The Good Rain - Study Questions - sample student responses

I wanted to give you an opportunity to see responses to the study questions for the introduction to The Good Rain from classmates. This should give you a sense of what is being asked of your for these assignments:

1. Why does the river seem like a "logical last home" for Egan's grandfather's remains?

The river seems like a logical last home for Egan's grandfather's remains because he was a fisherman in the area and Egan thought it made sense to return him to the place that he loved. He compares his grandfather to the salmon in the river and how they die at the same place they are born. He wants his grandfather to have that "full-circle" experience.

2. How has the landscape around Seattle changed since Egan's grandfather was young?

It is "covered with Boeing barns stuffed with generic 737s and 757s." Every bit of terrain his grandpa used to trek, by the time of his death was all "freeways and cul-de-sacs."

3. Why were Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir considered "the twin demons of turn-of-the-century timber barons"?

At the time they met in 1903, Roosevelt was President of the United States and a well-known outdoorsman with a penchant for big game hunting. John Muir was the founder of the Sierra Club and champion of National Parks (most famously to his credit, Yosemite and Mt. Rainier). Both men were conservationists, and Roosevelt's national policies to protect certain parts of the wilderness were a direct affront to the timber and mining industries who wanted to exploit these resources.

4. What do you think Egan means when he writes, "We are not that removed--yet--from the arms of the land"?

We haven't conquered the elements. They still rule our behavior. Our roads follow rivers and our cities are built near water. We still need nature.

5. Who was Theodore Winthrop, and why is there a glacier on Mt. Rainier named after him?

Winthrop adventured in the Northwest in the 19th century and wrote a book about his travels, The Canoe and the Saddle. He was Egan's inspiration for The Good Rain.

6. "The regional icons--salmon and trees and mountains and water--spring from the elements. If people here become too far removed from those basic sources of life, then they lose the bond to a better world." Do you agree with Egan's statement? Why or why not?

A lot of what Egan says about nature echoes the teachings of John Muir. While Egan certainly doesn't share Muir's religious fervor and zeal0try, he speaks from a similar spiritual place. We need to remain connected to nature. Such a bond enriches our lives, changes our perspective, and makes us realize that there are bigger things than those created by human beings. Nature is the place where we go to be lonely, whether that is through communion with the land or becoming enveloped in the quiet solitude of the trees. Place is important.