Essay Questions

How does the title of the novel relate to the story?

The title of the novel relates to the character of Edward Bloom. Edward Bloom is the big fish in the story, and he represents its symbolic meaning. "Big fish" symbolically equates to striving for greatness, not settling for the ordinary, always exploring for something more. The character of Edward is just that, from his birth on he was a big fish, always exploring and searching for ways to become great.

“A big fish in a big pond-that’s what I wanted. That’s what I wanted from day one.”

What is the significance of the story of Jenny?

Jenny is a character that is introduced as having the opposite qualities from Edward. He meets her living in a swamp, content with the way things are, reluctant to accept the change Edward proposes. They end up falling in love and settling in a home in Specter, but Edward’s nature doesn’t allow him to settle. This is detrimental to Jenny, and she ends up being surrounded by swamp once again, waiting and watching with glowing eyes out of her window. Her story serves as a warning against stagnation and against wait for the future without living in the present.

How can the magical ending be interpreted?

The novel ends with Edward Bloom transforming into a big fish and disappearing in the water instead of dying. Edward Bloom lived a fantastical, mythical life, so even death is too ordinary for him. It is an ending that symbolizes the immortality of a person through that which they have left behind, in the case of Edward Bloom, mythical tales of the life he lived striving to become a big fish.