--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fish die belly upward, and rise to the…" description: "\"“Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling.”\" — André Gide" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png" --- # Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their… ![“Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling.” quote by André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png) > ““Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling.”” [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fish die upside down, symbolizing a natural, inevitable descent. **In simple terms:** Fish fall upward as a natural process. Key Takeaway Accept that some declines are inherent. Themes mortality inevitability nature Mood philosophical melancholic Type quote reflection When to use this quote - life cycles - environmental change - personal setbacks Key Concepts existentialism symbolism Questions to Reflect On - What does this metaphor reveal about acceptance? - When is resistance appropriate? A Different Perspective May overlook agency in change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) ## Related quotes > [Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. Its their way of falling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-surface-its-their-way-of-falling/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Living makes me sick, so sick I wish I'd die, down in the belly of the beast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smashing-pumpkins/living-makes-me-sick-so-sick-i-wish-i-d-die-down-in-the-belly-of-the/) [Smashing Pumpkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smashing-pumpkins/) > [Things have a way of falling into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/things-have-a-way-of-falling-into-place/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [He leaned about the same way in falling towards Jacqueline, forward, down towards the bottom of the car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-zapruder/he-leaned-about-the-same-way-in-falling-towards-jacqueline-forward/) [Abraham Zapruder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-zapruder/) > [A friend never gets in the way only if your falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keyzee/a-friend-never-gets-in-the-way-only-if-your-falling/) [Keyzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keyzee/) > [I'm not saying I love you, but I sure haven't felt this way in a while, I'm falling hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-saying-i-love-you-but-i-sure-haven-t-felt-this-way-in-a-while/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You can fall from a bridge. Yo can fall from above. But the best way of falling, is falling in love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-fall-from-a-bridge-yo-can-fall-from-above-but-the-best-way-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you give a man a fish, he'll be happy for an hour, if you teach a man to fish he,ll be happy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-give-a-man-a-fish-he-ll-be-happy-for-an-hour-if-you-teach-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Then, quick, he flips the fish out onto the bank. It flops and gasps for air, its body slick. We all watch the fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/then-quick-he-flips-the-fish-out-onto-the-bank-it-flops-and-gasps-for/) [Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/) > [“When lightning strikes at sea, why don't all the fish die?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/when-lightning-strikes-at-sea-why-don-t-all-the-fish-die/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [I'm be die if without you. like a fish, who can be die without water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-aj-velicia-putri-hapsari/i-m-be-die-if-without-you-like-a-fish-who-can-be-die-without-water/) R Aj Velicia Putri Hapsari > [“Beauty without grace is like a fish far displaced from the water and looking at this kind of beauty is like watching that fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/beauty-without-grace-is-like-a-fish-far-displaced-from-the-water-and/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Some people like being a big fish in a small pond, others a ferocious shark in the ocean, I rather be the ocean. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/behdad-sami/some-people-like-being-a-big-fish-in-a-small-pond-others-a-ferocious/) [Behdad Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/behdad-sami/) > [If we stand by the eagle, fish will die; if we stand by the fish, eagle will die! This dilemma has been created by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-we-stand-by-the-eagle-fish-will-die-if-we-stand-by-the-fish-eagle/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I die. O my hair falls out and my flesh rots and my bones are cracked by the hungry ta!a'an. He drops me behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-haldeman/i-die-o-my-hair-falls-out-and-my-flesh-rots-and-my-bones-are-cracked/) [Joe Haldeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-haldeman/) ## More by André Gide > [Without mysticism man can achieve nothing great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/without-mysticism-man-can-achieve-nothing-great/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“The things one feels are different about oneself are the things that are rare, that give each person their value - and these are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/the-things-one-feels-are-different-about-oneself-are-the-things-that/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [I believe that in every circumstance I have been able to see rather clearly the most advantageous course I could follow, which is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/i-believe-that-in-every-circumstance-i-have-been-able-to-see-rather/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/know-thyself-a-maxim-as-pernicious-as-it-is-ugly-whoever-studies/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“There is a germ of revolt lying in the spirit of inquiry and critical curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-is-a-germ-of-revolt-lying-in-the-spirit-of-inquiry-and-critical/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Oh, would that my mind could let fall its dead ideas, as the tree does its withered leaves!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/oh-would-that-my-mind-could-let-fall-its-dead-ideas-as-the-tree-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [God lies ahead. I convince myself and constantly repeat to myself that: He depends on us. It is through us that God is achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/god-lies-ahead-i-convince-myself-and-constantly-repeat-to-myself-that/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“Welcome everything that comes to you, but do not long for anything else.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/welcome-everything-that-comes-to-you-but-do-not-long-for-anything-else/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [There are many things that seem impossible only so long as one does not attempt them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/there-are-many-things-that-seem-impossible-only-so-long-as-one-does/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [Envying another man's happiness is madness; you wouldn't know what to do with it if you had it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/envying-another-man-s-happiness-is-madness-you-wouldn-t-know-what-to/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [So long as we live among men, let us cherish humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/so-long-as-we-live-among-men-let-us-cherish-humanity/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is one of life's laws that as soon as one door closes another opens. But the tragedy is we look at the closed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-one-of-life-s-laws-that-as-soon-as-one-door-closes-another/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“What would a narrative of happiness be like? All that can be described is what prepares it, and then what destroys it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/what-would-a-narrative-of-happiness-be-like-all-that-can-be-described/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [It is with noble sentiments that bad literature gets written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/it-is-with-noble-sentiments-that-bad-literature-gets-written/) [Andre Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) > [“C'est dans l'extraordinaire que je me sens le plus naturel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/c-est-dans-l-extraordinaire-que-je-me-sens-le-plus-naturel/) [André Gide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) [Explore all 304 André Gide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/) ## More Falling quotes > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [What if I tell you I'm falling again? what if I tell you I'm willing to stand there till you notice me again? what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana/what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-falling-again-what-if-i-tell-you-i-m-willing/) [Ana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana/) > [“We will all, at some point in our lives, fall. Every single one of us. We shouldn't spend our time trying to avoid falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-williams/we-will-all-at-some-point-in-our-lives-fall-every-single-one-of-us-we/) [Nicole Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-williams/) > [When you see how fragile and delicate life can be, all else fades into the background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-morasca/when-you-see-how-fragile-and-delicate-life-can-be-all-else-fades-into/) [Jenna Morasca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-morasca/) > [“If you ever falling but can't see the bottom be glad you can't because at the bottom it's either a soft land or rocks!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelseigh-ashton/if-you-ever-falling-but-can-t-see-the-bottom-be-glad-you-can-t/) Kelseigh Ashton > [They say that if you give your children too much, they don't get the joy out of work. They just want the unearned things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/they-say-that-if-you-give-your-children-too-much-they-don-t-get-the/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [Falling for someone who will never notice you no matter how hard you try to get their attention...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/falling-for-someone-who-will-never-notice-you-no-matter-how-hard-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once upon a time, there was a man as great as the gods… But even the great can tremble with fear. Even the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-e-pearson/once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-man-as-great-as-the-gods-but-even-the/) [Mary E. Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-e-pearson/) > [“Falling in love is not the problem; hitting your head on the way down is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/falling-in-love-is-not-the-problem-hitting-your-head-on-the-way-down/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [maybe tonight you're scared of falling, and maybe there's somebody here or somewhere else you're thinking about, worrying over, fretting over, trying to figure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/maybe-tonight-you-re-scared-of-falling-and-maybe-there-s-somebody/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [Sometimes when things seem to be falling apart, they are actually falling into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-when-things-seem-to-be-falling-apart-they-are-actually/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The tides which flow and lapse in the Bristol Channel are often distained by the freshets of many streams falling through wooded coombes below…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-williamson/the-tides-which-flow-and-lapse-in-the-bristol-channel-are-often/) [Henry Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-williamson/) > [Remember those walls I built? Well, baby they're tumbling down And they didn't even put up a fight They didn't even make a sound.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prettyblueeyes/remember-those-walls-i-built-well-baby-they-re-tumbling-down-and-they/) PrettyBlueEyes > [“When you were young you talked about "falling in love" with such amusing gravity, as if it were an actual recordable event, when what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/when-you-were-young-you-talked-about-falling-in-love-with-such/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) Browse all 2,510 Falling quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "André Gide" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-surface-it-s-their-way-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falling" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-surface-it-s-their-way-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b97/andre-gide-790_falling_fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-su_2015501.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface. It's their way of falling.” — André Gide", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "André Gide", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-gide/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Fish die belly upward, and rise...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-surface-it-s-their-way-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-gide/fish-die-belly-upward-and-rise-to-the-surface-it-s-their-way-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```