The Rainy River is a watercourse between Minnesota and Canada which tested O’Brien’s bravery to either enlist in or flee the Vietnam War. O’Brien states that the “The Rainy River… separated one life from another.” He also states that, “...Canadian waters, across... dotted line between two different worlds.” When he was in the river, he sees “hallucination” of his family and friends which reminded him of “ the embarrassment” he felt for running away. The Rainy River symbolized the rebirth of O’Brien into a new world. He also uses symbolism to portray the old man like a god. Tim O’Brien states that Elroy Berdahl “saved his life”. Tim was lost emotionally when he arrived at Canada. Elroy guided him and “offered exactly what(he) needed”. “He was there at a critical time.” Elroy knew O’Brien situation and wanted to help him make the right choice. On the 7th day, Elroy “guided(him) across the river” and “...must’ve planned it.” That day, the necessity of making a choice once and for all becomes clear to O’Brien. …show more content…
He reflects on his cowardice and expresses that there were instances in which he was overwhelmed by fear. He feels dizzy with sorrow, guilt, and regret for parting the country and not enlisting the war. He is troubled by the lack of sleep and the “sickness” that consumes him. The tone deepens the meaning of courage because it allows for a reflection on what could have contributed to the fear and how the character’s courage would ultimately overcome it. The tone of fear supplemented to the importance of O'Brien's decision to escape the Vietnam War; he is acting out of fear. He, “was no soldier… hated dirt… and mosquitoes…..” Tone is created by the character personal emotions towards his life
Before O’Brien was drafted into the army, he had an all American childhood. As talked about “His mother was an elementary school teacher, his father an insurance salesman and sailor in World War II” (O’Brien). He spent his tour of duty from 1969 to 1970 as a foot soldier. He was sent home when he got hit with a shrapnel in a grenade attack. O’Brien says as the narrator, “As a fiction writer, I do not write just about the world we live in, but I also write about the world we ought to live in, and could, which is a world of imagination.” (O’Brien)
In the chapter the “Rainy River” of the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, O’Brien conveys a deep moral conflict between fleeing the war to go to Canada versus staying and fighting in a war that he does not support. O’Brien is an educated man, a full time law student at Harvard and a liberal person who sees war as a pointless activity for dimwitted, war hungry men. His status makes him naive to the fact that he will be drafted into the war and thus when he receives his draft notice, he is shocked. Furthermore, his anti-war sentiments are thoroughly projected, and he unravels into a moral dilemma between finding freedom in Canada or standing his ground and fighting. An image of a rainy river marking the border between Minnesota and Canada is representative of this chapter because it reflects O’Brien’s moral division between finding freedom in Canada or standing his ground and fighting in the Vietnam war.
To some this story might seem like a tragedy, but to Christians this is a beautiful story. Although young Harry dies at the end, he is accepted into the kingdom of God, which is far superior to anything on Earth. A non-religious family raises him and the first taste of Christianity he gets makes him want to pursue God. In Flannery O’Conner’s short story, The River, the allure of Gods grace and the repelling of sinful ways are shown heavily through Harry.
Initially, in the chapter “On the Rainy River” we see O’Brien’s first interaction with his decision on whether he should go to the war or not, when he receives his draft letter. Immediately he has made up his mind not to go since he believes the war is immoral and that he is too good, too smart and too compassionate for this war. He later lists many accomplishments in his senior years such as being “the president of the student body, and his full-ride scholarship to Harvard” (pg.41), to show how much of a bet...
Although the soldiers were united and served for the same goal, each of the men had a different motivation. For O’Brien, his motivation to join the war was the shame of running away. Almost all of the characters were afraid of being ashamed, and that served as a drive for them to do acts of heroism and similarly acts of stupidity. For example, in the story “On the Rainy River”, shame drove O’Brien to do an act of heroism as a fear of being ashamed. O’Brien wrote “For more than twenty years I 've had to live with it, feeling the shame, trying to
It is known that he was a sergeant, he was shot multiple times, and his friend,Linda, died when he was young. It is also known that O’Brien would make up stories to bring his friend back to life. O’Brien tells us “I made elaborate stories to bring Linda alive in my sleep (O’Brien 243).” Later, O’Brien would bring his other friends back using stories. This shows that there was something wrong with O’Brien before he went to war. It also helps to show that the problem was made worse by the war. O’Brien says that “something had gone wrong. I’d come to this war a quiet, thoughtful sort of person, a college grad...but after the seven months in the bush I realized that those high, civilized trappings had somehow been crushed under the weight of the simple daily realities (200).” O’Brien had directly stated his realization that the war had changed him. He figured out that his personality had changed; he realized that he now felt more mean.
“The secret river” is a cruel and tragic story outlining conflict between two civilisations. For a play of this degree, the introduction has to be effective and Andy Bovell really delivers. The prologue introduces the scene and setting of the play with the first sentence. At the same time, characters of both the Dharug tribe and the Thornhills are introduced and characterised, giving us a sense of the way they live. In doing this Bovell clearly adds evidence of foreshadowing with obvious uses of juxtaposition of the contrasting ‘tribes’
The short story, The River, is a tale of a young boy who spends the day with a religious sitter while his parents nurse a hangover. In the end, the boy is washed away by a river as an old business man attempted to rescue him. This story is strongly religious, specifically Christian, with a specific undertone related to baptism. In Ramshaw’s Christian Worship, the author states, “The Christian water ritual, symbolizing death and rebirth, is called baptism, from Greek word baptizein, meaning to dip, to immerse, to plunge into water.”(pg. 143). While all Christians are expected to be baptized into the faith the symbolism and actions during the ceremony may differ according to the branch and denomination. The very basic meaning of baptism is the
Life can sometime bring unwanted events that individuals might not be willing to face it. This was the conflict of O’Brien in the story, “On The Rainy River”. As the author and the character O’Brien describes his experiences about the draft to the Vietnam War. He face the conflict of whether he must or must not go to the war, in this moment O’Brien thinking that he is so good for war, and that he should not be lost in that way. He also show that he disagree with the consbet of the war, how killing people will benefit the country. In addition O’Brien was terrifying of the idea of leaving his family, friends, and everything that he has done in the past years.
The author was a protagonist in which he was a middle aged writer and was also a Vietnam War veteran. The focus of the novel is mostly of the author “O'Brien's" remembering of the past and changing the details of these memories of his service in Vietnam into meaning. The author, Tim O'Brien, illuminates the characters of the men with whom he served and draws meaning about the war from meditations on their relationships. One of the example to prove that he was a character in the story was the section “On the Rainy River”. This chapter basically talks about the author’s point of view. He starts the story, "In June of 1968, I was drafted to fight a war I hated" (pg. 40) the chapter goes on to show his feelings and reactions about being drafted into the war. It shows that Tim O'Brien is human, and that he has his faults just like everyone else. A few months after getting his draft card and notice, in mid-July, Tim thought "I began thinking seriously about Canada. The border lay a few hundred lies north, an eight-hour drive. Both my conscience and my instincts were telling me to make a break for it, just take off and run like hell and never stop." (pg. 44) This shows a sign of a coward’s way of leaving the war. This considers to be a paradox in which in order for him to be courageous, he acted more like a
The relationship you have with others often has a direct effect on the basis of your very own personal identity. In the essay "On The Rainy River," the author Tim O'Brien tells about his experiences and how his relationship with a single person had effected his life so dramatically. It is hard for anyone to rely fully on their own personal experiences when there are so many other people out there with different experiences of their own. Sometimes it take the experiences and knowledge of others to help you learn and build from them to help form your own personal identity. In the essay, O'Brien speaks about his experiences with a man by the name of Elroy Berdahl, the owner of the fishing lodge that O'Brien stays at while on how journey to find himself. The experiences O'Brien has while there helps him to open his mind and realize what his true personal identity was. It gives you a sense than our own personal identities are built on the relationships we have with others. There are many influence out there such as our family and friends. Sometimes even groups of people such as others of our nationality and religion have a space in building our personal identities.
He states that as a soldier, there is so much to soak in from war scenes that it all becomes a muddled mess. Therefore, the story of the moment can be different from each soldier’s perspective due to the parts where each man puts in his own ideas. This leads to some speculation as to whether or not O’Brien’s stories are true or false.
Tim O'Brien is confused about the Vietnam War. He is getting drafted into it, but is also protesting it. He gets to boot camp and finds it very difficult to know that he is going off to a country far away from home and fighting a war that he didn't believe was morally right. Before O'Brien gets to Vietnam he visits a military Chaplin about his problem with the war. "O'Brien I am really surprised to hear this. You're a good kid but you are betraying you country when you say these things"(60). This says a lot about O'Brien's views on the Vietnam War. In the reading of the book, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Tim O'Brien explains his struggles in boot camp and when he is a foot soldier in Vietnam.
Tim O’Brien is drafted one month after graduating from Macalester College to fight a war he hated. Tim O’Brien believed he was above the war, and as a result pursued the alternative of escaping across the border to Canada. This understandable act is what Tim O’Brien considers an embarrassment to himself, and to others. When Tim O’Brien finds accommodation on the border to Canada, he meets Elroy Berdahl who eventually influences Tim O’Brien, to change. Elroy Berdahl acts as a mentor to Tim, a figure that remains detached in the sense that he must provide enough support and understanding without being attached to the results.
Throughout the story, O’Brien speaks about his adventure with man by the name Elroy Berdahl, the owner of the fishing lodge that O’Brien stays at while on he want to run away from his responsibility. O’Brien describe Elroy as “Elroy Berdahl: eighty-one years old, skinny and shrunken and mostly bald... His eyes had the bluish gray color of a razor blade, the same polished shine, and as he peered at me I felt a strange sharpness, almost painful, a cutting sensation, as if his gaze were somehow slicking me open.” O’Brien give the reader a clear idea about what Elroy looked like and how he the big influence on his, he eels Elroy can see the pain and desire inside of him. The circumstance of O’Brian has while he was their helping him to find and realize what his true believes and personality. The author of the story gives the audience the sense that our personal understanding of self is built on the role of relationship we have with others. There are many things that could influence the person choices such as family, friend...