Big Fish

Big Fish

by

Daniel Wallace

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Big Fish makes teaching easy.

River Girl Character Analysis

River girl is a metaphorical siren whom Edward sees from a distance in the water at several instances in the story. She represents hope, and emerges three times: first, in the place where Edward feels most at home, which is in the water; second, when he escapes the place that had no name and heads out into the world; and third, when Edward’s ship sinks during World War II. He follows her underwater to safety and thus escapes drowning.

River Girl Quotes in Big Fish

The Big Fish quotes below are all either spoken by River Girl or refer to River Girl. 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:
Ambition, Courage, and Personal Fulfilment Theme Icon
).
Part 1: The Day He Left Ashland Quotes

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.

Related Characters: William Bloom (speaker), Edward Bloom (William’s Father), Dog, River Girl
Related Symbols: The Place That Had No Name, Water and Swimming, Big Fish
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Big Fish LitChart as a printable PDF.
Big Fish PDF

River Girl Quotes in Big Fish

The Big Fish quotes below are all either spoken by River Girl or refer to River Girl. 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:
Ambition, Courage, and Personal Fulfilment Theme Icon
).
Part 1: The Day He Left Ashland Quotes

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.

Related Characters: William Bloom (speaker), Edward Bloom (William’s Father), Dog, River Girl
Related Symbols: The Place That Had No Name, Water and Swimming, Big Fish
Page Number: 49
Explanation and Analysis: