--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was like hunting fish with an…" description: "\"It was like hunting fish with an underwater gun, a sport which he had once been foolish enough to try. At one moment there is the fish - graceful, myst..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/iris-murdoch-993_blood_it-was-like-hunting-fish-with-an-underwa_2188738.jpg" --- # It was like hunting fish with an underwater gun, a sport… ![“It was like hunting fish with an underwater gun, a sport which he had once been foolish enough to try. At one moment there is the fish - graceful, mysterious, desirable and free - and the next moment there is nothing but struggling and blood and confusion.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/iris-murdoch-993_blood_it-was-like-hunting-fish-with-an-underwa_2188738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/iris-murdoch-993_blood_it-was-like-hunting-fish-with-an-underwa_2188738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1e/iris-murdoch-993_blood_it-was-like-hunting-fish-with-an-underwa_2188738.jpg) > “It was like hunting fish with an underwater gun, a sport which he had once been foolish enough to try. At one moment there is the fish - graceful, mysterious, desirable and free - and the next moment there is nothing but struggling and blood and confusion.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Pursuing elusive desires leads to chaotic outcomes, highlighting the danger of reckless ambition. **In simple terms:** Chasing fantasies can cause turmoil. Key Takeaway Beware reckless pursuit. Themes ambition desire risk consequence Mood thoughtful cautionary philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - career choices - creative projects - relationship pursuits Key Concepts existentialism human folly psychology of desire Questions to Reflect On - What drives you to chase the unknown? - When is risk worth taking? A Different Perspective Not all risks are negative; caution can stifle growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Hunting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunting/) [Life struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-struggle/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Sports](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sports/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [“Abe held my gaze a bit longer and then broke into an easy smile. ʺOf course, of course. This is a family gathering. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/abe-held-my-gaze-a-bit-longer-and-then-broke-into-an-easy-smile-of/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Making fun of born-again Christians is like hunting dairy cows with a high powered rifle and scope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-fun-of-born-again-christians-is-like-hunting-dairy-cows-with-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Hunting after happiness is like hunting after a lost sheep in the wilderness--when you find it, the chances are that it is a skeleton.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/hunting-after-happiness-is-like-hunting-after-a-lost-sheep-in-the/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Writing is like hunting. There are brutally cold afternoons with nothing in sight, only the wind and your breaking heart. Then the moment when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-braverman/writing-is-like-hunting-there-are-brutally-cold-afternoons-with/) [Kate Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-braverman/) > [“Like hunting for a dead beloved's face among the living, in places, we find the place we loved before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-lillith-assadi/like-hunting-for-a-dead-beloved-s-face-among-the-living-in-places-we/) [Hannah Lillith Assadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-lillith-assadi/) > [Fishing from a boat seems like dilettante bullshit - like hunting wild boar with a can of spray paint from the safety of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/fishing-from-a-boat-seems-like-dilettante-bullshit-like-hunting-wild/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There is no hunting like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-is-no-hunting-like-the-hunting-of-man-and-those-who-have-hunted/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There is nothing like the hunting of man, and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never care for anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-capuzzo/there-is-nothing-like-the-hunting-of-man-and-those-who-have-hunted/) [Michael Capuzzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-capuzzo/) > [“Stop looking at me like that." "Like what?" "Like you're hunting me. I'm not an antelope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-houck/stop-looking-at-me-like-that-like-what-like-you-re-hunting-me-i-m-not/) [Colleen Houck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-houck/) > [“Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/certainly-there-is-no-hunting-like-the-hunting-of-man-and-those-who/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I thrive on the adrenaline of excitement and danger. I just cannot stand boredom on the other side of it. Why am I a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/i-thrive-on-the-adrenaline-of-excitement-and-danger-i-just-cannot/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Praying without fervency is like hunting with a dead dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/praying-without-fervency-is-like-hunting-with-a-dead-dog/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“Nowadays, people often ask me what it’s like hunting with my dad. We’ve actually had offers of tens of thousands of dollars from people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-robertson/nowadays-people-often-ask-me-what-it-s-like-hunting-with-my-dad-we-ve/) [Willie Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-robertson/) > [If you turn the imagination loose like a hunting dog, it will often return with the bird in its mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-maxwell/if-you-turn-the-imagination-loose-like-a-hunting-dog-it-will-often/) [William Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-maxwell/) > [“After you died I realized that I never really like hunting. I just like hanging out with you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/after-you-died-i-realized-that-i-never-really-like-hunting-i-just/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. 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But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. 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