O Brien On The Rainy River Analysis

In “On the Rainy River”, a recently drafted, teenaged O’Brien stands at both a literal and moral crossroads, facing a physical division, the river between the U.S. and Canada, that represents a life-determining choice. Raised in a mainstream 20th-century American world, O’Brien desires only to escape from the horrible sentence that is his military

In the short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien he has a way of portraying certain events with great imagery. He uses this imagery to affect the overall tone of the story. O’Brien shows examples of this from receiving his draft letter, his place of work, and describing what he sees throughout his journeys. The day that O’Brien got his draft letter helps to set the tone in the beginning.

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

“On the Rainy River”, is a short story made by Tim O'Brien. He is also the main character in the story. The story is about Tim O’Brien getting a draft notice to go to the Vietnam war. However, he is against the war and refuses to go, eventually running away to the U.S. border attempting to go to Canada. He meets an old man named Elroy Berdahl, who lets him stay in his house while he decides whether to go to Canada or go to the Vietnam war. Minor characters in this story play a big part in how the main character thinks and acts. Some stories have minor characters play an important role affecting the main character. For example, Elroy is mostly silent in the story except for a few lines however he ultimately affects Tim’s decision to go to Canada or fight in the war. The main character Tim O'Brien is affected by minor characters in ways that help him throughout the story, like Elroy with his subtle comments on the situation in the evening and on the boat and all the people Tim hallucinates.

1.“I would go to war-I would kill and die-because I was embarrassed not to.” (57) This quote is from the chapter “ On The Rainy River”. This story is about Tim O’Brien, and Tim does not want to go to Vietnam because he thinks the war is wrong.

     Tim O’Brien, the author of The Things They Carried, is still undecided of whether to doge the draft and lose the respect of his family and friends, or go to the Vietnam War and lose his life, in the chapter “On The Rainy River”. Elroy’s actions reveal his good qualities that help Tim make this important decision, without any words of judgment or criticism. Elroy’s actions reveal heroic qualities. He is a silent Observer who helps Tim overcome his fears.     

The short story “On The Rainy River” is written through the perspective of O’Brien in present day and as a young faced with a draft notice for Vietnam War. In “On The Rainy River,” O’brien portrays the importance of bravery in an individual through the use of symbolism, powerful tone, and reflective point of view.

Initially, when Tim O’Brien was drafted to fight a war, he needed to make a decision between personal desire and societal expectation: his point of views was more tend to be self-preservation. He believed that according to his qualities, “[he] was too good for this war.”(2,32-33) he refused to go to the war because he had “a full-ride scholarship for grad studies at harvard”(2,35-36) that would make his future much more better than going to a war that he felt unjustified. The notice that about he was drafted to fight the Vietnam War became a mess in the life he planned out for himself. “[Tim O’Brien] did not want to die”(3,26-27) and lose his bright future that would bring him happiness.

“On the Rainy River” is a story recalled by O’Brien that he states has never told to anyone. “To go into it, I’ve always thought, would only cause embarrassment for all of us …” (p. 39) By coming out and telling his readers this confession only shows his courage from it in the long run. The story develops the theme of embarrassment as a motivating factor, just as Jimmy Cross feels guilty about Ted Lavender’s death, O’Brien feels guilty about going to

In Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, Tim is faced with the most difficult decision of his life. The Vietnam War is unfolding overseas and Tim is drafted into the military. As Tim has the option of staying and fighting a war he doesn’t believe in or facing the embarrassment of fleeing to Canada, O’Brien illustrates how other’s opinions sway our decisions in life more than we think they do. Tim battles himself over what should be an easy choice. Will he stay or go? His hometown is “a conservative little spot on the prairie” (1005). There, it is all about tradition and duty. If he chooses to go, he can already imagine his fellow townsfolk gathering around to talk, shamefully, about how “that damned sissy [has]

In Tim O’Brien’s short story, On the Rainy River, O’Brien wrestles with ideas of social conformity in the midst of a national crisis while struggling to find who he is and his place in a polarized era. Written in the Vietnam War’s aftermath, O’Brien presents his struggles of defining himself as a young draftee while discerning who he is as an adult long after. O’Brien receives a draft notice and undergoes an identity crisis regarding what part he will play in the war, but runs to Canada on an impulse, arriving near the border. When he is about to cross, O’Brien betrays his conscience and returns to his hometown to answer his summons. Through the application of a historical lens, one can gather much about the divided attitudes on the positions on war and the reflection of these feelings as the polarization dies down in upon its publication.

In short story, On the Rainy River the rainy river that separates Minnesota from Canadian border is a very significant part of this story. The river is the passage way for O’Brien from the U.S into Canada and when O’Brien was very nearly to cross the border, he completely changes his mind and returns because he is thinking about the people who is going to call him a coward for going to the war. The river signifies O’Brien’s choice between being a coward and deciding to go to war or as a same result, being a coward and just escaping from the war. Furthermore, since O’Brien works at a meatpacking factory, the smell of the pigs he was slaughtering remains on him and he could not get rid of the bad smell

Tim O'brien's "On the Rainy River" is a true story told by a 41 year old of his life at the age of 21. The fact that O'brien is writing this 20 years later adds a new aspect to the story. He describes himself as a young man with the world in his back pocket. O'brien has just graduated from Macalester College and has a free ride to Harvard. Unfortunately, his storybook world collapses when he receives a draft notice for the Vietnam war, a war that he has "taken a modest stand against"(44) in 1968.

As well as compared to his story "Going After Cacciato” He had protested the war in college and didn't believe in it. Coming from a conservative Minnesota town, O'Brien said he thought about running away to Canada (Homer). He also played golf near the Rainy River. My conscience kept telling me not to go, but my whole upbringing told me I had to go to this horrible war as an patriot to my country

“On the Rainy River” had a controlling force against O’Brien- the United States Draft system. O’Brien could either fight in a war he didn’t believe in, or run away and become a coward. O’Brien’s main difficulty was his disappointment towards the cause of the Vietnam War, he said “There were occasions, I believed, when a nation was justified in using military force to achieve its ends, to stop a Hitler or some comparable evil, and I told myself that in such circumstances I would’ve willingly marched off to the battle” (630). O’Brien didn’t want to fight for the wrong cause, if he was going to die for