Tim O Brien Dilemmas

When individuals are confronted with a dilemma, they often need guidance to reassure their decision. They may fear their choice is incorrect and have to live with the consequences for the rest of their life. By having another individuals opinion and perspective on the situation, it can lead them to new paths they have never imagined themselves going down. Often times, it takes an epiphany to help an individual realize what they must do by helping them make a rational decision instead of a decision influenced by society. Tim O’Brien, a character from On the Rainy River was faced with a dilemma about going to war or fleeing to Canada after being drafted to fight in the Vietnam war. The events that the Old man, Elroy bring Tim through, assist

him in making his final decision. Throughout the short story, On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien portrays how an individuals need for guidance grows as he is confronted with a significant dilemma.

This was a story that was never told to any of Tim’s family nor his wife as he thought of this story as an embarrassment and shame that it had happened to him. “I’ve always thought, would only cause embarrassment for all of us..... For more than twenty years I’ve had to live with it, feeling the shame, trying to push it away.” When Tim stated this, it is appererant that he feels the shame to that day twenty years later. He hopes that by putting his pen to paper and writing about this story will help relieve the stress and pressure on his dreams.

Tim was a newly graduated college student.

At twenty one years old he thought he had his life ahead of him. Tim received his draft notice on the seventeenth day of June in 1968. Once reality set in that he was drafted to the Vietnam war, he thought to himself, “ I was too good for this war.” This references how he viewed his own life and his intelligence. Tim would think to himself “Why not draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk?” The impression that tim had was that his country would draft individuals who were nearing the end of their life within the next 10-20 years. Not some twenty one year old college graduate with his whole life ahead of him. After graduation college, his life was just beginning and then suddenly, a month after his graduation, it suddenly felt like it was ending. At twenty one years old Tim had a decision to make that would affect his future. Tim was confronted with a significant dilemma and had two options. Cave to the pressure that society had put on him and go fight in the war for his country or, flee to Canada and never see his family again. By choosing option two, he thought of himself as a coward and would feel the shame for the rest of his life. With Tim being so young and vulnerable to society, he decided to seek guidance that would help him make a decision about his significant dilemma he was confronted

with.