In Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish,” she tells of her experience with catching a fish. Although she seems to enjoy catching the fish at the beginning, we can see that she undergoes an emotional transformation towards the fish as she examines him at a closer perspective. Because her examination helps her to develop an appreciation for the beauty of the fish, the torture he has gone through, and the sympathy she feels for him, she finally sets the fish free.

By examining the fish at a closer prospective, Bishop becomes aware of its beauty. In the beginning, we can see that she does not really notice the beauty of the fish because she compares the fish’s skin to something that is inanimate. According to her, the fish’s skin is like “brown skin hung in strips like ancient wall paper” (87). By comparing its skin to ancient wallpaper, we see how she sees the fish: as old and distasteful. But as she looks at him more closely, she begins to see the living characteristics of the

From what we sees, Bishop undergoes an emotional transformation as she examines the fish she has caught at a closer perspective. By looking more intently at the fish, she goes from seeing him as an old-worn object to something brilliantly beautiful with life. By looking at the fish’s lip, she notices the torments the fish has been through his entire life. By her description of the fish, we see that she regards him as a living creature of nature with feelings. All this constitutes to her realization of the fish’s venerable position; therefore she set him free.

es the fish, we can see her sympathy develops towards him because she refers the fish as a “he” instead of an “it.” This shows that she sees the fish not of a mere object but of something with feelings. From her description of the fish, we see that she realizes that the fish is innocent and helpless because when she caught the fish on her hook, she says “he hadn’t fought at all. He hung a grunting weight, batter and venerable and homely” (87). The fish’s helplessness

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