What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?

“‘What kind of sick?’ As Mrs. Markham searched for an answer she began to walk faster. ‘He’s unhappy,’ she said.”

In this clipped exchange, Willie’s mother avoids directly answering Willie’s question about the unhoused man. Her physical action of “walk[ing] faster” mirrors her verbal evasion, showing her avoidance through both body language and speech. The vague label of being “unhappy” also reduces a complex issue to a single word, and this moment illustrates adults’ habitual attempts to shield children from life’s harsh truths. The exchange also shows that silence and omission warp the structure of the parent-child dynamic in the story.

“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in a climactic moment in the story: the point when Willie finally erupts and criticizes his mom for being emotionally withdrawn.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