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Peace Like a River Essay Paper

Peace Like a River Essay Paper

Theme of Innocence vs. Guilt

Peace Like a River was a novel published by Leif Enger in 2001. It was taken from the lyrics of the hymn ‘It is well with my soul,’ which was performed at his wedding. Enger wrote the novel with the main aim of amusing the family, taking suggestions from his children, and giving asthma as the lead character as a way of encouraging one of his sons with the condition. The thing that caught my attention when the book was that it was a story of a father, who was raising his three children in Minnesota during the 1960s. The book was once about a heroic quest, a love story, and tragedy that is about haunting medication on the possibility on magic in the everyday world (Enger, 2001)Peace Like a River Essay Paper.  Reuben is the narrator of the story and he spends the first 12 minutes in life not breathing and he almost dies. When Jeremiah Land, his father picks up Reuben as a baby, he commands him to breathe in God’s name and he starts to breathe. He says that this was his father’s first miracle and he believes that he was put on earth to bear witness to them. He is 11 years and he goes for hunting with his family in North Dakota.  The story is interesting since it is a real-life story that shows the life of the author.

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Several aspects of the story speak to me personally.  The challenges that Reuben has been facing in his life have been clear throughout his life.  I have seen many people go through similar experiences but they fight them out and come out as winners despite the challenges they face.  The theme of justice vs. guilt is clear in the book. The book mostly focuses on the idea that all beliefs, thoughts and actions have consequences (Enger, 2001)Peace Like a River Essay Paper. Swede and Reuben watch the play out through the trial Davy goes through and the consequently space that occurs. Reuben experiences the consequences of his own actions in North Dakota after he and Davy reconnect with each other. The notion of justice is based on the consequences that will be fair and tis does not always mean that the same thing will be done to different people. Reuben’s life while growing up occurs in the realization.

The novel has borrowed many motifs and tropes from western movies and literatures and the most common idea it has is that of ‘frontier justice.’ The theme is organized in the rational and organized systems of justice just like the sheriffs and courtrooms. The different school of thoughts on justice show the conflict that exist between the people and the valuing systems that are not valued in the same way, Davy has his own personal honor that leads to the murder of Israel Finch and Tommy Visca. However, the legal system that he contends with   believes this act to be wrong (Enger, 2001).   Through Davy, he physically escapes from the jail but he never escapes the legal system because he spends his lie on the run because he is wanted for being a criminal. It shows that while frontier justice and revenge are righteous and romantic in theory, the reality shows that there are harsh consequences for people who take justice into their own hands and this includes exile from the community that the law is expected to protect. Peace Like a River Essay Paper

The novel mostly criticizes the ideals of the west concerning justice and its consequences. It shows how they are promoted and it also shows the fate that Davy have towards frontier justice and its ineffectiveness in the community. Swede insists on engaging others in the search of Davy since he believes that Davy may not be righteous or safe. The western experience that Reuben has in s reaching for Davy on a horseback has been dramatic on the side of the law enforcement officers and it seems to be unsatisfying. These experiences play out to show that Reuben’s act is ineffective and impossible when it comes to simplifying justice to a ‘white hat’ vs a ‘black hat’ (Enger, 2001).   Swede has continued being fixated on the trope and Reuben finds himself stuck in the moral ambiguity. Reuben then realizes that as he is on Davy’s side, what Davy did was neither just nor right and in this way, the experiences tht Reuben has in the west take him to understand the fictional westerns and punishment and it shows that the justice is a main priority in the world and those found guilty of committing a crime are subjected to punishment based on the provisions of the constitution and law.

In conclusion, the theme of innocence vs. guilt is clear in the book Peace Like a River. The book was interesting since it was a true story that the author wrote about the life of one of his sons. I have an experience with the story since I have seen most people going through what Reuben is facing and I have seen them overcome them. Davy is a   criminal and he runs away from the law and despite him escaping jail, he does not run away from the legal system since he lives in hiding for his actions Peace Like a River Essay Paper.

Reference

Enger, L. (2001). Peace like a river. Atlantic Monthly Press.

Peace Like a River essay analysis                 Listening for God in Fiction—Prof. Hecht

**DUE: Dec. 1, 2022

**Length: 800-1200 words; Weave in a minimum of 6 quotes from the novel to illustrate your theme. Don’t quote the Bible in this essay, but you may write about biblical themes.

**Show me that you’ve done some of your own thinking, writing not only about what we discussed in class (although some of that is fine, of course)Peace Like a River Essay Paper.

Peace Like a River Prompts:

Think about this: What caught your attention while reading this book? What aspect of the story spoke to you personally? Write about something that truly interests you. Create one theme/thesis (a complete sentence about a truth portrayed in the novel)—include it in your intro.

  1. Choose one contrast (or come up with another one—there are more) and illustrate a universal theme that Enger is suggesting:
  • Faith vs. self-sufficiency
  • Innocence vs. guilt
  • Life vs. death (spiritually)
  • Revenge vs. forgiveness
  • Good vs. evil (this is broad, so choose a category to analyze) Peace Like a River Essay Paper

Or, you could choose one of these quotes to explain and illustrate:

  1. According to Swede, “Every western is a love story” (105). How is Peace Like a River a love story? Choose 3-4 relationships and show how they illustrate various kinds of love —what does it mean to love your sibling? Parent? Enemy? God? etc.
  2. On page 33, Reuben says, “Once torched by truth, Swede wrote years later, a little thing like faith is easy.” Explain what this means (discuss the whole statement, not just one half) and why she comes to this conclusion. Peace Like a River Essay Paper

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How to refine and edit your essay before you turn it in:

  1. Make sure you have an interesting introduction; let me see your creativity (which you all have!) It should be fairly short, maybe a paragraph or two short paragraphs.
  2. Don’t retell the story—assume that the readers of your paper have already read the book. Analyze the story, showing how elements within it support your thesis/theme.
  3. Always lead into a quote so readers know who is speaking.
  4. A literary paper is written in present tense. Reuben says… or Jeremiah thinks…
  5. Avoid the clause “we see”—you’re stating the obvious. Avoid any unnecessary mention of the readers. Avoid “in the story.”
  6. Avoid unnecessary first person, and don’t use second person at all.
  7. Once the content and structure are finished, go through and edit for grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Peace Like a River Essay Paper