River Runs Through It

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 not willing to do. Norman and Paul have never fought physically. They are equally good at street fighting and do not want to have to figure out who would win as this would cause their relationship to be destroyed. Norman ultimately allows and causes his brothers death because he is not willing to take the risk of stepping up to help his brother. “He did not want any big brother advice or money or help, and in the end, I could not help him”. Norman Directly states his narrative point, but the reader learns that Norman could have helped his brother but didn’t. Norman uses figurative language throughout the book to explain his theme. Norman began to commit himself to being good to his brother early on. He gets in a fight with his brother and they knock over their mother, an act that they both accuse each other of causing. They do not want to fight because they do not want to destroy their relationship by finding out who is stronger. “So we returned to being gracious to each other, as the wall suggested that we should be.” This quote is an example of figurative language. The author personifies the wall by acting as if the wall is speaking and giving advice to the brothers, when in reality it is not. So they choose to follow the wall which says “God is love.” To Norman at least, the wall means that he needs to be kind and accepting of his brother. At first glance this seems like a good thing. Little does the reader know that this will lead to Norman never being able to