Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Big Fish, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Ambition, Courage, and Personal Fulfilment
Truth, Myth, and Immortality
Love, Flaws, and Acceptance
The Redemptive Power of Laughter
Summary
Analysis
To William’s delight, Edward smiles and winks. Edward urges William to sneak him out of the hospital in a blanket. Without thinking, William lifts Edward into a wheelchair, throws a blanket over him, and they make a run for it. Sandra’s still distracted with the doctors and nobody sees them escape. Edward says they’re running out of time. They get to the car, and Edward tells William to ditch the wheelchair, saying they won’t be needing it where they’re going. Edward reaches out with a scaly hand, and pours a glass of water over himself, telling William to drive north to “Edward’s Grove” as Edward starts to gurgle.
In this final section of the book, William transforms Edward’s death into a myth, just as Edward would have wanted it. William finally realizes that Edward’s myths, or embellished stories, have profound value because they allow Edward to live on in a sense, immortalized as a mythical version of himself. Edward’s hands grow scaly and he craves water—showing that he is starting to transform into a fish-like creature.
Themes
They pull up by an oak tree on a mossy bank, just as Edward described. William carries Edward to the water, and Edward tells William to say goodbye to Sandra for him. All of a sudden, William’s arms are “full of the most fantastic life” and he realizes Edward hasn’t been dying all this time, but “transforming himself into something new and different to carry his life forward in.” He’s been turning into a big fish. Edward leaps out of William’s arms and darts away, “silvery” and “brilliant” with life, going “where the big fish go.” William hasn’t seen him since, but he’s heard stories about the biggest fish there ever was, even though nobody believes a word.
In this moving final passage, William completes Edward’s transformation from a dying man to an eternal mythical figure. Edward transforms into the big fish that he always saw himself as, and doesn’t die, but is reborn, full of life, and able to keep on swimming forever. This homage to Edward is how William makes peace with Edward’s death. Instead of wishing Edward were somebody else, William honors Edward’s personal quirks and remembers Edward the way he would want to be remembered.
Themes
