In the poem The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop, Bishop effortlessly conjures up vivid and clear imagery for something so mundane and seemingly uninteresting as a fish. Bishop wrote "He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all. He hung a grunting weight, battered and venerable and homely" by this we see that the fish didn't seem to have the will to fight, it seems as though it has given up that its tired of fighting back .
Along with that we also learn by the line "Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, a five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw" that this fish has been through trials and hardships, it has learned through the years how to survive. But after being caught for possibly the sixth time the fish seems to have maybe given up, grown tired of fighting back.
As she goes own she comments not only on its will but on its appearance showing the fish in a new light, comparing it with such things as flowers. Which someone would usually relate to as something pretty or nice to look at. In the very beginning of the poem it is made known that the fish was old and weathered, not something one would say is beautiful. She writes "He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime... the pink swim-bladder like a big peony", by doing so she is seamlessly comparing something that is seen as sometimes "ugly" as something, if looked at, really looked at and examined can be seen as something beautiful. People don't always see things for what they are or see the true potential of things.
I feel the fish in itself symbolizes two things. Being strong and being able to take care of yourself but also seeing things in a different light. Don't make a snap judgement on something until you really see it and know it for what it is, what it means and what its been through.
At the end the fish is released back into the water. I feel the fisherman did this not because he felt sorry for the fish but because he felt pride and self satisfaction in himself for his accomplishment of catching this fish that has gotten away so many other times.
