Character Analysis

Running head : RIVER WHY

Characters of The River Why by David James Duncan

John Q . Student

Wright State University

Characters of The River Why by David James Duncan

The River Why is a story about a young man 's coming of age and searching for himself not as a member of his parents ' household , but as a man , occupying his own place in the world . When the book begins Augustine "Gus " Orviston is obsessed with fishing . Everything he does has something to do with fishing and he plans on devoting his

life to fishing . By the book 's end Gus is no longer obsessed with fishing . He has drunk a good deal of wine , done a lot of thinking about the non-fishing life and has gotten married . He is prepared to lead a reasonably normal , although eccentric , lifestyle

Set in Oregon during 1974 Gus graduates from high school at the age of twenty . Gus has spent most of his available and some of his unavailable time fishing . Gus was preoccupied with fishing to the exclusion of everything else . When he read it was about fishing this explains why he is twenty when he graduates instead of the usual eighteen . After his high school graduation Gus develops the "Ideal Schedule " that allows him fourteen and a half hours of fishing each day . He immediately sets out to implement this schedule . By moving to a primitive cabin on a coastal river . Throughout this year Gus meets a variety of people who are instrumental in his journey to becoming an adult . Central among these are Bill Bob , his little brother , Titus a philosopher and horrible fisherman whose dog Descartes enjoys high tea (but only after grace has been said , and Eddy the free spirited young woman who becomes his wife

Gus was an avid fisherman like both his father Henning Hale-Orviston "H2O " a pristine fly fisherman who catches and releases all of his fish to preserve fishing for future generations and his mother , Carolina "Ma Carper who would use anything at hand to land and fish and would not have engaged in the process of "catch and release " for any reason whatsoever . He has inherited traits from both parents he is an excellent fly fisherman , but does not hesitate to use other types of tackle and eats some of the fish he catches . Bill Bob is not at all like either of his parents or his older brother . He has never fished , talked about fish , or read about fish . He has never been obsessed with a single thing because he is obsessed with everything except fishing . He does several things at once he listens to two radio stations at once using a separate portable radio and earpiece for each station . Although only about ten years old , Bill Bob thinks about things and develops theories to explain this complicated universe . He views the world as a place to be experienced and engages in as many activities at the as possible

Bill Bob arrives on...