Response

A River Runs Through It Response #3

Norman Mclean wrote a story that is considered by many to be his “fictional autobiography.” A River Runs Through It is a novella Mclean wrote in order to deal with the death of his sibling Paul and his experiences within his own family and life. What is interesting as a reader is that it is hard to get the sense of where reality ends and fiction begins in this elegantly written story of family life and the importance fishing and nature played throughout Mclean’s.

As it is hard to decipher what is fiction and what is reality in this short novel, it can be difficult to understand what some of Mclean’s intents and purposes are within his story. A passage can be very simple in phrasing and full of purpose, yet hard to understand what exactly Mclean could mean by it at points. On page 63 of his story, Mclean writes, “It was here, while waiting for my brother, that I started this story, although, of course, at the time I did not know that stories of life are more like rivers than books. But I knew a story had begun, perhaps long ago near the sound of water.” It is hard to understand the meaning behind this particular passage, but an idea can be made. Perhaps the easiest and most shallow analysis of this small passage is that Mclean is comparing his life story to that of the way a river works and functions in nature, just like how his life works similarly in culture and society. What is meant by the last sentence of the passage is still somewhat unclear, but passages like these throughout the novella is what makes it such credible literature and even better then what it is at face value.

As Mclean continues to write complexities into his stories, he creates a large amount of it through his characterization of Paul and the relationship that Norman shares with him. The reader is first introduced to Paul as a simple fisherman who is naturally gifted at the things that come his way such as fishing and fighting, and enjoys the taste of alcohol more frequently than not. As Mclean’s story continues on, however, Paul is seen with more of a caring quality under