A River Runs Through It Analysis

When the Canal was built towns all along the route from Buffalo to Albany prospered from the revenue and the attraction the Canal brought with it. Whether the Canal was being used for business people, immigrants, settlers of the region, or tourists, the border-towns all had some appeal to these persons. After some time the state was continually asked to expand the Canal from the original route to include connecting canal routes. However, the same towns along the route from Buffalo to Albany had already been established along the lines of the original canal. These towns would need to be relocated in order to obey these new requests. This presented a major problem because the people in these towns had formed a life around the Canal and many of them made their income based of the Canal. The inhabitants of the towns changed their mentality from not wanting the Canal to invade on their lives, to it being an essential part of their lives they depended upon.

Often times the Macleans went fishing for the "healing effects of cool waters" and to spend time with the family (78). When something bothered them or when they couldn't figure out their problems, Norman and Paul went fishing. Norman states, "It is not fly fishing if you are not looking for answers to questions" (42). Fishing was always there and an answer to the solution. Sometimes it was the correct answer and sometimes more clues were needed for the question to be

“Many Rivers to Cross” written by June Jordan is about a young lady who goes through a difficult childhood which follows her to her adult life. Her father was not very much

The film is about a family living near the Blackfoot River in Missoula, Montana, in the early 1920’s. The father is a passionate fisherman and Presbyterian minister who emphasizes in his sermons that the disciples were fishermen. The film also revolves around the ministers two sons and their love for fly-fishing. They were taught the skill well by their father. Their father ties the love of God into the ability of His people to use rudimentary tools to engage in the beautiful act of fly-fishing to provide food. One of the things that the father tells his sons right away in the movie was, “All good things come by grace, grace comes by art, art doesn’t come easy” (Redford, 1992). Later in the movie after Norman had returned from college, he commented on how his brother had become an artist in his

journalist. These two very different brothers are brought together through the years by a mutual love of fly fishing instilled in them by their unyielding father. As Norman watches his brother's seemingly charmed life dissolve under the influences of gambling and alcohol, the art of fly fishing becomes a touching metaphor for the love their father was unable to express in any other way.

The short story “The Boat” by Alistair MacLeod is narrated by a man who comes from a fishing family. His mother’s side of the family has forever lived and worked by the sea and continues this tradition. The narrator’s father always wanted to be an academic, but worked on the boat to support his family. Through this passage it is evident that the parents’ characters clash in many aspects of their lives and are in constant conflict. MacLeod demonstrates this through the use of repetition, the contrast in other unrelated ideas, and through information that is withheld.

A River Runs Through It is, deservedly so, the work that Norman Maclean will always be best known for. His 1976 semi-autobiographical novella tells what is really only a brief piece of the life story of two brothers who grew up together in the Montana wilderness; but the scope of this timeless tale of fishing, family, and religion extends beyond just a few months. It touches on the entirety of the complicated relationship between Norman Maclean and his parents, and his prodigal yet distant and troubled brother Paul. In masterful and stirring prose, Maclean examines the strength of their bond, and yet how neither he nor his family could keep Paul from self-destruction. Maclean also mulls over his and his family’s ideas about grace and man’s relation to nature. Maclean’s enthralling vision is delivered through the artistry of his writing, earning the book its deserved position as a classic of American literature. In 1992, a film adaptation of the novel was released,

Paul, the youngest son, had always displayed his traits of independence and self-gratification through his acts of rebellion and selfishness. He would gamble, drink, and engage himself in all kinds of trouble. Instead of casting to the four-note rhythm that his father would always preach about, Paul seemed to just move into a world containing a natural rhythm of his own. In a sense, one could say that Paul marched to the beat of his own drum. To Paul, fly-fishing was a more than just a hobby; it was a symbol of his ability to escape from the real world into a blissful world of his own. Paul was always considered to be the expert fisher out of the two sons, since his discipline was clearly portrayed through fishing and fishing only. Like Norman, Paul would never arrive late to

Mark Twain described how the Mississippi River had a major impact on him and how it all seemed to fade away by learning his trade. According to Twain, “the river as majestic and the feeling the river gave him was indescribable” (494). Twain compared his knowledge of the Mississippi River to his familiarity of the alphabet: “I had mastered the language of this water and had come to know every trifling feature that boarded the river as familiarly as I knew the letters

Norman was born and raised in western Montana where his family taught him many skills. His father was a preacher and loved to preach about god and fishing to his kids. Norman and his brother grew up fishing. Norman and his brother often went fishing together as a part of their family tradition. The family believed in the traditional values of a Montana man that his father taught him. Often Norman compares life to fishing because fishing is what makes sense to him.

Have you ever read a book, then watched the movie on it and wanted to throw the book at the director’s face and tell them to actually read the book? This is what happened when I read a novel titled Where The Rivers Flow North by Howard Frank Mosher, and then watched the movie on it. In 1927, in Kingdom County, Vermont, a large dam is to be built; however, Noel Lord, a logger and cedar-oil harvester, won't give up his lifetime lease on the land. The dam company increases its offer of cash, but Noel refuses time after time. He asks for a trade; the white pines for his lease. Noel, meanwhile, talks with his wife, Bangor, about them moving to Oregon and buying a saw mill. She

Braddon establishes a highly erotized setting when Robert and George go fishing. This intimacy is evident from both men “[strolling slowly]” along “the margin of [the] stream” in silence. But also “deep still waters” and “branches [and] brooks” enclose this intimacy between them (63). As Robert and George are in a “shady corner,” why does Robert need his hat to be a “screen from the sunshine”? It does though incite his homoerotic desires by his “falling fast asleep” fantasising about George. Initially, Robert declared “fishing is much better than shooting” (42), but he does not attempt to join George in this male bonding activity. Furthermore, George gets bored and "[striddles] away along the bank" leaving Robert to his homoerotic thoughts (63). Therein, both men use the basis of male activity like fishing to conform to what

Another recurrent theme in Hemingway’s works is fishing and its role regarding faith. Fishing is something that is used as a relief for the characters. For example, in “Big Two-Hearted River,” Nick Adams uses fishing as a relief from his wartime struggles. Nick respects fishing because of the beauty of nature and he dislikes those people who disregard its importance. Hemingway uses fishing as a connection to faith and uses it as a source of hope and a way to find God through the action. Nick Adams was able to learn about himself and come to know his identity through fishing in a secluded area in nature. Hemingway does a fantastic job of connecting fishing to prayer, which is directly connected to the fact that fishing heals the characters of

In The Compleat Angler Walton addresses the specialty of developing handle, the art of essential oceanic science, and the rationality of recreational fishers. In light of a lifetime of perceptions, Walton's book depicts the craftsmanship included in making fishing supplies handle and contemplates the systems fishermen must use to catch amusement fish. Walton additionally gives point by point records of bolstering propensities and life cycles of distinctive species. He trusted that the genuine fisher is one who angles for the love of sporting so as to angle and that getting fish means is far better than different systems for

At first, Santiago’s troubles seems rather hopeless. He has gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and he is the laughingstock of his small village. Regardless of his past, the old man determines to change his luck and sail out farther than he or the other fishermen ever have before.The fact that he’s going hunting where the big fish are truly shows his commitment. Later, after the sharks have destroyed his prize marlin, Santiago chastises himself for his hubris, claiming that it has ruined both the marlin and himself. Yet, Santiago’s pride also enables