Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Discuss what you know about the literary style of magical realism. What is an example and description? Generally, what are the elements of mythology? What does mythology explain? How is mythology different from magical realism?

Teaching Suggestion: Edward, in Big Fish, is similar to Odysseus in his journey and his interactions with some characters. Though Big Fish has similarities to mythology, its genre might best be considered magical realism. In using the information in these resources or others to review or introduce magical realism, you might guide students in determining and listing the genre’s major traits; they can then analyze Big Fish in terms of that list as they read the text.

• This 7-minute video describes what magical realism is. (Content Warning: A brief image from social media that might be inappropriate for some classes appears at 2:22.)
• Masterclass offers a brief description of magical realism.
• This 8-minute video describes elements of mythology and the social purposes myth has typically served.
• SuperSummary provides a list of examples of works of magical realism.

2. How would you summarize the history of storytelling? Why is storytelling an important aspect of society? How has storytelling changed over time?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be useful to explain in this pre-reading stage that Edward is a storyteller to his son. Students might benefit from discussing the role of storytelling in early history as people shared information by word of mouth rather than by writing it down. It also might be helpful to connect to the novel in letting students know that the main character’s stories will be told aloud.

• This article describes the history of reading.
• This article, from a student-run publication at the University of Rochester, describes the evolution of storytelling.

Short Activity

Review and analyze American tall tales such as the tales of Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Casey Jones, Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill. Use a simple, self-designed chart or table to compare similar features of the stories and draw conclusions about the purpose of each tale.

Teaching Suggestion: Big Fish is told with elements of the traditional tall tale, including wild exaggeration, larger-than-life characters, and fantastic achievements. You might want to consider having students work in groups of 3-4 to jigsaw the reading and analysis of the tall tales; each group can share their understanding with the class. (Instructions on how to form a jigsaw can be found here.) Assign each expert group one story to analyze. Some stories you might offer include the stories of John Henry, Pecos Bill, Casey Jones, Johnny Appleseed, and Paul Bunyan. These can be found online as written resources, or as YouTube videos: Paul Bunyan Read Aloud, Pecos Bill Read Aloud, John Henry Read Aloud, Casey Jones Read Aloud, and Johnny Appleseed Read Aloud. Students might need about 15 minutes to analyze and discuss their assigned tale; after sharing, they might then return to their original groups to compare the assigned stories and identify elements of tall tales in each.

• This 3-minute video describes American tall tales and their purposes.
• This description of hyperbole includes examples from literature.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

Describe a time when you heard or told an overexaggerated story. What was the story? What are some common topics people tend to exaggerate? What purpose do you think exaggerated stories serve? How can exaggerated stories be detrimental to relationships?

Teaching Suggestion: Big Fish is sometimes told from the perspective of William, who wishes he knew his father better. Because his father was on long journeys and never tells a tale without wild exaggerations, William feels he does not know his father well. Consider discussing common tall tales in our culture; for example, students may be familiar with exaggerated stories of the fish someone caught or the traditional story parents or grandparents tell of walking to school “uphill both ways.”

Differentiation Suggestion: Students who require an additional challenge might be directed to study a summary of the Odyssey (several parallels between the two stories will become apparent to students as they progress through Big Fish). Students who would benefit from opportunities to practice summarization and public speaking might attempt to create and deliver a brief class presentation on relevant plot points from the Odyssey.