Final answer:
Jerry's primary struggle is with himself as he confronts his fears, personal limitations, and emotional challenges. His battles, depicted through various texts, focus on themes of self-conflict and the quest for identity and survival.
Step-by-step explanation:
The struggle that Jerry is facing is a complex one. Upon analyzing the excerpts provided and considering the context, Jerry's struggle appears to be primarily with himself. The texts suggest an internal battle where Jerry confronts his fears, pushes his physical limits, and faces emotional turmoil. In the selection where he contemplates drowning as a 'comfortable arrangement,' it seems Jerry is wrestling with the concept of mortality and his personal will to survive. Similarly, Joe's attempt to submerge his homosexual urges suggests an internal conflict between his socially conditioned beliefs and natural impulses. This theme of internal struggle is further echoed in the examples of self-conflict seen among the Yukon man, the character among his sheep, and even Andy at camp; each character is invariably facing a battle within himself, whether it's against nature, societal expectations, or homesickness. Jerry's confrontation with the ocean represents a physical dimension of his struggle but is ultimately a metaphor for the internal challenges he faces.