Instructions for the Fishing Stories Unit
1. Read all three works: “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” a short story by W. D. Wetherell,
“Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes,” a short story by Ron Rash, and “The Fish,” a poem by Elizabeth
Bishop.
2. Analyze symbols by considering the following questions: All three stories contain a common
action: struggling to catch an impressive fish and then letting it go. What does this action
represent in each of the works? What point is each author making through the use of this
symbolic action?
a. In “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” a short story by W. D. Wetherell, why does
the boy let the fish go?
i. Is letting the fish go a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
ii. Consider the last line of the text and explain what it has to do with respecting
the self. What does the boy learn?
iii. How can the reader apply this lesson to his/her own life?
b. In “Their Ancient, Glittering Eyes,” a short story by Ron Rash, why does Rudisell let the
fish go?
i. Is letting the fish go a good thing or a bad thing (consider Creech and Campbell’s
final response)? Why?
1. What are the similarities between the old men and the fish?
a. Consider the fact that the men are octogenarians (80 years old)
and would have lived through five major wars. Remember that
Rudisell took his spyglass from a German U-boat Captain.
b. Consider the description of the hooks in the fish’s mouth.
ii. Is the struggle between the men and the fish a fair fight?
iii. Take the first letter from Ancient, Glittering, and Eyes, and tell what that has to
do with respect.
iv. What lesson to the men learn?
v. How can the reader apply this lesson to his/her own life?
c. In “The Fish,” a poem by Elizabeth Bishop, Why does she let the fish go?
i. Is letting the fish go a good thing or a bad thing? Why?
ii. Consider the words Bishop uses to describe the fish and categorize them as
positive or negative.
iii. Whose “victory fill[s] up the little boat?”
iv. Is the struggle between the woman and the fish a fair fight?
v. If rainbows are a Biblical allusion to mercy, how does that fact connect with the
poem?
vi. What does the woman learn?
vii. How can the reader apply this lesson to his/her own life?
d. Tell what Rash and Bishop have to say about respecting the elderly.
e. Tell what Wetherall and Rash have to say about respecting the self.
3. Use the following thesis statement as the last line in your introduction: Ron Rash in “Their
Ancient, Glittering Eyes,” W. D. Wetherell in “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” and
Elizabeth Bishop in “The Fish,” all utilize a common symbol to reveal to their characters
important truths about respect.
4. Here is a suggested outline for your paper. The only organization that I will not accept is one in
which you discuss the works in isolation (everything you know about the poem, then
everything you know about one of the stories, etc.). Your purpose is to show how these works
are part of a larger conversation about their topics.
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
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Introduction
Body Section I: name the symbol that you allude to in your thesis and describe
how it appears in the works, especially when it functions as a positive thing vs. a
negative thing. Don’t tell too much about what the symbol represents. You’ll do
that in the next body sections.
Body Section II: Discuss how the works symbolize the idea of respecting the
elderly.
Body Section III: Discuss how the works symbolize the idea of respecting the
self.
Conclusion: Tell your reader how he/she should live his/her life based upon
what these three authors have to say.
Your paper must include quotes from the text to support your claims. These quotes must be
introduced properly, not just dropped in.
Refer to the authors by their last name in the body sections of the essay.
Speak in the present tense about all literary works.
This essay should be typed.