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Is Edward the Hero of Big Fish?
- This topic has 2 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Marissa Toran.
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February 28, 2017 at 5:58 pm #962Marissa ToranParticipant
Edward is an elaborate storyteller whose relationship with his son is declining. The stories he tells are always about some adventure that Edward found himself in, and he somehow becomes the hero in them all. This becomes a problem for his son, Will, who feels like he doesn’t know who his father really is. Even worse, his father’s stories take away from the special moments in his life, like on his wedding day and the story of his birth in general. Will expresses that his father wasn’t around much when he was growing up, and when he was, the time he spent with his father was full of lies.
But what’s interesting is that it seem that Will is the only one who is not enchanted by these stories. His mother and his wife, Josephine, hang on every word of the stories and accept these stories as a part of Edward. They don’t have the same adverse reaction that Will does every time Edward repeats the same story again, but rather think of him as a sort of hero. The people in Edward’s stories think of him this way too: he becomes the hero of his town for befriending/luring away Karl the Giant, he heroically parachutes into the Chinese Red Army show and escapes with singing conjoined twins, and saves Spectre by slowly buying and fixing up the entire town, without wanting to profit from it or relocate any of its people. So it’s clear that Edward has purposefully made himself the hero of his stories, and the only person who does not buy into it is his own son.
Most of the film time is spent showing the elaborate and fantastical stories Edward fabricates (or as it turns out, may not have completely fabricated). As an audience we’re just as captured by these stories as the audiences that Edward tells them to, like Josephine and Sandra. So is Edward actually a hero if the stories he tells are fabricated? And if he really believes his own stories, does that make them true? Or at least, if he believes he’s a hero, does he really become one? The film seems to argue that he does in fact become the hero of the film, but only eventually.
It’s only when these stories flash into present day that we’re reminded of Edward’s un-heroic attributes, like not being around for much of Will’s life, and not connecting with his son emotionally when he was present. But it’s the end of the film that redeems Edward and turns him into the hero of the film, with help from his son. When Will stays over the hospital that final night, he comes to a realization after talking with the doctor, who reminds him that it was not customary for fathers to be present for their child’s birth, and the story Edward tells about the day Will was born is a much better story than the real version: that Edward was on business as a salesmen and the birth was perfectly normal. In this moment, Will realizes that the fabricated story wasn’t made to take attention away from his birth, but rather to celebrate it in a more special way by immortalizing that day as an epic adventure. After this realization/catharsis, Will accepts his father for who he is, stories and all. He helps turn his father’s final moments of life into a grand story as well, by telling his father of the elaborate escape from the hospital and journey to the river, where Edward finally becomes the biggest fish.
I do agree that Edward truly is the hero of the story, but not because of the grand adventures that he’s gone on in the stories he tells (which arguably may have some truth to them, as evident by the deed to Spectre that Will finds and the collection of people at Edward’s funeral), but rather he is the film’s hero for his impact on other people. He spent his life telling stories to entertain people and bring joy to them, and to allow them to escape real life for a moment and become a part of his stories. The impact he has on people is revealed at his funeral, with people laughing and joining together to celebrate Edward’s life and the impact he had on all of them. I think that Will’s realization and acceptance of his father’s storytelling is what saves Edward in the end, and makes him the hero that he was in his own stories.
- This topic was modified 7 years ago by Marissa Toran.
March 6, 2017 at 1:52 pm #966Natalie LaCourtParticipantMarissa,
I really enjoyed the perspective you took on the character of Edward Bloom. As the movie is shown primarily through Will’s perspective, it is difficult to see Edward initially as the hero. Because the characters of Will and Edward are so different, Will very factual-based and Ed as a story-teller, the audience initially questions Edward through the eyes of Will. As the movie goes on though, and the audience begins to get caught up in the overwhelming positive and captivating nature of the stories of Edward’s life, it is hard not to admire his character, if only for his good heart and fantastic imagination. I think pointing out the quote that the Doctor says to Will in the hospital regarding Ed’s version of the birth of Will being a much better story than the true version serves to answer the question of whether Ed could still be a hero even if his stories were all fabricated. In the end, the factual nature of the stories seems not to matter, but instead like you said, it is their impact that they have on other people. As Will tells the story of Ed’s death to his father, he says, “The strange thing is there’s not a sad face to be found, everyone’s just so happy to see you”. By looking at the joy Ed has brought the people in his life, it is easy to view him as a hero. I think along with Will’s acceptance of his father’s storytelling being what saves Edward, this acceptance also saves Will, introducing him to another way of looking at life, one in which sometimes the more inventive and magical way of seeing things can bring true happiness and satisfaction to life.
Natalie
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