Quote #1: "My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things- trout as well as eternal salvation- come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy."
To understand this quote you must first understand the meaning of the word grace. We think of grace as meaning the freely given and undeserving love God shows for us. In this quote, Norman is telling us that in order to earn that grace we must know an art. If you master an art, you deserve salvation, because it takes a lot of time, patients, and work to be good at something. Norman's father believes God was an artist because he created the world and everything in it so we must live in his image and become artists oursleves. He believes that if we master an art, we better deserve salvation from God because we are using the skills God gave us and mastering them is a way to let God know we appreciate them and don't just take them for granted. The only problem with this quote is that Norman sounds like he is contradicting himself. If grace is something that is freely given, then why must you master an art to get it?
Quote #2: "It is not in the book, yet it is human enough to spend a moment before casting in trying to imagine what the fish is thinking, even if one of its eggs is as big as its brain and even if, when you swim underwater, it is hard to imagine that a fish has anything to think about. Still, I could never be talked into believing that all a fish knows is hunger and fear. I have tried to feel nothing but hunger and fear and don't see how a fish could ever grow to six inches if that were all he ever felt. "
Norman is saying that to be a good fisherman it is first necessary to try to imagine what a fish is thinking. He is saying that just knowing hunger and fear is no way to live and something couldn't survive if that is all they ever felt. This quote is a foreshadow of how Paul masters the art of fly fishing by learning to think like a fish.
Quote #3: " As the heat mirages on the river in front of me danced with and through each other, I could feel patterns from my own life joining with them. It was here, while waiting for my brother, that I started this story, although, of course, at the time I did not know that stories of life are often more like rivers than books. But I knew a story had begun, perhaps long ago near the sound of water. And I sensed that ahead I would meet something that would never erode so there would be a sharp turn, deep circles, a deposit, and quietness. "
In this quote Norman tells us that storytelling is an art, along with flyfishing. When he talks about the river, he is thinking of story telling. I think in this quote he makes it evident that while he is talking about lakes, rivers, and flyfishing, he is also talking about the art of storywritting.
Quote #4: "But when I am alone in the half light of the canyon all existence seems to fade to a being with my soul, and memories. And the sounds of the Big Black Foot River, and a four count rhythm, and the hope that a fish will rise. Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters"
I think this is one of the most important quotes in the whole book. Norman is thinking about the meaning of life when he says this. I think when he talks about "a river runs through it," he is making an analogy to the obstacles of life, although his meaning isn't completly clear. When he says, "The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time," he is talking about the great flood that occured in the Bible. The river was a result of this great flood and it runs over rocks that are hundreds of years old. I think when he talks about the "timeless raindrops" on the rocks he is talking about the rocks his father and him found. The little depressions of the raindrops on the rocks have endured billions of years as will his memories. I think when he says that, "Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs," he is hinting that the river and the rocks in the river tell a story. This story tells the history of creation and life itself. The most powerful line is this quote (and the whole book for that matter) is the very last line. "I am haunted by waters." Though the meaning is not quite clear you must take account of the author himself. Here he is a eighty year old man who is all alone in life. All of his family and friends have passed away years ago. The quote says he is standing alone in a river fishing. He can hear the sound of the rushing water and feel it brush aganist his legs. Perhaps he is haunted by waters because they remind him some much of his decessed relatives and past lives. Maybe he is haunted by waters because he can feel a connection between him and the ones he cared about the most. I think maybe water reminds him of his brother and how nobody on Earth could of helped him. Not him nor his parents. To be haunted could mean by memories. Norman was haunted by his memories of being a young man and what had occured during those years.