Similarities Between The Bass And Sheila Mant

Identity Theft According to an American comedian, Jay London, “I don’t need to worry about identity theft because no one want to be me.” Many adolescents find it difficult to fit in with groups of young people. They often find themselves losing their own identities in order to belong. In the short stories “The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, and “Papa’s Parrot” by Cynthia Rylant, the characters learn about their identities through significant moments. First, a young boy is forced to choose between Sheila Mant, his first crush, and his passion of fishing. Next, a young woman finds her own path after years of failing her mother’s expectations. Lastly, a young boy is trapped between being embarrassed by his father or trying to act cool with his friends. …show more content…
For example, the boy is let after giving up the biggest bass he ever caught for his first crush, that later left him for another guy, he realizes that, “There would be other Sheila Mants in my life, other fish, and though I came close once or twice, it was the secret, hidden tuggings in the night that claimed me, and I never made the same mistake again”(4). When the boy sacrifices his largest bass that he ever caught for Sheila Mant, he immediately regrets his action. It is only after letting the fish go that he recognizes his foolishness in hiding something he loves, fishing, so that he would seem more appealing to his crush. This hiding of his passion is in a sense a form of losing a part of one's identity. When they arrive, the boy realizes that he needed to be himself and should not pretend to be someone he is not for his peers. Therefore, the boy loses both and impressive bass, he learns a valuable lesson of not letting the want to impress others change his