62 pages • 2 hours read
The Fisherman
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Essay Topics
Discuss the use of dreams in The Fisherman. How do they add to the story’s ambiguity? Do they contain prophetic warnings or affect the characters’ fates? Use specific examples to support your interpretation.
The Fisherman’s German name (Der Fischer) is misheard by Abe in his dream as “there fissure.” What are the punning implications of this mishearing? (Be sure to consider the novel’s recurring mentions of fissures in multiple contexts.)
As a child, Abe asks his father, “How could something sacred be bad?” (20). How is this rhetorical question significant to the context of The Fisherman’s religious/mythic imagery and events?
