A River Runs Through It Summary

Society in the late 20th century was confused about the difference between leisure and labor time. In (A River Runs Through It) by Norman MacLean he writes about how his father, Rev. MacLean, Paul and Neal who all had different ways and definitions of how to spend their leisure time. From knowing the clear difference between the two, to having leisure be the hierarchy of them and to have leisure and labor meaning the same. Fly fishing played a major role in, A River Runs Through It, and Norman introduces the subject right in the beginning of the book saying that his father, Reverend MacLean, even told Norman and his brother Paul that Christ’s disciples were fisherman. Although Rev. MacLean was a pastor he knew that there was a clear difference between leisure and labor time. Rev. MacLean knew what it was like to not have leisure time because of the way and the time in

Most people don’t understand what leisure is. They often think that they should not take time off because that would mean that they would not be making money. As in A River Runs Through It, Norman explains how three individuals all perceived leisure time and how they spent it. Rev. MacLean had a clear understanding of leisure time and labor time allowing his boys, Norman and Paul, to go fishing after they were done with their school work. Paul held fly fishing above everything else in his world. He would even skip or leave work early just to go fishing. Neal who has nothing to do with fishing but also doesn’t know what labor is. Leisure and labor time to Neal is exactly the same because he doesn’t have a job. A River Runs Through It is a great example in showing society that leisure can be spent doing anything that one desires and it can be held on all kinds of hierarchy. Whether its at the top, well understood with labor or whether they have no difference between labor and