Peace Like a River

by Leif Enger

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Peace Like a River Questions and Answers

Discuss the parallels between the adventures of the Land family and Swede's poem in Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger.  

How is Reuben's character in Peace Like a River influenced by his ailment (severe case of asthma)? I need to know how his character is influenced by and how he copes with his bad asthma. Thanks!

Explain Roxanna's role in the novel Peace Like a River by Leif Enger.

Identify  three miracles in Peace Like a River.

What are some motifs in Peace Like a River by Leif Enger?

What are some important themes in Peace Like a River by Leif Enger?

How do Reuben, Swede, and Jeremiah express the theme of family in Peace Like a River?

What is the plot of "Peace Like a River"?

What does the character of Roxanna bring to the Land family in Peace Like a River? Over the course of the novel, Reuben's attitude and his physical descriptions of Roxanna change. 

What role do miracles serve in the novel? Examples of miracles?

What role do the miracles serve in the development of the plot of Peace Like a River ?

How did Leif Enger take the non-universal experience of hunting in the freezing cold and render it a universal “moment” in Peace Like a River?

Many find the passages discussing the Lands' hunting experience to be interesting. Name three examples from these passages that Leif Enger renders universal in his novel Peace Like a River.

 Find examples of his pithy dialogue & explore the meaning behind it. Jeremiah has a knack for cutting to the heart of the matter. Example page 28 he says, “Everybody thumps something, Reuben.”

Find examples of Jeremiah's pithy dialogue & explore the meaning behind it.

Jeremiah says, on page 28 of Leif Enger's Peace Like  a River, “Everybody thumps something, Reuben.” What, exactly, did he mean by this?  

How did Leif Enger in Peace Like a River take the non-universal experience of hunting in the freezing cold and render it a universal “moment”?  

Pick one character and discuss the methods Enger uses to characterize him or her in Peace Like a River. Consider the following methods of characterization: speech, action, reaction, authorial/narrator comment, character comment, and narrator description. To begin your essay, write one sentence that summarizes the character thus far, for example (from the Cherry Orchard, so that I don’t steal your ideas for this work), Although Yasha fancies himself a sophisticated cosmopolitan, he is, on the contrary, a self-centered, unaware young man. After this assertive sentence, pull several examples from the text to support your character assessment.

Teaching the novel Tonight, I sit here planning the first "discussion" of this text with my students.  It's a night of many firsts... not the least of which is teaching this to my AmLit Juniors after the entire year's anticipation.  While I am looking foward to this as I have no other topic all year, I am hesitant, wanting to present the material in the best way possible.  This text is so beautifully written and it is a vital reminder of regionalism.  It is also one of the most incredible "coming of age" novels written in contemporary America.       

Briefly analyze this selection from Peace Like a River, exploring how Enger allows the reader to experience and appreciate the quality of breathing. On pages 19-20, Enger does an amazing job describing the act of breathing, an act that you and I most likely take for granted. Then choose a daily, involuntary activity that you can creatively describe, helping your reader to envision and appreciate the action.

How does the Land family contend with this raw, uncivilized, and sometimes brutal landscape? Peace Like a River is set mainly in rural Minnesota and the Badlands of North Dakota during the early 1960s. Like early American pioneers, or perhaps like mythic heroes, the Lands set out to rescue one of their own amidst the beauty and cruelty of the natural world. Identify events or circumstances in which the novel's setting contributes to its elemental or mythic quality. Don't forget to consider the clinkers!

What are some key words that explain Reuben Land in Leif Enger's Peace Like a River?

In Enger's Peace Like a River, Jape was elusive because he was never caught, but how was Jeremiah elusive?

How does one summarize chapters 1-3 in Leif Enger's Peace Like a River?

Is Reuben a likeable character in Leif Enger's Peace Like a River?

In Leif Enger's Peace Like a River, what does Roxanne provide that the Lands had lacked before her arrival in their lives?

Over the course of the novel (Peace Like a River by Leif Enger), Reuben's attitude and his physical descriptions of Roxanna change. In what ways does his view of Roxanna change?

Over the course of Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, Reuben's attitude and his physical descriptions of Roxanna change. Do you think Roxanna’s attitudes toward the Lands as a family and Jeremiah as a person undergo a similar metamorphosis?

Who do you consider to be the best character in the novel Peace Like a River by Leif Enger?