Brief Summary Of O Brien's Story

Tim O’Brien’s moral dilemma arose when the draft notice arrived. Upon the arrival of his draft notice, he believed that the government picked the wrong person, as he was not fit for the war. Through his details of his job

At the beginning of the novel, Tim O’Brien portrays a strong image against war and him being drafted. He felt like war had no positives, leaving himself to only see the negatives. As he stated, “It all seemed crazy and impossible. Twenty-one years old, an ordinary kid with all the ordinary dreams and ambitions, and all I wanted was to live the life I was born to...and now I was off on the margins of exile leaving my country forever, and it seemed

The chapter “On the Rainy River” in the book The Things They Carried, is a short story about the author Tim O’Brien, and how he felt and reacted to getting his draft notice for the Vietnam war at a mere twenty-one years old. In “On the Rainy River”, O’Brien communicates the true nature of courage by introducing themes of shame and guilt, this is connected to the author’s idea of the nature of courage because he shows what happens mentally when he feels that he’s not reacting as he should to his draft notice. O’Brien wants readers to understand that courage can be very loosely defined, and most people aren’t the stereotypical “superheroes” you see in movies when faced with a life or death situation. O’Brien develops this theme by using examples of his reaction to getting his draft notice. This is most likely to show readers how many people in that time probably felt a lot of guilt for not wanting to go to

With this part of the story, O’Brien is able to inject the theme of shame motivating the characters in the book. This chapter is about how the author, who is also the narrator, is drafted for the war. He runs away to the border between Canada and the United States, he stays in a motel with an old man for about a week and finds that he should go to war for his country. In the beginning it was about shame, he didn’t want to look like a coward because in truth he was scared. He was afraid to face the pressures of war, the humiliation and the fact of losing “everything”. This man was an average person who lived an average life with no problems, until he got the notice about the war, which caused the shame and fear of being seen as a bad person to come out.

When O’Brien is first drafted into the military and contemplates crossing the Canadian border because he doesn’t want to fight a war he doesn’t believe in, but

He decided to go to Canada, but instead stayed for about a week at the border between Canada and the U.S.A.. One day, he went fishing and thought about if his family and friends thought about him as a bad person and became embarrassed. Due to his embarrassment, he kept thinking about what he would do because if he went to Canada, he would not see his family and friends again. He was sad when he thought he would not see his family again, but he still did not want to go to Vietnam. Suddenly, he knew that even though he did not believe in war, he would go home and fight in it. This quote is important because it tells the audience about why O’Brien did not want to go to the Vietnam War and why he decided to go to war.

Prior to learning he was drafted into a war he hated, we are told that he had recently graduated from college (38). O’Brien says, “I was twenty-one years old. Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong” (38). The previous quote shows his confusion towards the war, he then goes on questioning the war by saying, “Was it a civil war? A war of national liberation or simple aggression?” (38) which furthermore provides an example of his uncertainty towards the war. While facing confusion, O’Brien also believed he was “too smart, too passionate” (39) for the war, he claims his drafting was “a mistake, maybe— a foul-up in the paperwork” (39). Both of the quotes show man vs. society conflict. Since O'Brien had recently graduated and received a full scholarship at Harvard, he felt like he was on top of the world, like any other person would if a war was not going on then, society was focused on something he didn't believe so he did not want to accept the harsh reality that he had just been drafted. The narrator also faces man vs self conflict, O’Brien wants to get out of the draft but, he says, “There was no happy way out...my health was solid; I didn't qualify for CO status — no religious grounds, no history as a pacifist” (41). O’Brien knows that it would be illegal to not follow the law of the draft but he also knows that he does NOT want to

O’Brien first showed the revolution in himself. Before this war it was uncommon for a man to not want to fight in the war because they always had a reason to and felt it was their duty. The Vietnam War

     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

For the second half of the reading the narrator is able to hit the last significant and important parts of his story and is able to close the book for the readers. During the first part of the reading O’Brien describes a man who he killed, he goes on to imagine a whole life for the man. I think O’Brien does this because he’s caught in the moment, he feels so guilty and the thought and the physically appearance of the dead man keeps reappearing and stays on the back on his mind. We also learn about when one of the characters, Norman Bowker, goes back home and finds himself almost lost. Even though he is away from the war and time has passed by, all he can think about is the past, including a high school crush, but mostly about the war. This

One of the main characters in the short story “The Things They Carried”, written by Tim O’Brien, is a twenty-four year old Lieutenant named Jimmy Cross. Jimmy is the assigned leader of his infantry unit in the Vietnam War, but does not assume his role accordingly. Instead, he’s constantly daydreaming, along with obsessing, over his letters and gifts from Martha. Martha is a student at Mount Sebastian College in New Jersey, Jimmy’s home state. He believes that he is in love with Martha, although she shows no signs of loving him. This obsession is a fantasy that he uses to escape from reality, as well as, take his mind off of the war that surrounds him, in Vietnam. The rest of the men in his squad have items that they carry too, as a way

In the article, “A Conversation With Tim O’Brien,” he is asked several questions on war; specifically the Vietnam war. After O’Brien was asked how a modern day soldier’s experience with war may differ than his own experience, he began to speak of how there are no more drafts like there was when he was enlisted, and then continued to answer in an appalling manner; “ There should be a law: If you support a war, you must go. And your children must go. Otherwise you’re a hypocrite and will be imprisoned for murderous hypocrisy. (Unless, of course, you support a war only to the extent that other people should die in it.)” When a person supports a war, that does not mean that they themselves should fight. If the President of the United States supports

In the novel, there is an emphasis on how each character deals with his or her emotional baggage. Each character, who is at war, has certain ways of coping with their situation. The soldiers display through their personality the struggles of war. As human beings, we tend to reflect what we carry. For example, if someone experiences loss, sorrow is revealed. O’Brien puts into perspective the baggage that comes with being an adult. In the real world loss, rejection, failure, trials and tribulation occur. Norman Bowker for example, returns home and finds it difficult to adjust to the normality. His baggage from the war torments him and eventually causes him to take his own life. Obrien emphasizes that one must find ways to cope with certain situations.

Sometimes stories in literature are based on a real life event, other times, these stories are told they are set in some far off world. They can even include outlandish things like magic and time travel. The question is then raised in the reader's mind about whether or not the author actually went to that far off place or witnessed something completely extraordinary. Sadly, the answer in most instances is no or it didn't happen exactly like that. There is also the possibility that the author claims that the fantastical adventure they wrote about did happen, and this causes readers to question the sanity of the author. Cases when the authors write the eccentric version of the story they are placing a higher value on the theme (or the story-truth)

Individuals can proclaim faith throughout their lives and call themselves avid believers, but when faced with a life or death situation, there are two extremes that they will conform to. In the face of death, individuals will either deny their faith or reverently stand up for their beliefs. Throughout a lifetime, life and death situations rarely transpire, however, when they do, an individual will succumb to whichever extreme is most convenient for the circumstance. Foreshadowing and irony are often key elements used to detect which extreme the character will turn to, as well viewing the story from an analytical perspective to infer how the character changes throughout the story. The interchangeability of beliefs is one of the negative traits