copyright 1999, Sirpa Grierson
Novel Information and Resources:
"A River Runs Through It"
Hinson, Hal. Washington Post.com 16 Oct. 1992. 20 Oct. 2001 http://washingtonpost.com/wpsrv/style/longterm/movies/videos/a riverrunsthroughitpghinson_a0a7bc.htm
This is a good review of the movie version of A River Runs Through It. Some of the strengths of the book are the same strengths that are praised by the reviewer of this movie. It also discusses the weaknesses of the movie. Again, some of these would translate into weaknesses in the book.A River Runs Through It and other Stories. 25th Anniversary Edition
Maclean, Norman. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2001."Casting Flies and Recasting Myths with Norman Maclean's 'A River
Runs Through It'"
Lojek, Helen. Western American Literature. 25 (1990): 145-56.
This article makes many links between fishing and masculinity. It would be a good article to use if you wanted to teach the class about feminist criticism because it also explores how women are very secondary in this text because they know little about fishing or the men in this story."Fishing in the Northwest: An Angler's Reader"
Love, Glen. Oregon State University Press. 20 Oct. 2001
http://www.orst.edu/dept/press/nwfishintro.html
Love talks about how much writers have been intrigued by fishing as a subject for writing. He uses Moby Dick as an example of older writings done about fishing and mentions Maclean's book as proof that great writers about fishing haven't gone the way of the 18th and 19th centuries.
"Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It and Other Stories
(1976)"
Lavender, Catherine. 31 March 2000. The Program in American Studies, The College of Staten Island of CUNY. 20 Oct 2001
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/riverruns.html
This website offers suggestions of a few books that would fit in the category of "New Western Literature", Maclean's book being one of them. She lists a few questions that would be excellent essay questions."Norman Maclean and Tragedy"
Weltzien, D. Alan. Western American Literature. 30 (1995): 139-49.
This article talked about old essays of Maclean's showed how he emphasized and focused on tragedies, such as King Lear. For him, tragedy was the most important aspect of literary territory to discover. This had an impact on his writing of A River Runs Through It."Norman Maclean's 'A River Runs Through It': Word, Water, and
Text."
Butler, Douglas. Critique: Studies in American Literature. 34 (1992): 263-273.
This source discusses the archetypes that are found in A River Runs Through It. It talks about the formless nature of the story and how Maclean eliminates himself from the story in his writing of it."Religion and Fly Fishing: Taking Norman Maclean Seriously"
Weinberger, Theodore. Renascence. 49 (Summer 1997): 281-89.
This source talks about this story being an allegory for religion. The author writes about many different aspects of fly-fishing, such as it being an otherworld type experience, and relates that to Maclean's view on religion."River Fishing: Fishing Landscape as Aesthetic"
Johnson, Kent, Trent Tatum, and Laura Luterbach. U of Wyoming American Studies. 20 Oct. 2001
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/AMS/AMST2010/00-IntroProj/Fishing/river_f.htm
This University of Wyoming website uses Maclean's words, along with other writers of fishing literature, to show how fishing can be beautiful and help one appreciate nature more fully.
"The 100 Most Influential Montanans of the Century"
Merriam, Ginny. Missoulian.com. 20 Oct. 2001
http://www.missoulian.com/specials/100montanans/list/018.html
This is an excellent insight into the life of Norman Maclean as seen from the eyes of a fellow Montanan. He is listed as the 18th most influential Montanan of the century. It gives a good background on how the book was received originally."When Life Becomes Literature: The Neo-Aristotelian Poetics of Norman
Maclean's 'A River Runs Through It'"
Ford, James. Studies in Short Fiction 30 (1993): 525-34.
This article relates critical theory to the production of fiction. It talked about the hero in this novel having a tragic flaw-hamartia. It tells how Maclean was influenced in his writing of this story by the critical theory he taught.Reading Activities (compiled by Jessica Hall)
| Pre-Reading | During Reading | After Reading |1. Norman Maclean. Wikipedia. 23 February, 2005
http://www.answers.com/topic/norman-maclean
This website gives more detailed information about the author. The students may find it interesting to understand the man behind the story and about what he did in his life.2. Hall, Jessica. “Questions and Answers.”
These questions, which the students will answer, will help the students know what to look for in the novel. They will also help the students figure out how to relate the book to their own lives.3. Hedges, Warren. “New Historicism Explained.” Southern Oregon University. 23 February 2005 http://www.sou.edu/English/Hedges/Sodashop/RCenter/Theory/Expla ind/nhistexp.htm
This site explains new historicism. This viewpoint of interpreting literature may help students more fully understand Maclean’s purposes in writing.4. Maclean, Norman. “Acknowledgments.” A River Runs Through It and Other Short Stories. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1976. pgs. Xvii-xxii
This beginning to the book explains why Maclean wrote the novel. It may be interesting for students to learn about his motives and his confidence in writing one of the most popular novels of all time.5. Hall, Jessica. “Montana: What is this Place?” A River Runs Through It Project. 19 February 2005
This PowerPoint slideshow may help students more fully understand Montana. In order to fully understand the book, it is essential that students understand where it is written.6. McLean, Dusty. “Norman Maclean.” Hot Springs County High. 19 February 2005 http://www.ncteamericancollection.org/litmap/maclean_norman_mt.htm
This website is a brief essay written by a student about Norman Maclean. Its information can be used to tell students more about who and what the author was.7. “Montana.” Yahoo! Reference. 19 February 2005 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/encyclopedia/entry?id=32143
This article on Montana will help give students a more real grasp on Montana. The novel is more easily understood if the setting is better understood, and this link can help lead to a deeper understanding of this book.8. “Norman Maclean.” Sparknotes. 19 February 2005 http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=58&m=451946&h=norman,maclean
This article gives more information about Maclean. Understanding of the author brings a better understanding of his book, and this site is a major help in understanding who Norman Maclean was.9. “Blackfoot River” Grays Sporting Journal. 19 February 2005 http://www.grayssportingjourna.com/stories/020304/exped_ariver.shtml
This website provides a history of the Blackfoot River. This river is the one depicted in the novel. This website can be used to provide students and teachers with more information about the river and why it is important to not only the book, but to real people.10. “Dan Geib's Flatpicking & Acoustic Guitar Site” Art Gomperz. 19 February 2005 http://www.artgomperz.com/artgomperz/tabs.htm
This site has free bluegrass music. Introducing students to mountain culture through music may interest them more fully in the novel.1. “A River Runs Through It.” Reel Wavs. 23 February 2005 http://www.reelwavs.com/sounds/riverrunsthroughit/
This website has a few quotes from the book as read by Robert Redford in the movie version. The students may enjoy listening to some spoken parts of the book.2. “A River Runs Through It.” Bart’s English Class. 23 February 2005 http://www.barrsenglishclass.com/river.html
This is a study guide/quiz that goes page by page. This may be helpful in testing students’ comprehension and relating the text to other works.3. Hall, Jessica. “Poker and Fishing: Images of Paul’s Life” A River Runs Through It Project. 19 February 2005
This PowerPoint presentation shows images of both poker and fly fishing. As students are reading the novel, it may help to give them a visual of some of the things that made Paul who he was.4. Hall, Jessica. “A River Runs Through It: Images of the movie, insights into the book” A River Runs Through It Project. 19 February 2005
This PowerPoint presentation gives students a visual on some of the characters. While this could be shown after the book has been read, it helps students more tangibly grasp the characters.5. Hall, Jessica. “’Dear Jesse’ Writing Assignment” A River Runs Through It Project. 19 February 2005
This activity helps students get a feel for the language that both Paul and Norman used in their writing. This activity will help them come to more fully understand who Paul is.6. “So You Wanna Learn how to Play Poker?” So You Wanna. 19 February 2005 http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/poker/poker.html
Gambling is a major piece of Paul’s life, eventually leading to his demise. This site gives simple poker instructions so that students and teachers can understand exactly what kinds of things Paul was involved in.7. Smith, Grant T. “Merging Into One: Teaching the Sacred in A River Runs Through It.” Viterbo University. 19 February 2005 http://www.viterbo.edu/personalpages/faculty/GSmith/MergingIntoOne.html
This website provides a deeper look at religion and A River Runs Through It. Although an LDS author writes it, it discusses primitivism, or the belief that one can come closer to God through nature. This is a big point in the novel, and this site may be helpful in teaching this concept to classes.8. Baca, Rev. Dr. Jack W. “Life Lessons: Learn from the Pro!” 11 July 1999. Village Church Sermons. 19 February 2005
http://www.villagechurch.org/sermons/ser071199.html
While this site is religious, it does have some good insight. Maclean links fly fishing and religion in his book, and this link provides a closer look at how one might link these two seemingly unrelated topics.9. “Fly Fishing.” Hipwader. 19 February 2005 http://www.hipwader.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&fil e=article&sid=619&POSTNUKESID=445063caf7630a3649202a0fd6b7482a
Because the book talks so much about fly-fishing, it is interesting for the students to understand how the sport works. This site gives instructions on how to fly fish, giving students a better understanding of what Paul and Norman are doing in the book.10. Hall, Jessica. “A River Runs Through It Study Guide” A River Runs Through It Final Project. 19 February 2005
This study guide may give students more insights to the novel and help them understand what to look for in their reading and how they can relate the book to real life.1. Kittle, Jim R. “Six Ingredients for a Classic Tragic Hero.” A River Runs Through It Unit. Hillcrest High School. January 2003
Students can use this guide and compare the classic hero to Paul in the novel. It is helpful for them to compare Paul to other heroes they have read about in other works.2. Lavender, Catherine. “Norman Maclean: A River Runs Through It and Other Stories” 31 March 2000. College of Staten Island. 19 February 2005 http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/dept/history/lavender/riverruns.html
This website provides links to other sites that give important information about A River Runs Through It and its author. It also has a few very useful study questions to help students achieve a more focused read of the book.3. “A River Runs Through It.” Outdoors Magazine. 19 February 2005
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=136
This link discusses the book from a fellow Montanan’s point of view. It gives deeper insight on Maclean’s writings and helps the reader see the beauty behind A River Runs Through It.4. Ebert, Roger. “Robert Redford Interview” May 1992. Roger and Ebert. 19 February 2005 http://rogereber.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19921004/ESSAYS/10010317/1023
This interview with A River Runs Through It movie director, Robert Redford, provides some more information on Maclean, the book, the movie, and Redford’s thoughts. It is very interesting and provides some useful information for the students.5. “Montana Festival of the Book” Montana Book Festival. 19 February 2005 http://www.bookfest-mt.org/
This website gives a list of authors from Montana that have had an impact on American Culture through their writings of the West. This link could be used to provide supplemental or follow-up reading.6. Martinez, Nicole. “Note to Norman Maclean.” 19 February 2005 http://www.geocities.com/nicolemartinez74/norman.html
This link leads to a poem that was written in response to A River Runs Through It. This could be read to students to give them some sort of closure, or as an example of an assignment to write their own poems or thoughts about the book.7. “Essay on A River Runs Through It.” 4 November 2002. CSUSM. 19 February 2005 http://courses.csusm.edu/ltwr325bc/100rrtiessay.html
These are some essay topic ideas. While more can be added, this is a good source of questions for students to think about when finishing the book.8. Ramsey, Russell B. “A River Runs Through It.” Ransom Fellowship. 19 February 2005 http://www.ransomfellowship.org/M_River.html
These are some essay topic ideas. While more can be added, this is a good source of questions for students to think about when finishing the book.9. Caldwell, Aaron B. “A River Runs Through It.” Top 100 Movie List. 19 February 2005 http://www.geocities.com/aaronbcaldwell/River.html
This website provides sound bytes from the book and movie to let students hear the story, rather than read it. It also provides memorable quotes from the book/movie and a movie review.10. Kittle, Jim R. “Letters to the Editor” A River Runs Through It Unit. Hillcrest High School. January 2003
These two letters to the editor are regarding the movie A River Runs Through It. After having students read the book and watch the movie, have them rate the articles and write their own.
Reading Resources and Unit Guide for this Novel