A River Runs Through It
Norman Mclean's A River Runs Through It explores many feelings and experiences of one "turn of the century" family in Missoula, Montana. In both the movie, directed by Robert Redford, and the original work of fiction we follow the Mcleans through their joys and sorrows. However, the names of the characters and places are not purely coincidental. These are the same people and places known by Norman Mclean as he was growing up. In a sense, A River Runs Through It is Mclean's autobiography. Although these autobiographical influences are quite evident throughout the course of the story they have deeper roots in the later life of the author as he copes with his life's hardships. The characters in the movie and book are taken straight from Mclean's life. From the hard working, soft centered, minister father, to the drunken, "down on his luck", brother-in-law, Neil. The character of Paul appears the be the most true to life member of Norman's family. The audience quickly becomes familiar with Paul and his quick-tempered, always ready for anything attitude. This is evident in the beginning of the story with Paul's frequent phrase "...with a bet on the to make things interesting (Mclean 6)." "It was almost funny and sometimes not so fu
It is disturbing to hear of the real life death of Paul Mclean, however it soothes his brother Norman to write that Paul died fighting with all of the bones in his right hand broken. "Like many Scottish ministers before him, he had to derive what comfort he could from the faith that his son had died fighting (Mclean 103)." This line near the end of the story not only tells how Preacher Mclean must have felt in the book, but it symbolises the fantasy that Norman has that his brother did die fighting and not in a simple robbery. This gives him the piece of mind knowing that Paul's soul will rest peacefully. nny to see a boy always wanting to bet on himself and almost sure to win (Mclean 5)." Unlike Norman who was rigorously home schooled every morning, while Paul seemed to escape this torment. The boys would spend their afternoons frolicking in the woods and fishing the Big Blackfoot River. The differences that developed between Paul's and Norman's fishing styles become evident in the published versions of Mclean's life as well as his real life. Norman followed the traditional style taught by their preacher-father, ten and two in a four -count rhythm, like a metronome. Another difference between the documented versions of A River Runs Through It and Mclean's life is concerning where he lived. In the book and movie versions, Norman and Paul spend all their lives in Montana except for when Norman and Paul both attend Dartmouth. In reality, Paul had followed Norman to Chicago, where Norman was teaching at the University of Chicago. It was Norman who got a job for Paul in the university's press relation's department. Perhaps what happens next in the deviations from the story is one of the most disturbing. Instead of dying while fighting in his own home territory, Paul died in the unfamiliar streets of Chicago, a victim of several severe blows to the head. Paul, on the other hand, was less controlled by their father. Therefore he was able to develop his own style of casting. This new technique in which he dubbed "shadow casting" was able to draw the fish to the surface using only the shad
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1418
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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