The fish panel: In this panel five fish lie in a puddle of water on the prairie while two others lie in an adjacent dry spot. Kurelek recalled killing them, as they had "no escape," with a slingshot with his brother. He then thought this was an appropriate symbol for "the cruelty of such a merciless closed society as one finds in a country schoolhouse." Kurelek also called this panel a visualization of " father's philosophy, the survival of the craftiest, pointed out by the plight of the foolish fish."