What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?

Willie is a sixth-grader and the point-of-view character in the story “What Do Fish Have to Do With Anything?” As an inquisitive, observant, and empathetic child, Willie nurtures his curiosity by asking perceptive questions that serve as a window into his attempts to decode the adult dynamics that have impacted his family. As he struggles to process his father’s abandonment and his mother’s resulting unhappiness, he must find creative ways to gain answers to the many questions that his mother ignores or evades.

As part of this quest for greater philosophical and emotional clarity, he engages with the unhoused man on his street despite his mother’s injunctions against such conversations. This choice demonstrates Willie’s progress toward Developing an Internal Moral Compass that does not depend upon his mother’s perceptions of the world. By showing his openness to people who might otherwise be dismissed or ignored, Willie’s proves himself to be a very sensitive child, and this trait is also exhibited in the fact that he notices his mother’s sadness and wants to find a way to resolve it. His actions reflects a stage of growth in which compassion is his primary motivation, and he actively attempts to address the deeper emotional needs of those around him.