1. In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ's disciples being fishermen, and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman.…
This novel is set in the Saskatchewan prairies in the 1940’s. The story describes many prairies around the MacMurray O’Connal families…
Geraldine Brook's lecture "a home in fiction" reflects upon the pleasures of fiction and its importance in our lives. She uses her experience as a foreign correspondent to explain how she graduated from being a journalist unto her role of fiction writes…
Paul and Norman are similar yet different at the same time. For instance Paul and Norman are both dare devils yet Paul seems to be the instigator. For example when they were on the river everyone else was chickening out Paul never backed down and ended getting his brother to go with him. Paul hardly hesitates when it comes to risks unlike Norman who seems to think it over a bit more before accepting and going through with it. They both also enjoy fly fishing. Paul is creative and does not like sticking to tradition instead he makes his own form on how to fly fish. Norman follows his father’s form and the “proper” way to fly fish.…
When one writes a piece of literature with the ability of choosing what to write, one is unable to prevent putting their own self into it. Depending on how well the person knows he or herself, with experiences that are unique or even relatable will determine how well their piece will impact the world. One does not want to read textbooks that are all factual, unless forced too, they want to read stories within a event. The interest goes deeper than just the surface, we may not realize it, but we crave for information. We tend to want to know more than we need or should, but that curiosity drives us to places we wouldn’t expect to find ourselves. Whether the place is good or bad, we are to deal with it the best we can. John Steinbeck capitalizes…
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster has shown me how to reach true understanding in my future reading of literature and has helped me to reach a new depth in works of literature I have already analyzed. Swimming, seasons, weather and diseases have all taken on more than simply a set scene. Abuse of power over youth or the uneducated is more noticeable. The use of irony is more noticeable. This book has armed me with the ability to recognize political meaning within literary works. Armed newly with this knowledge I reanalyze several novels from my high school career and I learn more about the author as well as the characters who the authors present me with.…
Jennifher Castro Mrs. Mary Smith AP Literature 20 September 2017 Analysis Essay – How to Read Literature Like a Professor One of the major recurring techniques that Foster discusses in his novel that really caught my attention would have to be the technique in chapter 2, which is the technique symbolism. The definition of symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In chapter 2 Foster tells about a symbolism that takes place in this chapter where the characters are having a meal together. This is an example of symbolism because basically having a meal together is sort of saying that we are a family together. He also talks about it as he says “in the real world,…
During the novel , Maclean uses various similes to compare the river with life and family. For example, he shared with the audience that the “common love for the river would bring them back as a family.” The river has always played a big role in the family because their father would always take them fly fishing ever since they were children. Maclean as a child always believed that, " there was no clear line between fly fishing and religion." This explains why the river was so sacred to Maclean, his brother Paul, and his father.…
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 space of time in the not-so-distant past with a sensitivity that is both witty and poetic. Robert Redford loved this story and turned it into a handsome movie. Read it yourself or watch the movie, and you will learn something about fly fishing, but you will learn more about the wonders of nature and the strengths and frailties of man. Author Maclean was truly a man of wordswell chosen words!…
Norman MacLean’s reflection on character reverts his entire conception of order and success. In meditating, he ponders the idea of Paul having a stronger character and being more independent than him. These thoughts are shaped largely by the meaningful context that Norman is experiencing. MacLean journeys to these thoughts during his last fishing trip with his brother, the trip that is supposed to be about Norman receiving help, rather than giving it. This inversion of roles, along with a deep reflection on Paul’s utter lack of desire for external help, demonstrate an extensive shift in Norman’s thinking. MacLean’s pensive view of his brother Paul suggests that help, meaning, and hope are most valuable when they come from within, and that Paul…
How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster is a book that explains there is more to literature than just a few words on a paper or a few pages in a book. Thomas Foster’s book portrays a relatable message to a wide based audience. This book is relatable for two reasons, the way it is written and the examples it uses. The book is written in a conversational manner, as if the reader was in a group discussion about books and writing. As for the examples, they are informative, descriptive, relative, and entertaining.…
This story is about two brothers named Paul and Norman growing up in Montana during the 1920s. Their father John is a Presbyterian minister and raises them based on his strong religious beliefs. The film also revolves around the brother’s and father’s love for fly-fishing. In the opening dialogue Norman says, “In our family there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.” He goes on to say that his father told them about Christ’s disciples being fishermen and how he and his brother Paul believed that John was a dry fly-fisherman. (Redford, 1992)…
Country Lover’s is a short story written by Nadine Gordimer ( 1976 ), that portrays childhood friends growing up together in two different types of lifestyles. They develop a more intimate relationship as they grow older and it ends up being an act of betrayal. Paulaus Eysendyck was a white young man…
book, magazine, newspaper or online. If you carry a poem in your wallet and you look at it once a year, we count you. If you have just finished Thomas Mann’s Buddenbrooks in German for the third time, or you’ve read one page of a Harlequin Romance and given up because it’s too hard, we count you as equals. We are very egalitarian! What you see for the first time in American history is that less than half of the U.S. adult American population is reading literature. I’m going to talk about what the causes of the problem are, and then I’ll talk about the consequences and the solutions. To go into the data a little big further, we see that we’re producing the first generation of educated people, in some cases college graduates, who no longer become lifelong readers. This is disturbing for reasons above and…
Dear and Rev. Father Principal, respected staff, my beloved students, friends, ladies and gentlemen. I feel a bit circumscribed in to stand before you to deliver this keynote address. I feel so, because I am not a literature student, nor am I in any way connected to literary world except as a lay person who loves literature and its richness in bringing out human emotions, values, and worldviews. But at the same time, I am honored to be here because this will help me in some way or other and indeed, did help me to pore over some solid literature works to learn more about what literature is and how I can get more involved and interested in literature. To this effect, I must thank Rev. Fr. Paul Rajkumar for having invited me to enter into the portals of literary forts and collect some pebbles to twist my tongue to tune to the richness of literature. I also am sure that if I have the patience to dive deep into the literary ocean, I can find the finest pearls that I can treasure. I only wish that I have the patience and bent of mind for such extravaganza of the intellectual thirst for literature, the mirror of human motions and emotions. I would like to share with you something on “subaltern literature”, as it makes more sense than any other literary form today, to make literature relevant and an instrument for social change.…