preview

Summary Of The Poem Fishing By Joy Harjo

Decent Essays

Systematic Shutdown
The entire world breaks down by ecosystems and the way those ecosystems function together determine the cohesive success of humanity and nature. Joy Harjo laces this idea fluidly throughout her poem titled “Fishing”. Harjo uses specific poetic elements to exhibit the increasing threat of destruction within ecosystems and the interconnectedness of humanity and nature. The multiple repetitions of the word “fish” embody the vulnerability of the abundance of prey (4, 6, 8, 12, 24). The threat within ecosystems is embodied through the continual use of “fish”. These fish not only represent themselves as being unlawfully preyed upon but also represent the collective term for prey in the poem. The prey within this scene are referred to as the prize especially if the “wisest and fattest fish” were caught (24). The significance of the prey is found within their role of their ecosystems. Where the fish seem to be vulnerable prey in the sight of the fisherman, the fisherman seems to be also vulnerable prey to the fish. The repetition of the word “fisher” or “fishing” mirror the hazardous menace of predators (3, 4, 11). While the fish are labeled the prey in this instance in the poem, the fishermen are commonly labeled the predator. Humanity is known in their role in any given ecosystem as the top of the food chain. This is explicated within the poem between the roleplay of the human hunting for the fish with all the necessary tools of a “fishing pole” (9) and

Get Access