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Running head: Fish is Fish and Schema

Fish is Fish and Schema

Christina A. Bolden

University of Arkansas
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FISH IS FISH AND SCHEMA

Fish is Fish and Schema

As humans mature cognitively, they develop internal mental representations to better

understand new experiences and ideas. These mental representations are also known as schema.

As humans continue to grow as individuals, they begin to see a relationship between themselves

and society. This is a supporting idea of existentialism. In the story Fish is Fish, by Leo Lionni, a

relationship between schema theory, cognitive developmental theory and existentialism is

shown.

Fish is Fish is a story about the relationship between a tadpole, Frog, and his minnow

friend, Fish. The story begins with Frog as a young tadpole. Fish sees frog as another fish. As

frog develops over time, fish denies the changes that he sees in Frog. This denial causes Frog and

Fish to argue. Frog exclaims “Frogs are frogs and fish is fish and that’s that!” (cf2134, 2014).

Over time, Frogs body continues to develop legs and he eventually decides to venture out of the

pond. After being gone for many weeks, Frog returns to the pond to tell Fish about the amazing

things he has seen. As Frog describes the animals and people, Fish pictures them in his mind.

Fish imagines birds that have fish bodies but colorful, feathered wings are attached to their sides.

He pictures cows with fins and a tail, and humans shaped like fish but have two legs to help them

walk upright. For several days, Fish dreams of all the exciting animals and people that Frog

talked about. He decides that he wants to explore the world outside of the pond. He jumps with

all of his strength and lands on the bank of the pond. As he lays there struggling to breathe, he

calls for help. Fortunately, Frog is close by and hears Fish’s labored gasps. Frog uses all of his

strength to push Fish back into the pond. As fish works to regain his strength, he realizes how
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amazing and beautiful the pond really is. Fish looks at Frog and says, “You were right. Fish is

fish” (cf2134, 2014).

The cognitive developmental theory states that as a person gets older they progress

through different cognitive stages. Piaget studied these stages in children and suggested four

stages of cognitive development. They are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational,

and formal operational. “For Piaget, development was interpreted as an ongoing dialectic in

which the individual either assimilates new experience consistent with existing schemas or

changes (i.e., accommodates) schemas to fit his or her experience” (McVee, Dunsmore, &

Gavelek, 2005). People use schemata as a way to relate events to previous experiences. When a

new event contradicts one’s understanding, there is a disruption in the schemata. Gillani states

that, “To handle this situation and to form a comfortable state of equilibrium in the cognitive

structure, the individual needs to modify or reorganize his or her schemata via adaptation. This

internal process of restructuring the schemata is done through assimilation and accommodation”

(Yilmaz, 2011).

In the story Fish is Fish, Fish creates a mental schema of what a fish is. As Frog begins

to mature, Fish does not know how to assimilate these changes. He denies that the tadpole is

transforming into a frog. Fish eventually has to accept this change; Frog is not a fish. Frog

returns from exploring and describes to Fish what he has seen. Fish has never seen birds, cows,

or humans. Fish uses his mental schema to imagine what these animals and humans look like.

He pictures them all with fish bodies just like his. “When new information or a new experience is

not a compatible fit, but the information or experience is somewhat similar, the schema may

change to accommodate it. According to Piaget, accommodation, or the adaptation of existing

knowledge structures in light of new information, results in cognitive growth” (Schirmer, 1997).
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The cognitive growth in Fish causes him to make a poor decision that almost causes his demise.

He jumps out of the pond and gets stuck on the bank. Frog pushes Fish back into the pond. Fish

then begins to realize how wonderful the pond is. Fish tells Frog, “You were right. Fish is fish”

(cf2134, 2014). This acknowledgement shows a change in Fish’s mental schema.

According to Harper (1955), “Existentialism, as the name implies, is a philosophy of

human existence. It arose early in the nineteenth century in response to a cultural climate in

Soren Kierkegaard observed that men had forgotten what it means to exist. Men had learned

what it means to be one in a crowd, to be a mass; they had forgotten what it means to be an

individual, that is what it means to die, to suffer, to decide to love” (Ediger, 2002). In

existentialism, individual motivation is essential. “Whereas schema theory foregrounds the role

of individual cognitive processes, sociocultural theories, particularly the work of Vygotsky

(1978, 1986) and scholars who use Vygotsky's work (e.g., Au, 1998; Cole, 1996; Gavelek &

Raphael, 1996; Gee, 1992; Holland & Cole, 1995; Kozulin, Gindis, Ageyev, & Miller, 2003;

Moll, 1990; Rogoff, 1993; Wells, 1999) have also provided significant insights into individuals'

meaning-making processes by highlighting the role of language as mediational tool, the

importance of social interactions, and the situatedness of language and social interactions within

cultural and historical systems” (McVee, 2005). Schema theory is an individual process where

new experiences are related to pre-existing ideas or mental schemata. It also focuses on social

interaction. According to Kilgour, reconstructionism (existentialism) is a philosophy whose

purpose is to explore societal issues that affect students as members of society in order that they

can build a better world. The notion that change can be safely and effectively achieved through

education is central” (Kilgour, 1996). Schema theory best supports the philosophy of

existentialism.
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In the story, Fish is Fish, evidence shows that schema theory, cognitive developmental

theory, and existentialism are all interrelated. As one continues to grow and change, mental

schemata evolve and transform with each experience showing cognitive growth. These theories

and philosophy explain why the characters in the story behave and develop the way they do.
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