What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?

“He wondered how much happiness you could rent for a nickel.”

The idea of “renting” happiness treats emotion like a commodity, and the author deliberately uses economic language to highlight Willie’s sense of scarcity and desire. The hyperbolic phrasing of “how much happiness” exaggerates the measurement of something intangible, underscoring Willie’s confusion about the nature of this emotion. The single coin mentioned in the scene therefore becomes a symbol of both childhood imagination and material limitation.

“No, you can’t. You’re a fish. You live in a cave.”

This line arises in a climactic moment in the story: the point when Willie finally erupts and criticizes his mom for being emotionally withdrawn. The blunt syntax and repetition of the accusatory “you” highlight Willie’s frustration and anger. Willie finally applies his cave fish metaphor in this moment, recognizing that his mother has become isolated in her unhappiness.

“Long as my friends dare me to do bad things, I’ll do ’em.”

In this line that occurs early in Matt Kaizer’s story, the protagonist asserts his personal principle and honor code. The conditional phrasing “as long as” binds his identity to the fickle dictates of peer pressure, showing his tendency to surrender his agency to others and to value group belonging over his own moral compass. The colloquial contraction “I’ll do ’em” adds an air of vulgarity and defiance to his code, suggesting that his performance of toughness is entwined with his need for group belonging.

“‘It’s…it’s…an angel…’ Mr. Bataky said in a low, rasping voice. ‘An angel…from heaven has come to save me.’”

This line comes from a pivotal moment in Matt Kaizer’s story, when Mr. Bataky reframes Matt’s identity in a way that forces the boy to consider his own potential for good. The fragmented grammar reflects Mr. Bataky’s desperate mental state even as the ellipses mimic his breathlessness and frailty. The rasping voice heightens the dramatic contrast between his physical weakness and his spiritual exaltation.

“I dare you to go back and listen to Mr. Bataky. I dare you to do goodness.”

In this scene, Matt’s father uses Matt’s own language and personal principles to redirect his son’s harmful behavior. The repetition of the phrase “I dare you” shows his father’s perspicacity in reframing goodness itself—something that Matt has steadfastly avoided—as a challenge. His father essentially hijacks Matt’s underlying psychology, using the rhetoric of childhood games to redefine morality and convince the boy to improve himself.

“Don’t you see, I’m just like my father said. I’m good.”

In this quote, Matt echoes his father’s dare, showing that he has internalized his new identity. The phrase “don’t you see” conveys a sense of urgency and self-assertion, suggesting that Matt is convincing himself even as he attempts to convince others. His ethical reversal also demonstrates the importance of Developing an Internal Moral Compass.

“My mother said I could come here but…only if I didn’t talk about your brother.”

In this line, Maria’s new friend Sophie broaches the taboo about Brian and also shows that she will not be an ally for the lonely Maria, who is desperate to express her bottled emotions about her brother’s plight and absence. The hesitation after the word “but …” foregrounds the tension that lies between permission and restriction. Although Maria and Sophie both acknowledge the taboo, they feel a great temptation to push against the boundaries imposed by their parents.

“And my parents said he was a rotten influence on me. But he wasn’t. He was sweet to me. My big brother. So I’m so mad at my parents. I think they pushed him out. Mostly my dad. But I can’t talk to them like I’m talking to you. It’s as if they want to forget all about him.”

In this quote, Maria speaks to an unknown caller and finally opens up emotionally, sharing all the feelings about Brian that she is not allowed to communicate to her friends and family. The bluntness and simplicity of her language highlights her adolescent perspective while also emphasizing the intensity and elemental nature of her feelings. The use of the word “you” with the unknown caller shows that Maria has built a sense of interpersonal intimacy with this imagined person.

“Maria sat at the table for two hours. No one came. At first she cried. Then she dried her tears and tried to think what had happened, thinking hard about her conversations with the caller. She made herself acknowledge that the caller had never said so much as one word.”

In this quote from the climax of the story, Maria must confront the reality that the caller is not her brother and that the emotional intimacy she felt during these one-sided conversations was merely an illusion. As she comes to grips with this realization, Maria passes through several emotional states, first crying, then collecting herself, then evaluating how she got into this predicament. In the end, she behaves with a degree of emotional maturity and self-awareness that stems from having to process a traumatic experience alone.

“Though Gregory liked being smart, his intelligence set him off from the other kids. He wanted to be liked, but they thought of him as different. Lately, however, things had begun to change.”

In this quote, the author introduces Gregory’s status in the classroom, using spatial language to depict his emotional separation from his peers. The juxtaposition of his desire to be liked and the elements that make him different highlights the tension that many children face in social situations as they negotiate between their need to succeed and the compulsion to fit in with their peers. The final assertion that “things had begun to change” also signals a narrative turning point, creating a tone of suspense.

“But I keep thinking if I pick on him enough the other kids will accept him. Can you grasp that? I’m afraid that if the kids turn against him, he’ll want to deny his intelligence. I want to keep him smart. That’s what it comes to. I’m picking on him so he’ll stay smart and amount to something. It’s crazy.”

This pivotal speech comes from the moment when Gregory hides in Mrs. Wessex’s closet and overhears her speaking honestly about her motivation for picking on Gregory and her secret intention to protect him. The repetition of the phrase “picking on him” shows the conflict between taking an act of seeming cruelty and using it as a secret act of care. This speech changes Gregory’s perception of his teacher and allows him to make decisions based on empathy and understanding.

“Gregory wanted to put his arms around her and give her a hug. Instead he said, ‘I just wanted to say…you’re the best teacher in…the…the whole world.’”

In this quote, Gregory returns to the classroom with a changed perspective of his teacher and a new desire to affirm and support her. The physical impulse to hug her contrasts with the halting grammar of his stammered praise, showing the tension between his new empathetic understanding of Mrs. Wessex and the social taboos that make it difficult for him to express his support.

“She insisted they bury him in the backyard. This yard was enclosed by a high brick wall, crowded with trees, shrubs, and flowers. It was shady, often damp place, where the moss grew thick, while strange-looking mushrooms sprang up overnight, and withered and died just as quickly.”

This quote describes an important setting in Eve’s home: the garden where she buries her pets and ultimately interacts with their ghosts. The sensory detail of the “shady, often damp” environment establishes the burial site as a place of mystery that is imbued with a hint of disgust. The imagery of mushrooms that appear and vanish mirrors the cycles of death and renewal and evokes a sense of inevitable decay, foreshadowing Eve’s struggle to come to grips with the enigmatic, unpredictable natural world.

“‘Is that all I am to you?’ She gasped with horror. ‘Just someone to take care of you? Your servant. Your pet?’”

The sequence of rhetorical questions escalates the intensity of Eve’s emotional crisis as she confronts hard questions about her identity and value. The parallel structure of “Your servant. Your pet?” reduces Eve’s role to diminished categories, and her gasp of “horror” punctuates the realization with sudden violence, heightening the dramatic tone.

“Suddenly there was a bark. Eve looked around. It was dim, her vision was fogged, but there before her—unmistakably—was Chase.”

This line comes from the climactic scene in which Eve, in her feverish delirium, finally confronts the ghosts of her cats and calls upon the ghost of her beloved old dog for help. The syntax of this line mirrors the choreography of the scene; the sudden bark appears in a short, clear sentence that cuts through the perceptual, foggy blur that Eve is experiencing. The word “unmistakably” and the use of dashes emphasizes Eve’s shock and recognition, emphasizing the comfort that Chase’s arrival signifies for her.

“As for pets, Eve never wanted another.”

This line comes at the end of Eve’s story and represents the completion of her arc. The bluntness and finality of the language reflects the idea that Eve has learned a lesson about overdependence on her pets and has arrived at a more stable and independent emotional state.

“If you want to get out of this class alive, my friend, you better have something inside that box. And I better not see it.”

This line comes from an early passage in the story “What’s Inside” and foreshadows the high emotional stakes of the story’s arc. The throwaway joke that students won’t make it out of this shop class “alive” foreshadows the life-or-death stakes that the box will represent when Danny later reveals his suicidal ideation and delivers a cry for help. The insinuation that there has to be something inside the box is subverted when the nothingness inside the box that Danny chooses comes to represent new possibilities for his future.

“You look like one dead dog. I mean, you look like you’re nothing.”

This quote comes from a moment when Danny opens up to his cousin and reveals that his peers have contributed to his sense of isolation and shame. The simile “like one dead dog” dehumanizes Danny, reducing him to an image of decay and worthlessness. The repetition of the phrase “you look” emphasizes the act of visual judgment, focusing on the misguided idea that outward appearance can be a stand-in for inner worth. Finally, the blunt declaration “you’re nothing” strips away Danny’s identity, intensifying the cruelty of the moment.

“Just mix up the boxes. Then I pick one box. If I pick the one that has the gun inside it, I do it.”

In this quote, Danny lays out the rules of the deadly “game” and brings the narrator into his plan to die by suicide. The short, clipped sentences give this highly emotional moment an almost logical, mechanical feeling, as if Danny is trying to distance himself from the emotional intensity of his own disastrous decision. However, by making his suicide attempt public, he is indirectly asking his cousin to stop him.

“Fast as anything, I dropped the gun into my bathrobe pocket. He kept counting, and it seemed that he, you know, counted a little slower at the end.”

This line comes from the climactic moment when the narrator chooses to rig Danny’s game and ensure that suicide is simply not an option. The phrase “fast as anything” conveys urgency through colloquial exaggeration, emphasizing the narrator’s impulsive yet determined action. Notably, the way Danny slows the count at the end subtly suggests his hesitation, implying his desire to live despite his despair, and his decision to involve the narrator ensures that Danny will not be able to go through with his plan. Ultimately, the narrator’s timely intervention saves his cousin’s life.

“Nothing inside the box but his life.”

The narrator of “What’s Inside” reflects on how his quick thinking impacted Danny during this pivotal moment. Mirroring the teacher’s foreshadowing statement at the beginning of the story, the narrator observes that the emptiness inside the box signifies Danny’s survival and the end of the isolation that contributed to his suicidal ideation.

“Like, I love putting my parents on the edge. You know, the absolute edge. It forces them to be themselves. Makes ’em squirm. For real. And best of all, I can watch.”

The cruel, heartless tone of this quote establishes Parker’s perspective and hints at the hidden complexities of his motivation. His colloquial language also suggests that he refuses to behave or even speak in a way that would cater to the authority and judgement of his parents. Instead, he asserts his desire for control and expresses perverse glee in performing transgressive acts that flip the power structure between parents and children.

“You’re my very own deadbeat dad.”

This accusatory line is a turning point in the tense dinner with Parker and his parents, and Parker’s decision to publicly indict his dad for negligence pushes his dad to leave the dinner. By using possessive yet contemptuous language, Parker simultaneously asserts power over his father and accuses him of failing to live up to his authoritative and supportive role. He also bluntly labels him a “deadbeat dad” to strike a condescending tone and humiliate his father even further.