Peace Like A River Essay

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The novel Peace Like a River by Leif Enger is a story set in Roofing, Minnesota and the Badlands during the early 1960’s. Reuben Land is the eleven- year old narrator and protagonist who has had breathing problems since birth and believes he was brought back to life due to one of his father’s miracles. Rueben lives with his younger sister Swede, older brother Davy, and father Jeremiah Land. Their lives take a drastic turn when Davy is put on trial for manslaughter of two bullies at their school and escapes jail. While on the search for Davy, there are many themes and symbols shown while on the hunt for the fugitive such as justice, the west, faith/miracles, and loyalty/family which will be elaborated on. On page 246, Jeremiah says “Look, …show more content…
The bible wants us to love our enemies and to not rejoice when our enemy falls. This is a quote from Reuben and what he remembers about enemies in the bible. He only rephrases the parts where the enemy is killed and destroyed. The earth “cracking open like an old bun” is showing the crumbling and breakage of the earth as the enemies fall into the depths. You can see how convincing that comparison is. That truly isn’t the message about enemies in the Lord’s eyes, that’s how Reuben sees it. He wants so bad to believe that Mr. Andreeson is a bad person and to protect his brother, even though his Dad may be right. In conclusion, the book Peace Like a River by Leif Enger has many good examples and usage of word diction and simile to portray a broader meaning. This meaning includes the themes of loyalty to one’s family, justice, faith in God and many more that are shown throughout the whole book. Following your heart is sometimes hard to do when family is involved and when you’re too young to know what is just and

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