Jack DIede “We never know what we’ll catch till we’ve caught it” (pg 111)
A person’s time on this planet is filled with many different activities. From parents taking care of their children to businessman expanding their enterprises people are continuously developing. This is what makes life so meaningful, the development that a person experiences. Hersey shows us a story of a man who changes into loving fishing, and also of how fishing is a metaphor for life. Auden tells us a story of mankind’s journey which portrays the existence of man. Life is a journey and it allows us to change into the people we will become.
Throughout Blues Hersey tells us of the interaction between a fisherman and a complete stranger. They become extremely close overtime but at first they are not only strangers, but polar opposites. One of them has been landlocked their entire life, the other fishes everyday for only his own dinner. As their journey progresses the stranger grows to love the thrill of fishing and enjoys life on the sea. His friend is not surprised; through this we see that fishing brought to complete opposites together. The bond they made was over fishing a lot like the bonds people make throughout life. In this way it is clear that the journey of life is one that changes us and makes us grow as a person.
Hersey conveys a simple theme to us throughout the time he spends with the stranger. One theme that is consistently conveyed is that fishing is a perfect metaphor for life. That all activities that occur throughout life can be somehow related to fishing and that when you break life down to its simplest terms it and fishing have a lot in common. Sometimes in life and nature there extremely deceiving occurrences that lead to not only the underestimation of certain people but to the common overlooking of what could be a vital key to success. These little gems of life are all over and in fishing “the richest fields of vegetable plankton…and the fish feasting in a banquet there” (49). The stranger assumes that the plankton is useless but here we can see how sometimes the smallest and seemingly most unimportant aspects of life are vital to not only the food chain of fish but the continuation of their existence. Even more is discovered as the journey of life goes by.
There are many hardships and battles in life and these exchanges lead to the development of character and personality. Struggles and hardships make life real and give it a much deeper and more interesting meaning. A fisherman “caught a tremendous fish” and not only did he catch this fish but there was a very big struggle and epic battle full of blood and sweat. This man was at his rawest form and had to deal with a lot of extremely tough elements of nature. Nature stood in his way and not only did he conquer the elements he got the prize the fish, “and he let the fish go”. This exchange shows a very important part of life, development. Without it there is only consistency which in itself is not a bad thing but with the growth and maturity that this man displayed it is clear that fishing demonstrates the crucial aspect of personality which life offers. This is just another part of life’s journey.
Life is able to be broken down and very easily compared to fishing, but there are other ways of looking at the journey of life. Auden tells us of his travels through life and tells us in a more direct way how the journey of life occurs. His poem at times may seem dark but it is done so to show us how life is not all happiness. This is not to say that there is no happiness in life but one must learn to accept things and try to mature to the point where they take pleasure in the small things. This is an extremely vital part