Denial of Identity

One of the principle themes of the second book is the inability of several of the characters, most notably Rand, to refuse their role in the events taking place around them. When Moiraine and Siuan Sanche tell Rand he is the Dragon Reborn, his denial takes the form of anger. He convinces himself that they are being duplicitous. He tells himself that they do not really believe he is the Dragon Reborn, but that they are simply trying to confuse him to make him easier to manipulate. He is uncertain. His circumstances repeatedly confirm what they have told him, and he must work increasingly harder to deny what is happening to him adn what he is.

To some extent this is true of several of the other principle characters. Perrin, who like Rand would rather return to the Two Rivers and become a blacksmith, must instead...