Mroski Big Fish

Big Fish

Edward has qualities of both an insider and an outsider.  He looks normal, he isn’t disfigured mentally, he lives in the suburbs and he’s fine with it, etc.  His outsider quality is his sense of adventure that makes him leave places very easily, as well as his overwhelming optimism and his disregard for dangerous situations. 

Carl the Giant likes Edward Bloom because they are both, in their own ways, larger than life.  Edward is an adventurer.  He is a big fish in a little pond.  Carl is a Giant man in a little Town.  That said, they have lots in common.  Both of them, however, do have something to offer the other.  Edward needs a reason to leave, and Carl is the exact type of person he should be on an adventure with—a giant.  Edward likes Carl because since he was a child, he has understood how some people are too big for one place.  In a way, Edward sees himself in Carl’s giant shoes and sympathizes.   Carl enjoys being with Edward, because he is one of the only people who treat him like a normal person.  Burton’s outsiders, like Carl, crave a sense of normalcy.  That’s why when Edward brings him to the circus, he is so at home.  At the circus, he is normal.  So, they both had to take each other out of that town at the same time.  They bring each other on this journey where they get what they want—Edward, an adventure; and Carl, a home.

The Siamese twins also have a similar connection with Edward Bloom.  The first time we see them singing, they are singing about love.  Though it seems like it’s just a sensual little song, we find later that there is some truth behind it.  They connect so strongly with Edward’s story about his wife that they take a journey all around with him, looking for the affection that they eventually find in Norther Winslow.  They like each other because they share an appreciation for love.