Not so good at it
From the first pages of the story, it becomes clear that Norman, his father and his brother liked fishing. Norman’s father developed a theory of fishing and he considered that anyone doing anything different from what he was doing was not on the right path. Ironically however, Norman notes that despite the way he was thought and his father’s passion for fishing, he was not very good at it.
Man of God
Norman describes his father as being a deeply religious man who cares about everyone around them. Ironically however, he thinks that those who live outside his city are ‘’bastards’’, people incapable of loving and of being loved. This proves that the love of a minister does have a limit and is not as unconditional as one would think.
On a pedestal
Florence thinks that Paul is one of the best fishermen she ever encountered and because of this she talks fondly of him and hopes that he will be a good influence of her son, Neal. Ironically however, not does only Paul dislike Neal, but he is far from being the positive influence Florence portrayed him to be. Paul could influence Neal negatively in many different aspects but despite this, she still hoped to have Paul teach her son how to fish.
Made it worst
At the end of the first part of the story, Norman and Paul get into a fight in their parents’ home. Their mother tries to break them apart but the boys do not see her and they knock her on the ground. Seeing that one of them pushed their mother, the children fight even harder which is ironic considering the fact that the only reason the mother intervened was to stop her children from fighting even worst.
Not so good
From the second part of the story, it becomes clear that Paul thinks that he is better than anyone else and that those who left Montana are all gamblers, drunks and degenerate men. Ironically however, Paul ended up being all of those things and he never left Montana. This proves that not a geographical place determines someone’s future but rather their actions and attitude.
