‘’To him, all good things (…) come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.’’
The quote from above highlights an important idea in the story, namely that everything is connected. In religion and in fishing as well, there are many elements that have to be taken into consideration. Faith has to be connected with a number of other things. In the end, everything is connected to some kind of creative process and the Father points out that everything is art in one form or another, be it fishing or religion.
‘’Rhythm was just as important as color and just as complicated.’’
When the characters talk about fishing, they always mention how important rhythm is and the connection between fishing and musical rhythm. When Norman and Paul were taught how to fish, their father tried to teach them how to swing the line correctly by teaching them how to match their movements with a rhythm-measuring tool. This proves that for the Maclean family, fishing was not just a sport but rather an art form.
‘’Help is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept is willingly and needs it badly.’’
In the story there are different characters that need help but are two proud to accept it. Neal is the most obvious character who needs help but he denies it time and time again claiming that he is fine on his own. Paul is in need of help as well but he refuses to let anyone help him just in the same manner Neal refused to be helped. These characters do need help badly but they refuse to accept it so the characters who are willing to give a part of themselves to help them are left powerless. When something bad does happen to the characters in question, those who tried to help them are left with the guilt of knowing that they could have done something but did not because they were not allowed to. This is true in Norman’s situation who was plagued by guilt after knowing that his brother died.
