A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through Us 1. “The Anacostia River is a metaphor for the way poor people and minorities are treated” (Hoover). In 1994, the Anacostia River was fourth on the list of American Rivers' “Most Endangered Rivers” (Rynor). Since the late 19 th century the water quality in this river has slowly declined with the onset of urbanization and industrialization and the pollution that accompanies this growth. The Anacostia is severely polluted with “sediment, nutrients, pathogens, toxins…

A River Runs Through It Fly fishing is not what this story is all about, although it might seem so at first. Neither is it about religion, even though the father’s first line is: "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." Yes, these two things are themes that run through the story and add to its power. But there is so much more. It depicts a place of beauty, history, myth, and mystery, it is a triangle of earth in Montana where the writer grew up. And it captures…

A Hobby or a Way of Life Religion and tradition are two ways that families come together. However in Norman Maclean’s novella, A River Runs Through It, the Maclean family’s devotion to their Presbyterian religion and their tradition of fly-fishing is what undeniably brought the family together. Under the father’s strict Presbyterian values, his sons, Norman and Paul used fly-fishing as the link that brought them closer together and helped them bond with their father on a different level. The…

All lives revolve around decisions and instances from ones past. In A River Runs Through It (1992), director Robert Redford uses this idea and applies it to a true story of two brothers from Montana, Norman and Paul Maclean (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively). Based on the autobiographical novel by Norman Maclean himself, River uses Maclean’s metaphysical beliefs about life and nature to present its many themes. Using a longing score, various film devices, and a story line involving themes…

Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It Throughout A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean emphasizes the relationship between nature, art, and faith. The concise, simple sentence with which he chooses to open his story captures the essence of all one hundred pages: in his family, 'there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing' (1). Reverend Maclean believes that both fly fishing and spiritual belief are 'exact arts,' if such a term can exist without paradox. The Reverend holds…

people who have read A River Runs through It some time in their life, is a gift. Whether fishermen use bait, worms, or George's flies it is that much sweeter to catch some trout with a brother under one arm and a father on the other. The river and fishing made such a big impact on the Maclean family that it is the root of this book. The Macleans compared the river to life, went fishing to answer questions, and created a river that has a past full of memories. The river and fishing become metaphors…

four-count, to something a bit more innovative, shadow casting. The technique wasn't the only thing he altered. He also caught fish for quality, which leaked with palpability when he told Norman he aspired to catch the most prevalent fish in the river. Another exceptionally nontraditional detail about Paul's fishing has to deal with the fact that he took incredible risks. This trait had particular obviousness when he went into the rapids in order to catch the fish of his dreams. Traditionalistic…

A River Runs Through it A River Runs Through it is a story about the relationship between two brothers. The younger brother Paul has problems. He is a gambler, a drinker, and is short on cash, but his main problem is that he will not allow his older brother, Norman, to help him. Paul refuses to accept his older brothers aid and moreover refuses to even listen to what his brother has to say. In order to make his brother listen Norman will be forced to confront his brother, something that he is…

In Fried Green Tomatoes and A River Runs Through It their is a large importance for responsibility. Fried Green Tomatoes involves a character who is known as Ruth who is friends with another character named Idgie, both of these characters have a lifelong adventures together. In A River Runs Through It, there is the main character, Norman, who looks after his younger brother Paul and tries to keep him out of trouble the best he can. In A River Runs Through It, and Fried Green Tomatoes, both Ruth and…

MacLean's A River Runs Through It "Eventually the watcher joined the river, and there was only one of us. I believe it was the river." The river that Norman Maclean speaks of in A River Runs Through It works as a connection, a tie, holding together the relationships between Norman and his acquaintances in this remote society. Though "It" is never outwardly defined in the novella there is definite evidence "It" is the personality of the people and that the river is running through each individual…