What are the motifs in Young Men & Fire by Norman Maclean?

Determination is recurring idea in the book. One of the traits in a U.S. Forest Service Smokejumper is determination. Although the act of jumping from an airplane into the heart of a burning forest may seem more than a little crazy to most, which the Smokejumpers often were, the men were determined to try and stop a fire and its effects before it got out of control. The determination to save the forest as well as livestock and homesteads was especially admirable considering the relative youth of the Smokejumpers.