Answer in 3–5 sentences.
In "The Third Bank of the River," describe the role that the father plays in the life of the narrator.
1 answer
In "The Third Bank of the River," the father's role in the life of the narrator is one of mysteriousness and absence. The father's decision to isolate himself by living in a canoe on the river has a profound impact on the narrator and the entire family. The father's withdrawal from society symbolizes not only his personal search for freedom and detachment, but also the family's struggle to understand and cope with his unconventional behavior. Despite his physical absence, the father continues to exert a powerful emotional and psychological presence in the narrator's life, ultimately contributing to the narrator's own feelings of isolation and longing.