hour

Response Paper
Kate Chopin Story of an Hour
Kate Chopin’s Story of an Hour is a short yet powerfully descriptive story of a woman (Mrs. Mallard) who learns that her husband is killed in a train accident. At first she is sad but goes on to realize that she is now free of the oppression that her husband had over her. She is relieved but goes on to die of heart failure when she finds her husband is not dead. The characters believe in believable ways. The story was written in 1894 and in that time it was more common for the male to control their wives. This was the time when divorce was very rare and taboo. The fact that Mrs. Mallard disliked her husband and was relieved when she found out he was killed is believable especially because at first she was very sad and crying before she really thought about the situation. It is believable as well that Mrs. Mallard died when she saw her husband because it not only was it shocking and a letdown but also because she suffered from a bad heart.
One moment that really shifts the tone and energy of the story is in paragraph eleven when she whispers “Free, free, free” under her breath. This is when the story shifts from her being sad and depressed to her being uplifted and realizing that this was actually a good thing in her life. After this point in the story, Mr. Mallard’s death goes from being a bad thing to being a good thing and a new beginning for Mrs. Mallard. At the end of the story in think the world is less orderly because she at the beginning of the story everyone is alive and happy but in the end one person is dead.
An indirect political statement that this story can make is the time period and how it related to women’s rights. It is obvious that she was not happy with her husband but due to the time period and its customs did not allow woman to have rights to do what they truly want to do. Mr. Mallard’s death was the only way that she could really be liberated from him and allowed to do what she wanted. It is ironic that Mrs. Mallard died right after she was liberated from her husband. The fact that she died of “joy that kills” is ironic because in this situation you would think that she would be happy to see her husband alive and well but actually she was not and died from that.
This story reminded me of the movie “The Color Purple.” It was not as intense as in that film but in both stories the wife is unhappy with their husbands and want to leave but cannot for one reason or another. In Chopin’s story it was because that was not an acceptable practice. Overall I enjoyed this story because it was very short yet descriptive and it ended with good irony at the end.
One thing I wonder is why and how Richard got the information wrong about Mrs. Mallard being killed. I think it may have been an honest mistake because technology and records were not taken as well in 1894 or maybe it was another Brently Mallard who was killed on that train.