Themes In The First Day, The Circuit, And On The Rainy

The theme of overcoming difficult odds is seen in the short stories The First Day, The Circuit, and On the Rainy River. In all of these compelling stories our main characters are faced with difficulties in their lives. In The First Day by Edward P Jones our main character, a little girl who is just about to start school, is on a journey with her illiterate mother who is desperately trying to give her daughter the education she herself never received. In The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez our main character Francisco lives a very tough life. With his family being migrant farmers he is constantly moving around and finds it difficult to get an education. However, he fights through this difficult odds and makes the best he can out of his unfortunate situation. In On the Rainy River
He is drafted into the Vietnam War. He is then faced with a difficult decision. Does he go to the war and risk being killed? Or does he dodge the draft and go to Canada? If he dodges he will be labeled as a coward to everyone he knows and if caught could spend five years in federal prison. O’Brien had everything going for him. He soon will be attending graduate school at the University of Harvard. Not to mention he is completely and utterly unsuited for war. He hates blood and authority. The whole premise of the military is a ranking system where some officials have greater authority over enlisted men. Like in the other two short stories O’Brien has people to guide him into making the right decision. These men are his father and Elroy. A father is always an important figure in any child’s life and this is seen prominently throughout this story. In the end O’Brien makes the choice that he is morally okay with and that's all anyone can do. If someone is truly happy with their decisions than it is their life and they can live it how they so