This Gold Fish Analysis

The story, What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish? by Etgar Keret, portrays the theme of making the right choice means forfeiting someone’s contentment for the benefits of others. The author emphasizes how Sergei unselfishly restored the health of his sister, Sveta’s son, and a stranger named Yoni instead of using the wishes for himself or for personal desires. For example, in the story, What, of This Goldfish, Would You Wish?, it states, “That first wish, Sergei used up when they discovered a cancer in his sister. A lung cancer, the kind you don’t get better from. The fish undid it in an instant- the words barely out of Sergei’s mouth” (page 7, lines 135-137). When Sergei detected a cancer in his sister, he used his first wish to rectify his

For example, in the story, it states, “The second wish Sergei used up five years ago, on Sveta’s boy. The kid was still small then, barely three, but the doctors already knew something in her son’s head wasn’t right. He was going to grow big but not in the brain” (page 7 lines 138-140). Sergei used up his second wish to cure Sveta’s boy from that syndrome and Sveta left him at the end, which leaves Sergei feeling discontented. One day, a stranger, Yoni knocked on Sergei’s door to film him, but Sergei mistakenly thought that he was here to steal his goldfish. As a result, Sergei hit Yoni in the head with a burner. There was a lot of blood running out from his head and eventually he died. It states, “The boy falls. The camera falls with him…There’s a lot of blood coming out of the head, and Sergei really doesn’t know what to do… I can restore him, says the goldfish. I can bring him back to life” (page 6-7, lines 101-103 and lines 152-153). Sergei had trouble deciding whether he should save the life of a stranger, Yoni and let go of his goldfish or just keep the last wish. As a result, Sergei made a decision to save the life of a stranger, but he had to let his closest companion, his goldfish,