How to Use Big Fish to Teach Myths
Ambrose Bierce defined mythology as this: "The body of a primitive people's beliefs concerning its origin, early history, heroes, deities and so forth, as distinguished from the true accounts which it invents later." Many English teachers will agree with this definition. Don't be one of those teachers. Don't shove your subject matter into the corners of a "primitive world" only. Myths are an important part of any culture, including today's. Let your students find a way to relate to mythology. By teaching mythology through the modern novel "Big Fish" by Daniel Wallace, your students can learn how myths are created, what purpose they serve and what consequences they can bring.
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Instructions
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Compare the adventures of Edward Bloom to the adventures in other tall tales. How are they alike? How are they different? Ask your students what makes Edward Bloom more believable than the characters in Greek, Native American or Norse mythology. How is he more outrageous? Compare Edward Bloom's quest to Odysseus, his bravado to Davy Crockett and his love stories to those of Echo and Narcissus or Orpheus and Eurydice.
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Ask your class to write a paper on the meaning of truth. How important was truth to Edward Bloom? What did he believe truth was? Challenge them to think of times when a tall tale could be more truthful than hard facts. If a story has all of the facts but none of the emotions, is it still true? If a story has all the emotions, but only some of the facts, is it useless?
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Explore the origins of myths. Lay all the theories out on the table. A myth could have originated from real historical events, from allegorical lessons passed on through generations or as an answer for unsolved mysteries or unexplained traditions. Split the class up into four groups and have a debate tournament. Assign each group a position. Group one will argue that Edward Bloom created myths solely out of real-life events. Group two will state that Edward Bloom used his stories to teach lessons to his son. Group three will say the myths explained or excused Edward Bloom's average life, his affair with Jenny or any other mistakes or regrets from which he suffered. Finally, group four will present a case for William's mythologizing his father's life as an attempt to discover the man he never really knew.
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Have the students create their own mythologies from their own lives. Ask them to explain what they chose. How could their myths help another classmate to understand them better? What aspect of truth is taught through their lies? Once again, review the mythology of other civilizations. What does their mythology teach us that the rest of their history books don't?
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Talk about the negative aspects of mythology. How did Edward Bloom's stories affect his relationship with his son or his wife? Did the mythology of other cultures ever hinder them in any way? How so?
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