The poem above was taken from page 4 of the short story “The Bass the River and Sheila Mant” by W.D. Wetherell. The narrator, our protagonist is torn between his crush on Sheila and realizing that he can’t focus on her because once he pulls the canoe up onshore, the bass he caught will suddenly be gone. Conflicting between his desire to talk to Sheila, the girl in his dream, and his struggle to handle the fish that he always wanted. He feels that if he draws his attention back to Sheila, he will lose the fish, adding to the conflict.
“Not just Sheila, but the aura she carried about her of parties and casual touching and grace. Behind me, I could feel the strain of the bass, steadier now, growing weaker”(Wetherell 4). The protagonist feels conflicted about choosing to pursue the protagonist’s crush Sheila or continue fishing the bass. Sheila represents a life of parties and grace, while the bass represents the protagonist’s love and passion for fishing. The protagonist’s internal struggle is evident in the quote, the protagonist feels the strain of the bass growing weaker but also feels the aura of Sheila’s presence. Demonstrating an example of man versus self-conflict, the protagonist desires both Sheila and the bass, but he must choose between them, where the protagonist develops emotions that conflict with each other.
In the rising action, the moonlight creates a beautiful and captivating scene of Sheila but also intensifies the conflict with the protagonist’s heart. The competition isn’t just about his admiration of Sheila, but also about the strain of the bass, which is growing weaker. Overall, it revolves around the protagonist’s internal struggle between his infatuation with Sheila and his desire to handle the bass he caught.