Tim O’Brien felt and believed that he would be jeopardizing his own soul by killing people in the Vietnam War, which he views as immoral. He was convinced and persuaded that war was wrong and evil, since people were losing their lives as a result of it. He makes a decision to desert due to the belief that this is the only moral choice. It is however unfortunate that O’Brien lacks the courage to desert and hence, he lets himself to be sent to Vietnam War. “I simply couldn’t bring myself to flee. Family, the home town, friends, history, tradition, fear, confusion, exile: I could not run,”(O’Brien 68). O’Brien does not specifically mention courage, but he calls himself a coward for having considered running away.
Being a coward was not highly looked upon and he knew that he would be labeled a coward if he fled. He came to the realization that he
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Clearly, as demonstrated by Arizona, one of the soldiers killed, an important element of courage is not to back away from challenges. Arizona did not hide when his troop was being attacked, but instead, he followed his captain in pursuit of the enemy, but unfortunately, he was shot. This concept of not backing down is further supported on pages 134 and 135, when O’Brien talks about one of his experiences with a bully as a young boy in middle school. O’Brien was pushed out of the line by a bully while he was waiting for the school bus, and though he was puny compared to the bully, he stood up for himself. The bully announced there was going to be a fight between him and O’Brien on Monday. Monday morning came around, and he had a decision to make. Would he back down from this bully, or would he be courageous enough to withstand the bully? O’Brien showed up to school and fought the bully. It ended up being a draw. O’Brien mentions that, “ Honor was clearly at stake,”(O’Brien 135). Clearly, being honorable is also a necessary component of having
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
In the short story “Speaking of Courage” by Tim O’Brien, metaphors are used throughout the story to emphasize that a passing of time does not make it any easier for soldiers to convey their thoughts and attachments to the war to those around them. The story takes place after the war is over on a Sunday at a lake. Norman Bowker, the main character, is seen driving continuously around this lake while thinking about his childhood. He drives around so much that has already passed two young boys on the same road “six times, forty-two miles, nearly three hours without stop” (O’Brien 133). As he continues to circle the lake, the reader is able to discover more about Bowker’s past in his hometown. “Before the war, they’d driven around the lake as friends, but now…the high school girls were mostly
Courage is the ability to stand up for ones beliefs and ethics that the Army has been bestowed on them, despite the danger they may face on duty. Courage which is the result of training and discipline is the kind upon which the control of men in battle is based. With such courage, the man when facing
Courage, one word with many meanings. When thinking about courage, we think of someone who takes a particular action in doing something they are afraid of or someone who has gone through hard, painful things but still manages to come off strong. O’Brien gives the word courage a whole new meaning, in the beginning, O’Brien admits that he is too smart and too compassionate to go to war, this is when he chooses to go off to Canada. Showing us that he has self-courage as he was walking away from something he did not want to do. Later on in the story “On The Rainy River” we can see how O’Brien defines it. He tells us that he understood what he should not do and what he would do. “I would not swim away from my hometown and my country and my
Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, “On the Rainy River” from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers
Furthermore, O’Brien himself admits he went to war not out of courage, but out of embarrassment and cowardice. In the chapter “On The Rainy River,” O’Brien received a draft letter for the Vietnam War. He was in shock, “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, to everything. It couldn’t happen. I was above it. A mistake, maybe—a foul up in the paperwork. I was no soldier… I remember the rage in my stomach. Later it burned down to a smoldering self-pity, then to numbness” (41-42). Obviously, O’Brien did not want to go to war. However, he was
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
Through the initial characterization of young Tim, O’Brien suggests that when faced with unexpected life changing dilemmas people will more often than naught end up clouded judgement and panic. Young Tim is ambitious and well educated, he is on his way to Harvard University on a scholarship. His life is heading in the best direction possible. This is until he receives the draft letter. His ideals “hurtling down a huge black funnel” and all he can do is “nothing …wait.” His helpless soon becomes rage, rage towards the government who’s motives for the war “were shrouded in uncertainty”. He is “too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything.” “Why don’t they “draft some back-to-the-stone-age hawk?” Why must he, who doesn’t support this “uncertain” war “put [his] own precious fluids on the line.” As “the rage in [his] stomach” “burned down” he soon
The Vietnam War had a life changing effect on the soldiers, including O 'Brien. They came into the war as boys as young as seventeen and left either in body bags made of their own poncho or they came out alive. But were they ever really alive? No, they had their innocence ripped out. They weren 't young boys anymore. Their young selves were killed out in that jungle and all that was left was a carcass of gruesome memories of the tragedy of war, the deaths of their fellow soldiers. They changed as people. O 'Brien came into the war as a young man against war. A young soul believing that the Vietnam War was wrong and there was no need for fighting or killing. However, toward the end of the book he tells us the story of how he got revenge on a fellow soldier. This soldier, while in the middle of war, took too long in treating O 'Brien for a bullet wound and also should have treated him for shock. O 'Brien almost dies on the field but fortunately
Explaining what he once heard to be from Plato, O’Brien uttered that proper courage came from wisdom and nothing else. For one to be a true sublime human being, they must demonstrate wisdom, justice, temperance, and lastly courage. As for a man without wisdom cannot be courageous, something a man without courage cannot contain any of the other three virtues (wisdom, justice, or even temperance). To Plato, wisdom is simply not just knowing what is right and what must be done, but following through with it. Courage, portrayed so perfectly by Tim O’Brien, is “the endurance of the soul in spite of fear” (140). The act of bravery is a battle within itself. Bravery is not about acting upon one’s desires, but instead setting them aside and putting the needs of the people around them first. It is about humbling yourself to your best ability, no matter how much fear one may obtain. There are people who simply just do not understand what is right due to their lack of intelligence, states O’Brien. Then there are so many men who might know what is right, however, they have too much fear to build up the courage to fight for it. As fear so often overtakes one’s whole self without even true recognition, courage is acting against that (136). All throughout the war, soldiers are constantly faced with fear as fear tends to come hand in hand with death.
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
Assertion :The Odyssey and The Princess Bride, courage is knowing the odds are against you and moving forward anyway. Evidence: The princess Bride courage quote– “IT WAS NOT, in point of fact, her Westley that was causing the commotion out front. Westley was doing all he could to simply walk straight down the incline toward the main gate without help. Ahead of him, Inigo struggled with the heavy wheelbarrow.
O’Brien tells a story about Major Callicles, which is the executive officer of the battalion O’Brien works for as a typist. Major Callicles is a 44-year-old with a hard head built around discipline. Major Callicles shows O’Brien what it takes to have guts and makes an example out of O’Brien to the battalion. Many of the others see Major Callicles as crazy and the type of guy that is going to get people killed, etc. O’Brien sees this side of the Major, but he also respects the Major due to the fact that nobody else has had the kind of inspiration, motivation and dedication impact that the Major has had on him. Major Callicles talks a lot about courage and it even starts out with a quote from Plato saying, “that courage is
People need courage to fight to stay alive in the war and need courage to risk their life to save others. Rat Kiley have courage like no one else. He crawls to Tim during battle to clean wound after Tim is shot. Rat Kiley risks his life to save Tim. Likewise, Rat Kiley has courage: he is courageous. Despite, Kiley had lost control and wants to leave Vietnam; he shot himself in feet so he can go to the hospital in Japan. It takes some courage to shoot his feet like that. (O’Brien 217-251). However, not everyone have courage to stay alive; Norman Bowker does not have courage. He would not risk his life to save others and cannot face another day with his experiences in Vietnam. When Bowker’s bubba- Kiowa got hit by an enemy’s mortar, Bowker gave
In every story, at least one of the characters show progression and development of their character. At the beginning of the book, Tim O’Brien is against the war. [S] He wasn't built for the war but he wanted to be. [CD] In the Rainy River, O’Brien flees to Canada in an attempt to escape the war he was drafted for. He views Canada as safety. O’Brien is turning his back on his country. O’Brien admits that he was ashamed of doing this because it was not his right thing to do. At the end of this chapter, O’Brien states how he is a coward because he ends up going to the war but one may argue he was the opposite. Doing something considered as being a coward could also be viewed as being brave because O’Brien is being honest. [CX] Courage is being aware of why you do what you do. So, even though him fleeing can be seen as him being weak or scared, it can also be viewed as having the courage to not