Norman Maclean's A River Runs Through It

The novel A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean, published in 1976, is a story that goes into depth about the complexities of human relationships. Throughout the story, Norman, the main character, seeks to help his brother Paul with his issues of gambling, drinking, and fighting. However, through his journey Norman encounters many issues, such as not knowing how to help. Additionally, Norman even avoids helping as it would lead to conflict between the two brothers. Due to this dilemma, Norman failed to give help to Paul and as a result his brother died. Through the manipulation of figurative language, Maclean forms the idea that there is trouble when offering and receiving help. Most often, when an individual does not know how to help,

This passage illustrates that it is dangerous for Paul to play poker because when he plays, he can overtime owe money to the loan shark. Eventually, this would lead the loaners to go after Paul, which would then lead to fighting. Furthermore, we know that when Paul fights, he fights to the death, which shows why being behind in the “big game” is unhealthy. What Maclean indicates through this figurative language is that Norman was finally able to open his eyes to reality. The reality is that Paul has an addiction to gambling, alcohol and fighting. When Norman realizes this, he concludes that Paul needs help. So, after Norman finally realized that Paul needed help, he acted on what he believed he had to do. When the two brothers went fishing together, there was a point where Norman made a big mistake. While thinking of Paul’s problems Norman states, “Can I help you with money or anything?... I thought maybe it cost you a lot to fix the front end of your car the night you chased the rabbit. He acted as if his father had offered to help him with a bowl of oatmeal” (Maclean 45). This is figurative language because Paul’s father was not there during the