#1
As a Scot and a Presbyterian, my father believed that man by nature was a mess and had falled from an original state of grace. Somehow, I early developed the notion that he had done this by falling from a tree. As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only by picking up God's rythms were we albe to regain pawer and beauty. Unlike many Presbyterians, he often used the word "beautiful".
Q: Why does the main character imply that using the word beautiful is so unlike a Presbyterian?
A: I believe that the relegion its self is somwhat conservative, and using the word beautiful might imply that the object in question has reached the same perfection as heaven and their inhabitants. Thus making it a rare word in the Presbyterian dictionary.
#2
"They weren’t the biggest or most spectacular fish I ever caught, but they were three fish I caught because my brother waded across the river to give the fly that would catch them and because they were the last fish I ever caught fishing with him."
This quote really brings alive how important that one single act made by his brother is to Norman. It also has that ominous shadow that warns you of future sorrow.
#3
"At the end of this day, then, I remember him both as a distant abstraction in artistry and as a closeup in water and laughter"
The way this is prased, and how it ties into the theme throughout the story of art and grace and beauty, really gives you a feel of what the authors try so hard to convey. You feel how much this family means to eachother, and the somwhat mysterious tones their father talks in come to a clearer light.
#4
"I am haunted by waters."
That single line really goes deep into the receses of Normans character. His facade of the stoic, numb person is shown to be just that. A facade. He is hurt and disturbed by his brothers death, and that last line really shows it well.