The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop

Bishop uses the phrase “battered and venerable” to describe the

• Fish's age
• Fish's bravery
• Way the fish will be cooked
• Way the fish was caught

Which of the following does Bishop use in a simile to describe the fish’s skin? 

• Brown paper bag
• Faded brown wallpaper
• Green rags
• Barnacles

Bishop compares the fish’s “swim-bladder” to 

• A rose
• Shiny entrails
• A peony
• Rags of green seaweed

 Why does the speaker refer to the oxygen in the air as “terrible”? 

• The air reeks of fish
• Oxygen makes the “frightening gills” of the fish “crisp with blood.”
• A nearby refinery is polluting the air
• Breathing the air will kill the fish

The fish is infested with...

• "Tiny white sea lice"
• "Shiny entrails"
• "a fine black thread"
• "sun-cracked thwarts"

What adjective does Bishop use to describe the fish’s face?

• Ancient
• Sullen
• Yellowed
• Tarnished

 The fish’s lower lip contains evidence...

• of the fish's last meal
• of its "weaponlike" teeth
• That the fish had been caught before
• the the fish "hadn't fought at all" 

The speaker is moved because the fish is...

• a predator
• tremendous
• Very old
• A survivor

The speaker compares the old lines dangling from the fish’s mouth to...

• Medals and ribbons
• The petals of a peony
• Tarnished tinfoil
• a rainbow colored slick of oil

Why does the speaker let the fish go?

• He isn't big enough to eat
• She has grown to respect his ability to survive
• She felt sorry for the fish and guilty that she'd hurt him
• He has barnacles on his skin