The Molecules of Life

A detailed Summary of The Molecules of Life

In his novella A River Runs Through It, Norman Maclean compares family and life to water. [One of the main themes of the book is Norman's brother Paul and how he relates to water and how life is imitated by the river.] Norman idolizes Paul and his unique relationship with the river.

Maclean writes, "Below him was the multitudinous river, and, where the rock had parted it around him, big-grained vapor rose. The mini-molecules of water left in the wake of his line made momentary loops of gossamer, disappearing so rapidly in the rising big-grained vapor that they had to be retained in memory to be visualized as loops. The spray emanating from him was finer-grained still and enclosed him in a halo of himself. The halo of himself was always there and always disappearing, as if he were candlelight flickerin

At the end of the story the narrator writes, "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs." (Maclean 104) This passage shows life as the river, and how everything around the river merges together into one. The line "The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time." shows that life will go on forever as far as we'll know, and that life imitates itself over and over again. The line "On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops.", shows that some parts of life will never make it into the mainstream, but will still live on forever.

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Approximate Word count = 560
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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The Molecules of Life

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