Compare And Contrast The Bass The River And Sheila Mant

The narrator best shows that he is more self-conscious because he cares deeply what others think about him. When the narrator and Sheila were on the boat ride he saw that his fish line caught bass, but not just a bass it was one of the biggest bass he has ever seen, “I pulled a penknife from my pocket and the line in half.”(Wetherell 4) This quote displays that he cut the line in which the bass was stuck on for Sheila because he was self-conscious of the fact that he has a passion for fishing. In order to not look dumb in front of Sheila, he cut the line and lost the fish. The narrator later regrets this when Sheila goes home with

Ultimately the narrator chose Shelia over the bass. He made his choice by listening to his heart and cutting the line to the fishing rod, which was hard to do because of how much he loves to fish. He also choose to do it because he really cared about Shelia enough to make his choice and it was also the way she looked in the moonlight and that also got him on board with what he will choose to do. He regrets his decision after the night was over because Shelia told him that she is getting a ride from someone else named Eric Caswell and he was crushed. Then, he thought about the bass and how that was the biggest bass he has ever gotten on his fishing line and he just cut it loose for someone that didn’t even let him bring her back and that thought haunted him for the rest of the summer. I have also regretted something in my life. It, was last year and I saw one of my great friends from primary school and he was with his other friends that he made at Rocori and I had a Volleyball tournament there and in my head I asked myself should I talk to him or should I act like I didn’t see him. That is when he walks right by me in the hall that we were going to, to play volleyball and him and his friend where both smiling at me when they walked by. And I really wanted to talk to him, but at the same time I was questioning myself a lot so I couldn’t get myself to say anything to him. So I chose not

The symbols of the story, mainly the fishing rod, the bass, and Sheila Mant, are symbols of the transformation the narrator undergoes. To begin with, when the narrator “automatically . . . mount[s] [his] Mitchell reel . . . and [sticks] it in the stern” (2) he shows that he is unable to consciously separate his love of fishing from his love of other things. By bringing his rod on a date with Sheila, his maturity is shown as being undeveloped due to his inexperience. Furthermore, the bass

He refers multiple times to fishing terms that the general audience may not be knowledgeable of such as “spinner” (“Once” para. 1), “hellgrammite” (“Once” para. 5), and “bass” (“Once” para. 5). These terms not only classify White as a fisherman but also suggest the importance or impact that fishing and the lake have on his life. By using logos in his writing, he gains credibility with his intended audience.

Woolf organizes her writing using various forms of syntax which contributes to the significance of the memory. The author’s portrayal of the setting is recounted with long, detailed sentences in order to illustrate its importance. The excitement of fishing is depicted as Woolf retells “Sometimes the lines would be handed to us; baited by gobbets cut from fish; and the line thrilled in one’s fingers as the boat tossed and shot through the water” (12-15). The author includes multiple semicolons not only to extend the sentence, but to also present similar ideas in a like structure. Notably, the author conveys tactile imagery to support the lengthy sentences with compelling details. The tossing of the boat and the touch of the fishing line embodies the exciting chaos the author had felt in the past. As a result, readers are then able to understand the specific attributes of Woolf’s memory that made the experience significant. Additionally, Woolf further develops the impact of her excitement as she describes “…and then- how can I convey the excitement? - there was a little leaping tug...” (15-17). Again, lengthy sentence structure helps to connect the images of her memory. The dashes communicate to readers a sense of the author’s internal thoughts, as if she was writing all that was on her mind. The dashes outline changes in the flow of the language, so that readers can note clearly defined shifts. They also symbolize the vividness of her memories, therefore the significance of the events in her situation. Unique from the majority of the sentences, Woolf includes declarative structure as she states “It was a perfect lesson” (25). The line stands out to the readers, amongst the other sentences, because of its length, which is intended to convey an idea directly. The

Sometimes our everyday experiences can strike us in ways that will influence our thinking in ways that might forever alter the way that we view our lives. In the short story “Fish Story,” Rick Bass primarily uses conflict, symbols, and the changes in a character to present a central theme reflecting the inevitability of our maturing thoughts and growing responsibilities that come incrementally with age. Gullason (1982) shares, “A short story represents a prose narrative usually concerned with a single aspect of personality changing or revealed as the result of conflict” (p. 222). We might interestingly find both of these dynamics within our weekly discussion’s short story assignment. Pigg (2017) explains, “The theme of a work of fiction is as much a creation of readers as it is for the writer because the user’s knowledge and beliefs play a part in determining the theme(s) they will recognize” (Attend Topic 4 Unit 2 [Video]). The writer of this week’s short story was likely to have known the theme that he intended to communicate while also recognizing the diversity of human thinking that gives us a myriad of perspectives. The “’Fish Story’s’ narrator is a 10-year-old boy in the early 1960’s living in rural Texas with parents who run a service station while their customer brings a 86 pound catfish creating a task to keep the fish alive until time to cook it” (Bass, 2009, pp. 1-2). As we recall our childhoods, most can likely remember how our imagination and fantasies began to collide with the realities of life, and this overreaching concept might allude to the theme of this piece of work. The narrator tells us how “He grew dizzy in the heat and from the strange combination of the unblinking monotony and utter fascination of his task until the trickling from the water hose seemed to be saturating and inflating the clouds as one would water a garden” (Bass, 2009, p. 2). As the narrator embraces the mundane task, his daydreams seem to symbolize the innocence of his youth. Later the story’s narrator “speaks less of childhood than of the general nature of the world in which we live, while contemplating that those days were different – we had more time for such thoughts, that time had not yet been corrupted”

In the short story “The Bass, The river and Sheila Mant,” one of the main characters is portrayed as self centered due to her inability to pick up on how the narrator feels about her. In the story Sheila is very open with what she would like to do rather than having any interests in the narrator. Sheila explains to the narrator “I went to a party there. These fraternity men Katherine says could get in there if I wanted. I'm thinking more of UVM or Bennington. Somewhere I can ski.” Sheila continues to be characterized as very self centered because she is perceived as only interested in herself and appears to lack interest in what the narrator would like to do. Sheila continues to be depicted as self centered because she complains about how

I was always insecure about something my whole life. I was scared to talk to “cool kids” because I would stumble on my words or say something dumb. I would avoid going to social events because I wasn’t good at talking with people and was afraid that I would set a bad impression when meeting new people because I never knew what to say. Sometimes I was even insecure about my appearance. Was I wearing something ugly? Is there something in my teeth? Is my hair a mess? By being afraid of what others thought of me and not being fully confident in myself, I was showing insecurity. Being insecure can be a bad thing but it could also be a good thing as it teaches you to be happy with what you look like and who you

In fact, he says, “She is prettier than a largemouth bass”. While this may seem like an odd compliment cleary he finds her more attractive than his favorite past time. In the end, the narrator asks Sheila Mant on a date. The narrator is very young, and he would probably not ask out Sheila had she not been attractive. The second reason the narrator should pick the girl is because he stares at her for too much time. He makes an effort to be outside when she is outside and to show off by swimming laps. This is a proven effort of showing off because as previously stated he is very superficial and this physical feat of swimming is an attempt to seem more attractive. He is very obsessed with her to the extreme of knowing all her various emotions. He know her emotions from the way she idles on her dock. This is not the only instance of stalking in the narrator routine, he also partakes in viewing from the bushes. This proves how much he is obsessed with her because bushes are not very comfortable and it is most probably a last resort solution to view her without be seen. Although there are a plethora of reasons to choose Sheila Mant, there is a myriad of reasons to pick the fish instead. The first of which is the massive

While passage two also serves to inform about the different aspects that exists in the swamp, the author’s engaging tone is apparent in their constant use of listing descriptive adjectives to instill a sense of danger and awe of what an experience in the swamp would be like if one were to witness it themselves. Unlike in

The tortured will-I’s, won’t-I’s, the agonized indecision over what to say, the false starts toward her house and embarrassed retreats.” This indicates the first of many tough decisions to be made by him. He is very nervous at first but finally decides to do it. He is using details of the characters emotions and thoughts as well to show the decision which lied ahead. The next time he has to make a quick thinking decision is when he is with Sheila on the boat. She doesn't like fishing and he is a big time fisherman so he has to decide what to do with his fishing gear to not embarrass himself. “What I should have done, of course, was push the canoe in closer to shore and carefully slide the rod into some branches where I could pick it up again in the morning. Failing that, I could have surreptitiously dumped the whole outfit overboard, written off the forty or so dollars as love’s tribute.” He decided to stick with the safe route and keep the fishing stuff in the boat and hide it. Which in the end was probably a wise decision the other being possibly dumping his date into the water and his pride going with it. The third and final quote is Dealing with probably the biggest decision of his night. While canoeing to their final destination the line all of a sudden goes tight and he

The narrator’s affection for a girl named Sheila Mant in Wetherell’s short story and her actions foreshadows what later happens. On the way to the concert, there was largemouth bass flipping around in the water, and Shelia made a face and said, “I think fishing is dumb. I mean, it’s boring and all. Definitely dumb” (Wetherell 33). The narrator is passionate about fishing, and he finds out the girl he has an enormous crush on did not have the similar enthusiasm for fishing as he does. He finally had the courage to ask out the girl he adores and finding this out foreshadows the situation is not

He doesn't want her to figure out he loves fishing, “ She hadn't seen my equipment yet. What i should've done, of course, was push the canoe in closer to shore and carefully slide the rod into some branches where i could pick it up later in the morning”(pg.3 Weatheral). He doesn't want her to see his equipment because she doesn't like fishing and is trying to do everything possible to impress her, even if that means pretending to be someone else. He made a mistake by choosing a girl over his passion, “i pulled a penknife from my pocket and cut the line in half. With a sick, nauseous feeling in my stomach, i saw the rod unbend”(pg.5 Weatheral). The main character chose a girl over his passion which is fishing, and now has that sickening feeling of guilt and regret he feels in his chest that he can not escape. He doesn't deny he made a mistake, he says he will never make the same mistakes again. The theme of this story is to always be yourself and to not act any differently around anyone else you're trying to impress, as it just hurts you in the end and creates more endless pain

In the short story “Greasy Lake”, we see the crucial role a setting can play in literature. We can also see how closely the plot and characters are related to a symbol within a story. When looking at the lake as a symbol and not just a setting, it

Maturity in Decision Making In both the poem “Fifteen” by William Stafford and the story “The River, the Bass, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, maturity plays a vital part in decision making; the more mature the person is, the better decisions they make. However, making important decisions can also make someone more mature. In the poem Fifteen by William Stafford, the protagonist made a decision that brought his maturity to whole new level. By making the decision of restraining his desire of stealing the beautiful motorcycle found running on the ground, and helping the owner of the motorcycle who was injured in the accident, he turns himself into a better and more mature person.