Many people have life-changing revelations, but very few people are as young as Jared when he realizes what he does with his life. Ron Rash wrote the short story "The Ascent," about a young boy's journey that led him to have a significant revelation about his life. In the story, Rash uses a naive narrator, foreshadowing, and imagery to show the setting of the story that led to Jared's revelation about his life. Rash uses the character of Jared to show why he cannot provide objective, reliable truth. In the story, Jared's actions show that he does not understand death when he boards the plane after discovering the dead bodies of a pilot and a passenger. Rash writes, “Jared put the knife in his pocket, got into the back seat, and closed the passenger door” (281). He doesn't fully understand the gravity of death and it doesn't scare him. Jared has a great imagination and tries to help by bringing tools and repairing the plane. After tinkering with the tools, Jared says, “I fixed it so that now it will fly” (287). He sees what he wants because he can...
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