Broken relationships, trust, joy, fear – these are all aspects of life that everyone can relate to in one way or another. These are all emotions that we all have to deal with at some point in life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayIn the short story “Crossing,” written by Mark Slouka in 2009, this is precisely what two characters face. A trip is supposed to be filled with joy, but an event at the riverside prevents rebuilding the trust and relationship between a father and son. Is the risk of trusting too great, if it is a matter of life or death? Once trust is broken, is it too difficult to rebuild it? The main character is a man in his twenties, perhaps early thirties, as he is married, divorced, and has a young son. He is a man full of hope and regret. His divorce is not directly written, but subtly indicated by the narrator drawing attention to “…the azaleas he had planted”. This suggests that he once lived there, but now enters with his head bowed as if he were a visitor. As he picks up his son from home that morning, he feels a sense of hope. A hope that maybe he can make it all right again. He comes to the conclusion that in order to repair their relationship, he needs to take notes on his relationship with his own father, meaning a trip into the wilderness would be the best way to bond. When they find themselves in the extremely dangerous position of being trapped in the river, his thoughts wander to the guilt he feels: "God, all his other shit was just preparation for this." This implies that he was the reason his marriage had to end, and he is aware of this. His thoughts throughout the short story play an important role, as his nervousness and anxiety affect the mood of the story. We are guided by the father's thoughts despite the fact that they are not told by a first person narrator, but rather by a third person narrator. This leaves the reader with limited knowledge of the situations and the narrator well aware of what is going to happen. We share the protagonist's feeling of anxiety and suspense, when small clues are given, but something still has to happen. The writing is overwhelmed with images, giving the reader the opportunity to create a visual in their mind.