In Big Fish, water symbolizes abundant life—the unbounded possibility of adventure, places to explore, people to meet, challenges to fays, and ways to grow—and swimming symbolizes the act of living such a life. A man with an insatiable appetite for adventure, Edward Bloom has a strong affinity for water throughout his life. He sees himself as a big fish who doesn’t want to be limited by swimming in a small pond and perpetually seeks larger waters to swim in, so that he can grow—that is, so he realize his personal ambitions and continually level up to bigger and better challenges. Even when Edward is fighting cancer, he still loves to swim. And, when he can no longer swim, he wants to sip water. It’s almost as if the tactile experience of sipping water reminds Edward of the feeling of being alive.
Water and Swimming Quotes in Big Fish
“I wanted to be a great man […] I thought it was my destiny. A big fish in a big pond—that’s what I wanted.”
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.
And that’s when I discovered that my father hadn’t been dying after all. He was just changing, transforming himself into something new and different to carry his life forward in. All this time, my father was becoming a fish.
Water and Swimming Symbol Timeline in Big Fish
