The Bass The River And Shelia Mant Summary

One of the main themes of “The bass, the River, and Shelia Mant” written by W.D Wetherell is that of sacrifice. The narrator, who is not given a name, is fourteen years old and in love with an older woman who is his seventeen year old neighbor, Sheila Mant. He has an attraction for her which later clouds his decision making in a critical point in his life. This ultimately leads back to the theme of sacrifice where he is faced in choosing between two things he truly loves.
The narrator is enthralled when she accepts his offer of a date. Sheila, however, is not so enthralled when the young teen suggests that they go on the date with the narrator’s boat. The narrator convinces Sheila that the boat is safe, but he is unable to persuade her to think highly of fishing, his true passion. This is where the sacrifice comes in. Does he give up Sheila or the huge bass that has coincidentally snagged itself on the narrator’s fishing line? It is the largest bass the narrator has ever seen, and he probably will never find the likes of it again. Then then, Sheila Mant is equally impressive. However, it is impossible to have both, though the narrator attempts this for as long as he can. …show more content…
The narrator is faced with choosing between the two things he desires most during the story. He learns the he should be true to himself in the process. The sacrifice theme surfaces here and he is faced with a life changing decision at this point in the story. The narrator chooses Sheila over the bass and cuts the line; however, he regrets his choice immediately. “I never made the same mistake again”. (Wetherell, 2) This shows that life teaches you lessons through sacrifice and it also shows that the narrator learned from this and didn’t make the same mistake twice. He learns that he should be true to the things he loves most in life and not be distracted by momentary