broken right hand

Everyone has theirown opinion, and the poeple who have read the book say it is because he was fighting. BUT int he movie I believe the father asked which hand because he wanted to know if he was killed for a reason, not just by some bums. It was a clear indication that he was killed because of his gambling debts. It is also a metaphor for hom not only being killed but having his fishing hand broken.

his character was right-handed. if you're in a fight and you're right-handed, you're going to defend yourself with your left and punch with your right. because all the bones in his right hand were broken, it meant his right hand was in front of his left and he was putting up a fight. if it were his left hand, he would have been just defending himself, as opposed to trying to win. so, he went out fighting.

His right hand was broken because that was his fishing hand. If he was fighting he might have broken one or two bones, but every bone in his right hand was broken. Furthermore there is nothing said about his left hand being broken.

The guys who killed him, (probably the guys who wanted there money back from Paul) knew his passion was fishing, that he was a true artist when it came to fishing. And by breaking the hand which he uses to be such an artist they made an extra statement towards the family Maclean. That line: "is there anything else you can tell me?".... etc.. hurts me the most in the movie along with the last scene in the church where father Maclean makes the most touching speech. It is a sad ending but then again, also an ending which could be seen a mile away. Paul was heading on a one way road and wouldn't accept the help which was offered several times by his brother.

I have been having this very same debate with my boyfriend. He believes that Paul's right hand was broken because he went out fighting while I believe that his right hand was broken because it was his fishing hand. Allow me to shed some light on my argument.

The movie begins by having the elderly Norman recall his father’s words: "Someday when you are ready, you might tell our family story. Only then will you understand what happened and why." An intriguing feature of this movie is that all the meaningful statements are deliberately understated in a way that provokes curiosity. For example, Norman commented: "in our family there was no clear line between fly fishing and religion." Norman doesn’t really explain what he means, Instead he just teases your imagination, and then moves on. The symbol of life at its best was "the river running through." Again and again, as tragedy and setbacks hit the Maclean family, they seemed to find solace and refreshment by returning to their family river, the big Blackfoot. As the movie put it, "Beneath the (river) rocks are the words of God. Listen ... and if Paul and I listened very carefully all our lives, we might hear those words."- http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr9308.htm

In contrast to the modem tendency to "pigeonhole" religion into a small private slot, Norman’s father saw religion as a totally normal part of everyday life. Faith was as normal for him as breathing or fly fishing. Flyfishing for the Macleans was a symbol of an integrated and healthy spirituality pervading all of life. As Norman put it, "... Paul and I probably received as many hours of instruction in fly fishing as we did in all other spiritual matters." Norman’s father saw fly fishing as symbolic of the rhythms of life that we all need to discover. Norman comments: "As a Presbyterian, my father believed that man by nature was a damn mess, and that only by picking up God’s rhythms could we regain power and beauty. To (Norman’s father), all good things come by grace, and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy." Norman’s father trained his two sons to cast "Presbyterian style", on a four count rhythm between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. One of the most significant moments in the movie was the first time that Paul the younger brother broke free of his father’s instruction, into a shadow casting rhythm all his own. All of us, at some point, need to break free of our fathers’ spiritual instruction, to find a relationship with God that we can call our own Secondhand spirituality can only take us so far. - http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr9308.htm

I believe spirituality and fly fishing were one of the same to Paul. The men who beat Paul did not care that his right hand was his fishing hand they just did it to teach him a lesson. Paul probably did fight back, and the men killed him in the end. We see this all the time in mobster movies where one of the bad men will break someones leg, knee, hand, etc. to teach them a lesson. The significance was only to Pauls Dad. He was a man of the church and family, and he felt closer to both when he was fishing. Paul was similar, fishing was when he was at Peace. I think that his hand being broken had more to do with fishing and religion when you really look into it.

I never read the book, but have always assumed that it mattered because that's the hand in which he held his cards--signifying a gambling debt. Hm.

.. I'll first qualify my post by stating I have not read the book-

the movie has a poetic message, as well as its literal story, so for me- the significance of Paul's right hand being broken is also meaningful as a metaphor:

when his father says to Norman, "you know more than that (about your brother). you know he was beautiful", Norman understands. both Norman and his father are Paul's 'true', only? audience- the only ones who witnessed his awe-inspiring last catch- the only ones who appreciated his artistry, his mastery, his grace, his beauty- whatever one wants to call it.

when Paul's right hand is broken.. Norman and his father see/witness something we are all, eventually, forced to learn: that the world of men destroys (true) beauty.

It means he died fighting in the book and the movie. The book is more explicit but even in the movie, when the reverend asks which hand, he makes a fist when told ' his right hand'.

Geez, there are some really zany theories being thrown around when the significance of the broken hand is simple and clear: it means he went out fighting. Early on, the point is made that Paul is a "fighter" and Norm observes that somewhere deep down Paul felt he was the "toughest man on the earth." That point is later highlighted by the fight in the kitchen between Paul and Norm and by the scene at the police station, where the desk sergeant informs Norm of Paul's constant brawling (which is why, of course, Paul landed in jail that night: he knocked out some guy's front teeth for insulting the Indian woman he was with).

One of the dominant aspects of Paul's character, as shown repeatedly throughout the movie, was that he was a fighter, in contrast to the more scholarly and passive Norm, and the manner of Paul's death and the broken hand is meant to underscore that contrast between the brothers.