Such a Fun Age

by

Kiley Reid

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Such a Fun Age makes teaching easy.

Spoons the Fish Symbol Analysis

Spoons the Fish  Symbol Icon

Spoons the Fish symbolizes Emira’s meaningful connection with Briar—and Alix’s lack thereof. Briar loves fish, but Alix doesn’t know this. For the most part, she’s only interested in Briar when it’s convenient for her—or when having Briar by her side looks good for her business. In contrast, Emira takes an active interest in Briar’s life and cares about her zany, unusual interests for the simple reason that Briar cares about them. So, bearing in mind Briar’s obsession with fish, Emira arrives at Briar’s third birthday party with a goldfish in a bowl for Briar (Briar names the goldfish Spoons.)

Alix’s reaction to Spoons’s death further illustrates her complete disregard for Briar’s feelings. When Spoons dies suddenly, just before Halloween, Alix asks Emira to pick up a new fish on her way over—Alix wants to replace Spoons before Briar can notice that he has died. Alix’s mindset further illustrates how little she knows about her daughter. When Emira explains that stopping by the pet store will make them late for the Halloween recital at Briar’s ballet studio that afternoon, Alix brushes Emira’s concern aside, convinced that Briar doesn’t care about the recital and won’t remember it anyway. Emira consents, and it’s only later, when Alix comes across a pair of new cat ears in Emira’s purse (a costume Emira had intended to wear to the recital) and a text message from Kelley to Emira wishing her and Briar good luck, that she understands that she had underestimated how much Briar cared about the recital—and how much Emira cares about Briar.

Finally, Alix’s reaction to Spoons’s death also shows how misplaced her priorities are in a broader sense. Specifically, her reaction shows that she prioritizes outer appearances above inner truth. One of the main reasons that Alix wants to avoid telling Briar about Spoons’s death is that she doesn’t want Briar’s grief to ruin the get-together Alix is having that night with Laney Thacker—in short, Alix would rather lie to Briar and maintain the outer illusion of a happy, functional family life than appear less than perfect in front of others to validate Briar’s perfectly reasonable grief and share a learning experience with her daughter.

Spoons the Fish Quotes in Such a Fun Age

The Such a Fun Age quotes below all refer to the symbol of Spoons the Fish . 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:
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

As she turned the bowl so that the ribbon faced forward, Alix remembered. Yes. Emira had asked if she could get Briar a fish for her birthday. She’d asked both Alix and Peter days ago. Alix hadn’t considered it would be a real one, because she hadn’t really been listening, but here it was, gold and wiggling.

Related Characters: Emira Tucker, Alix Chamberlain/Alex Murphy, Briar Chamberlain, Peter Chamberlain
Related Symbols: Spoons the Fish
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

“Bri, look.” Alix picked up a pink ball from a bin of toys and tossed it down the hall. Briar gasped, overjoyed, and dutifully pumped her arms as she went running after it.

Related Characters: Alix Chamberlain/Alex Murphy (speaker), Emira Tucker, Briar Chamberlain
Related Symbols: Spoons the Fish
Page Number: 114
Explanation and Analysis:

Whenever Alix was afraid that Emira was mad at her, she came back to the same line of thought: Oh God, did she finally see what Peter said on the news? No, she couldn’t have. She’s always like this, right? Emira came upstairs as Alix finished washing her hands.

Related Characters: Emira Tucker, Alix Chamberlain/Alex Murphy, Briar Chamberlain, Peter Chamberlain, Laney Thacker
Related Symbols: Spoons the Fish
Page Number: 117
Explanation and Analysis:
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Spoons the Fish Symbol Timeline in Such a Fun Age

The timeline below shows where the symbol Spoons the Fish appears in Such a Fun Age. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Emira arrives at 11:45 carrying a bowl with a ribbon tied around it; a goldfish swims inside the bowl. Alix runs downstairs to greet Emira as Emira hangs her backpack... (full context)
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
...give Emira a raise; Rachel suggests an Edible Arrangement. That night, Briar falls asleep watching Spoons (her new goldfish) swim in circles. (full context)
Chapter 9
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Spoons dies the morning of Friday, October 30. Alix notices before Briar does and texts her... (full context)
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Alix calls Emira and asks her to pick up a new fish. Emira says they’ll be late to Briar’s ballet class if she stops by the pet... (full context)
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
When Emira arrives, she’s carrying a goldfish that looks totally different than Spoons, and she seems annoyed. Alix keeps her thoughts to... (full context)
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
...and Laney’s kid, Bella, arrive at 6:00. Alix tells herself that having Emira replace the fish was the right thing to do, since it’s important for Alix to give Laney a... (full context)
Chapter 10
The Quest for Meaning  Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
...really upsetting Emira is the fact that Mrs. Chamberlain lied to Briar about her dead fish. Emira remembers a time she witnessed Mrs. Chamberlain being a good mother. Emira had seem... (full context)
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
...had a bad day. Kelley did, too. They exchange stories, and Emira tells Kelley about Spoons and about Briar’s missed Halloween party. Kelley sympathizes. Then he tells her that even though... (full context)
Chapter 11
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
Things have been weird between Alix and Emira ever since the fish incident. Last Friday, Emira turned down Alix’s offer of a glass of wine. Emira’s coldness... (full context)
Chapter 20
External Behavior vs. Internal Truth  Theme Icon
White Guilt, Ignorance, and Redemption Theme Icon
Race, Class, and Privilege  Theme Icon
...think to ask Mrs. Chamberlain, since Mrs. Chamberlain isn’t around. The blue walls and endless fish enchant Briar. As Emira cares for Briar later that night, she thinks about how much... (full context)