Jessie’s brother and Norman’s brother-in-law, who is originally from Wolf Creek but now lives on the West Coast. Neal has returned for a visit to Montana in the summer of 1937. Neal is very much out of place in Montana culture, wearing preppy sweaters, unable to control his liquor consumption, and only interested in fly-fishing insofar as it will help him prove popular among the women of the town. Jessie is clearly worried about Neal, and asks Norman to take him under his wing—but for various reasons, some within and some out of his control, Norman largely fails. Like Paul, Neal seems to be struggling to find his place, but in the context of Norman and Paul’s relationship, Neal is more of a drag than a productive foil.
Neal Quotes in A River Runs Through It
The A River Runs Through It quotes below are all either spoken by Neal or refer to Neal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 2
Quotes
I asked, “Do you think you should help him?”
“Yes,” he said, “I thought we were going to.”
“How?” I asked.
“By taking him fishing with us.”
“I’ve just told you,” I said, “he doesn’t like to fish.”
“Maybe so,” my brother replied. “But maybe what he likes is somebody trying to help him.”
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Neal Quotes in A River Runs Through It
The A River Runs Through It quotes below are all either spoken by Neal or refer to Neal. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Part 2
Quotes
I asked, “Do you think you should help him?”
“Yes,” he said, “I thought we were going to.”
“How?” I asked.
“By taking him fishing with us.”
“I’ve just told you,” I said, “he doesn’t like to fish.”
“Maybe so,” my brother replied. “But maybe what he likes is somebody trying to help him.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
