Quote 1: Setting
"Below him was the multitudinous river, and, where the rock had parted it around him, big-grained vapor rose. The mini-molecules of water left in the wake of his line made momentary loops of gossamer, disappearing so rapidly in the rising big-grained vapor that they had to be retained in memory to be visualized as loops. The spray emanating from him was finer-grained still and enclosed him in a halo of himself. The halo of himself was always there and always disappearing, as if he were candlelight flickering about three inches from himself. The images of himself and his line kept disappearing into the rising vapors of the river, which continually circles to the tops of the cliffs where, after becoming a wreath in the wind, they became rays of the sun."

I think this quote describes not only the setting really well, but also the importance of the river and fishing to Paul.

Quote 2: Character Relationship
"He knew I was being blamed for Neal, and he may well have thought my marriage was breaking up. He had heard me called a bastard, and he was out of the house when I and the three Scottish women publicly declared our love for each other, given the restrictions that Scots put on such public declarations. Actually, I was feeling lordly with love and several times broke into laughter that I can’t explain otherwise, but he could have thought I was trying to be brave about having made a mess of my life. I don’t really know what he thought, but he was as tender as I usually tried to be to him."

I chose this quote because I thought it showed a lot about Paul and Norman's relationship. Even with everything going on with Norman's life  and regardless of how Paul feels about the things going on in Norman's life, Paul is still "tender" to Norman just like Norman usually tried to be with Paul.

Quote 3: Metaphor
"Fishing is a world apart from all others, and inside it are special worlds of their own--one is fishing for big fish in small water where there is not enough world and water to accommodate a fish and a fisherman, and the willows on the side of the creek are all against the fisherman."

I thought this quote said a lot about life. My interpretation of this quote was that there are parts of life that are hard and unfair, and parts of life that  may be diffucult but  are also beautiful.

Quote 4: The Quote of the Novel
“Help,” he said, “is giving part of yourself to somebody who comes to accept it willingly and needs it badly. “So it is,” he said, using an old homiletic transition, “that we can seldom help anybody. Either we don’t know what part to give or maybe we don’t like to give any part of ourselves. Then, more often than not, the part that is needed is not wanted. And even more often, we do not have the part that is needed.”

I chose this quote because not only does it say a lot about the meaning of the novel, but I think it also says a lot about life. I think this quote perfectly states the heart and essence of most people and their lifes.