Please post your character responses here.
For your character profiles you should do the following:
-List the important details about the character: who are they, what are the important details a viewer should know about them (how their name impacts their importance (example: Bloom--what is blooming), and the specific moments where they support a symbol or a motif.
-These responses should be 7-9 sentences in length but more to the point they should adhere to the rules of good writing: they should be clear, direct, make a point, contain depth of thought, but also ooze a sophistication of expression (that does not mean that should be over-written, but I would encourage you utilize good word choices).
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Edward Bloom is “quite the catch.” He is a well liked man for how he spices up a story, which makes everything more fascinating. He has charisma and determination when he sees what he wants, such as his girl or the fish. On his journey to Spector, he takes the road less travelled because he feels “the more difficult something is, in the end, the more rewarding it is.” On his way home from Spector, he loses the key to his old hometown, but returning back to Spector on the road less travelled, he finds it. Finding the key makes Ed realize that his destiny is to return and “make other men rich.” Finding the key indicates to Ed that he has the ability and wants to unlock his old life in Spector, and that’s what he does.
Ed has always been the fish he has talked about, and finally when he dies, he blooms into it and becomes what he always was, a very big fish. Usually the blooming of objects indicates that this is their final stage until the stage of death, and then the process of creation begins again. When Ed blooms into the big fish, he will always remain the immortal fish.
Edward Bloom is an odd character. It seems throughout the movie that he doesn't always know what he wants and how to get it. When he appears at his future wife's sorority home, he only wants one thing, but he doesn't understand that he can't just show up and say "Hi I'm Edward, and your going to be my wife." When he is traveling with Karl he takes a different road because he knows he can't die. But his recklessness leads him too Spectre, where he meets the witch as a young girl. At the beginning of the movie he meets the witch and she shows him how he is going to die. At the end of the movie Edwards son, William, tells him the story of his death and the Father said he was right. I think that he saw the son telling him his death and not as much his death itself. The witches eye is a motif that represents the relationship between Edward and William. The Doors are a recurring object in this story. When he goes to meet his wife, Sandra, her door shuts when she tells him she is engaged. The witch also opens the door right when Edward walks up to it.
The Big Fish
Edward Bloom
Character in the movie
Tells incerdible stories about things that seem unbelieveable
William is his son
At the end before he dies his son says that he is “a very big fish”
Shoes
A motf (a reacuring object)
Hung up on a telephone wire by Jen in spectrum and is hung up on a telephone wire during the storey that Will told Ed as he was dieing
I thought that in the movie when Jen hung up Ed’s shoes on a telephone that hung over spectrum it meant that he would stay there forever. I believed this because on that same telephone wire there were many different shoes, they were the shoes of every single person I town. The shoes repersented how you could not escape from the town and that is what Edward bloom wanted to do. He wanted to get out of small towns and make it in the big city. When you are trying to change soemthing about your life it is hard. The town of specturm seemed like a relaxing place to go after you lived your life, and the shoes finalized your living there. At the end when Ed is dying Will tells the storey about how he goes. He is brought to a River and Ed gives his shoes to Josaphine who throws them up and hangs them onto a telephone wire. This is important because when he is about to die and be at piece his shoes gets hung and it seems that just like joining the city of Spectrum it means that he is know ready to rest in his life.
THE FISH
Symbol
Repersent Edward Bloom
In the beginning of the movie Ed is trying to caught the fish but by the end of the storey Ed becomes the fish
Many things in the movie come in full circle
The fish also repersents Ed by saying that he is a big fish in a small pound
Ed leaves his town to prusue greater things
He also referes to getting his wife to marry him as “catching her”
Edward Bloom is a big fish in a small pond. Throughout the story he tells his story. His story is ridiculous at times, however, these are just his extra 'details'. Ed strives to get what he wants but always keeps others in mind while he is doing so. For example, when he finally finds Sandra Timpleton, she is with Don Price. Don is from the same town as Ed and was always outdone by Ed. Rather than going and forcing them to separate in order to get Sandra with him, he follows Sandra's request that he does not fight Don. He takes 'the beating of his life' and as a result, makes Sandra fall in love with him. Therefore, Ed gets what he craves most but also saves everyone's fealings (expect Don in that particular situation).
Ed's stories seem ridiculous but they are really just more memorable. Each detail makes his stories interesting, although not always truthful. By telling his stories with details, Ed is becoming immortal. These stories become legacies and Ed forever lives on.
Edward bloom is a man from the town of Ashton, Alabama. Growing up he was always the most curious and excited boy in the town. He always had a smile on his face and he wanted to help anybody anyway he could. Through the years he everyone gave him attention instead of his colleague Don Price who was always in Edwards footsteps. Throughout the movie Edward is telling stories about when he was a kid and always embellishes them some to make them more interesting and exciting. Edward is definitely one of the protagonists in Big Fish. It works out that all the people Edward meets in his stories and journeys show up at his funeral and at this point the son, William Bloom realizes that his stories were not that far from the truth. Edward’s personality is one of the main reasons why he is so likeable by everyone, and the people who are mad at him or displeased with, he will go out of his way to change that so that they will like him.
Edward Bloom is a really big fish. He is the main character in the movie. It seems that he keeps searching for his destiny, but it always seems to be eluding him. Along the story of his story, he meets characters that are additionally searching for their identity. Karl, a giant, is one of these voyagers’s. Edward meets Karl, and concludes that he has whole different life he could be living. So Edward decides to put Karl first. His determination however leads him to meet his wife. When he encounters her though, it seems the ring is on the uncatchable fish again. The rock standing in his way is Don Price. This moment marks his “blooming process.” He is now a flower about to face a hurricane. Edward takes the beating of his life but eventually Sandra (The Sun), breaks up with Don and marries Edward. So even though this may seem ridiculous, it is what a fish has to live through every day. This story represents the key to Ashton. Remember, something will always be there for you, in any way, shape, or form.
I'm not sure if this is where we're supposed to post this but I'll do it anyway...
The poet turned thief Norther Winslow has everything in Spectre: a beautiful home surrounded by friendly people, adoring fans, and all the food he could ever need. Yet for Norther, every day is the same. He sits in the same spot next to the lake beneath a tree for ten years during which time he is only able to create three simple lines of poetry. Norther Winslow has become bored with life. When Edward Bloom decides to leave Spectre, he opens Norther's eyes to a world filled with opportunity and promise. He makes the decision to leave as well and go in search of adventure and vows to do something new each and every day. This quest takes him to Europe, Africa, Asia, and half of South America. Eventually, he and Edward Bloom cross paths again in Texas where Norther is preparing to rob a bank. He does this, not only for the money, but for the sheer excitement of the thing. He has become a daredevil and a risk-taker since leaving Spectre. It seems as though every time he crosses paths with Edward Bloom, Norther has a life-changing experience. Edward informs him that Wall Street is where the money is to be found. Norther again decides to move on and head up to New York City in order to make some money and have a good time. His risk-taking spirit serves him well there and he is quickly able to make his first million dollars. Upon reaching this milestone, Norther sends $10,000 to Edward in return for being his “career advisor.” This proves that Norther is not one to forget a favor and is also a generous man.
On Edward’s voyage to unearth his destiny he runs into Ashton’s monster. However this being is no monster. He is just a man who is confused in the world he is living in. He does not know what kind of life he could be living in. So Edward decides that he should go with him. Edward realizes that they are both too big for the small town of Ashton. He thinks he has a better and bigger life ahead of him.While on their journey they arrive at a circus. The ringmaster Amus notices the capability of Karl and tells him he belongs their, that this is his forthcoming. Edward also sees the potential in Karl and concludes that he should join. Karl than signs the contract and is now a circus giant. He now has the key to his life’s purpose, a performer. Karl now has fulfilled what is in his name. He can now be big in a place where big is accepted.
Edward Bloom is a story teller. He tells everyone he meets about his past life and the strange and fantastic events that he has been through. Perhaps it is this attribute, exaggerating his stories, that makes Edward so likable to others.
Edward leaves his home town, because he feels like he was meant for something more. As he leaves the local 'witch' tells him, "The biggest fish in the river gets that way by not being caught". Edward commits to this strange statement through he proclaimed he had no idea what it meant. Edward finds himself staying in Specter for awhile. But after he is told that he is, "Quite the catch", he says he must leave Specter and will return when he is meant to. Edward does not want to be caught, he wants to be that Big Fish he was meant to be and he will not stay in one place and find himself 'caught'.
Right from the beginning Edward Bloom confides in us that he believes he is meant for bigger things. He is always taking on some new adventure, but this is partly because he shows no fear. He sees how he will die at a young age and seems content with it. Through out the movie his character did not seem to change as much as other people's did. He was still the same Edward Bloom, who was always willing to help a friend in need,and he still viewed the world as a whole new adventure each and every day. Even though he was so desperate to get out of Spector in the beginning of the movie he still returned to help fix it, when it had become nothing more than a deserted old town. Once he has returned it to it's old glory he then leaves and does not return until his funeral many years later. He dies a big fish just liked he always hoped he would become. He saw the world and the many interesting people that make it up, and his story became that last joke that no one can seem to forget.
*I would like to leave one last comment. If Spector is heaven in this movie then why is it that it falls to ruin halfway through the story. Is it what Edward must do inorder to make it into heaven in death? Is that why he was not truely ready for the key to the city in the beginning of the movie but was worthy of it in the end? Also why did Jen make the comment that he was late when he arrived at her door step after those many years? If Jenny Hill was in fact the witch shouldn't she have known exactly when Edward Bloom was supposed to die. In the beginning when he first came to spector they said he was early and that made sense, but did Edward really live longer than he was initially supposed to? The only story we never heard was how he was supposed to die, that is why I have been asking these questions all night.
Josephine is always there for Will and Edward. When no one is patient enough to listen to Edward’s stories Josephine is by his side listening to everything he says. She has the imagination and open mind unlike Will. She finds his stories interesting and exciting. Without Josephine getting Edward to tell his stories again, Will never would have opened his imagination to his father’s stories. She came in with a new perspective. She hadn’t heard the stories before and she listened carefully, hoping it would benefit Edward and Will. Josephine came in and was ready to try and reconnect Edward and Will. That was her goal along. Josephine knew that Will didn’t agree with his father, but she also knew that deep down inside, Edward was one of the most important people to him. She just needed to bring that side out of him. In the end, she helped Will realize that his father only ever had good intentions and almost always did the right thing for his family.
Sandra Templeton is Edward Bloom’s true love. Time stopped when he first saw her and allowed him to move close to her in that period. But then time sped up again to catch up with itself and he lost her. Edward then vows to find that girl and marry her. In the beginning of the movie, in Will’s time, Edward Bloom comments that, “The only way to catch an uncatchable woman is to offer her a ring.” So in his story, when Edward first meets Sandra he tells her that he is the one destined to marry her. Although she is engaged to be married to Don Price, Edward persistently offers himself to Sandra and as a result, he finally wins her. Sandra supports the aphorism of Edward’s statement and motif of the wedding ring.
Sarah, in Will’s time, supports Edward and his symbolism. When Edward is soaking in the tub, he says, “He was drying up”. Sarah then tells him, “I will never dry up”.
In the end, before Edward Bloom ‘dies’, in the story Will is telling, Edward passes by his wife, tells her that she is “His girl in the river”, and gives her his wedding ring. Throughout the movie there are appearances of a strange woman who only comes to Edward when he is or is near water. He must be referring to this woman. But the younger version of the witch told us that the woman looks different to everyone. The fact that Sarah is the shape that this woman takes represents how Sandra/Sarah is Edward’s ‘only girl’.
When Edward sees the witch at the beginning of the story, she shows him how he is going to die. This causes Edward to be reckless and not care about where he goes or what he does, because he knows that he can’t die. This is why he takes the road less traveled, and this causes him to meet the witch in her younger years, Jenny. Jenny throws his shoes on the wire so he can’t leave. When Edward returns to specter he saw the witch again, and broke her door. The door breaking relates to the door motif. When he meets the witch the first time, she opens her door before he even knocks. But when he meets her the second time he breaks down her door and then fixes her entire house, and the town of Specter along with it.
Stories are what make up the movie Big Fish. Every fictional story that Edward Bloom says, tells more about himself than any regular, boring, but truthful story would. He is a very big fish and no one can say otherwise. Stories that aren’t real are the stories that make us think. Edward Bloom makes people think when he tells his stories. They might not be perfectly true, but there is truth to every one. We are introduced to the different characters through stories and they help us define those characters. When these characters show up at Edward Bloom’s funeral, in the ‘real world’, we know all of their stories and we know what part they played in Edward Bloom’s life. As Will is telling the story of Edward Bloom’s death, Edward describes these characters, his friends, as: “The story of his life”. William Bloom believes that every story his father has ever told him has been a fabrication of his life. All Will wants is his father to tell him the true story of his life because he believes it will allow them to make one last connections before Edward’s passing. Towards the end of the movie however he begins to realize that more elaborated stories are what we remember the most. They become imprinted within us, and as we travel so does the story, allowing it to bloom into something more.
William is one of the main characters in the movie. William is kind hearted towards his wife Josephine and his mother, however, has a rough relationship with his father. William talked to Edward Bloom, his father, for the first time in three years when his father became sick with cancer. To William, his relationship with his father feels like “strangers who knew each other very well.” William broke off communication with his father because of his doubts. William is a doubter. Edward tells stories with extra ‘details’. William does not believe the details in these stories and therefore takes the entire story as a lie. He doubts his father has the power to tell the full truth rather than distorting it. His relationship with his father was completely ruined because of this simple doubt. However, the doubt is really helping William bloom into a man just like his father. He realizes the true value and guidance these stories had and begins to except them. The movie began with Edward telling the story of William’s birth (with added details), and ended with William telling Edward the story of his death with some added details. William eventually passes the stories down to his kids. This forever continues the legacy of Edward Bloom.
Amos Calloway-
After a supposed giant menaced some local farmer’s livestock, Edward Bloom offers to get rid of him. However, after meeting the giant, they both realize that they are both just simply too big for the small town of Ashton. After traveling away with Karl the giant, they walk into a circus. The circus ring-leader, Amos, is extremely interested in Karl and his ridiculous height and is intent on adding him to the show. Amos offers Karl a job, Karl accepts. Amos helped Karl find where he truly belonged. Also while in the circus Ed sees the women who he is going to marry, however he loses her in the crowed and is sad about it. Amos sees him and asks him what is wrong. When he finds out what is wrong, he tells Ed that if he works for him that every month he will tell him one thing about her. These hints that Amos gives to Ed about Sandra (his future wife) allows him to one day finally get the chance to find her and eventually marry her. Amos plays a huge role because he is the one that helps Ed find his wife Sandra. If it were not for him Ed would have never found Sandra and then there would be no William.
Jennifer Hill
Jen Hill is a recurring character in Big Fish. She first appears as the witch who shows Edward his death in her eye. This is one of Eds completely fictional stories. He meets her as Jenny for the first time when he goes to Spectre. She is the little eight year old girl who crawls under the table and takes his shoes and throws them up on the wire. Later on when he sees the lady in the river who swims away before he can talk to her, Jenny tells him that she was a fish. She says that fish appear differently to everyone, and like Ed said in the beginning of the story, a woman can be like an uncatchable fish, which is what he sees. When he leaves Spectre he promises Jenny that he will come back one day, leaving her with the hope that she could become important to him. However when he does return he is married to Sandra, the love of his life. After fixing the town up, all he has left is Jens house. When he goes there, she refuses to allow him to buy the house, so he leaves. However as he opens the door it breaks off the hinges and smashes a table. Ed, being the good guy he is, feels horrible and stays to fix it. He ends up fixing her whole house and during this time Jen starts to believe they could be together. However as he is leaving she tries to kiss him and he stops her saying that he is married and loves his wife very much. That is when she realizes that she is not what is real in his life, but is the story.
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