Tim O'brien's On the Rainy River Essays

and my presence was guilt enough”(179). In this quote Tim O'brien lost someone he didn't even know but still felt like it was his fault because he didn't do anything to help. In the chapter “Good Form” he talks about how even seeing the guy die wasn't true. He lost his innocence and many physical people on his side and against him. “There were many bodies, real bodies with real faces, but I was young then

In the short story, On The Rainy River, by renowned author, Tim O’Brien, the protagonist, Tim O’Brien, has an internal conflict concerning whether to fight in the Vietnam War or desert his country and escape into the wilds of Canada. The story takes place in the small town of Worthington, Minnesota, where Tim O’Brien, a recent college graduate, spends a summer working at a grotesque meat packing factory to pass the time and earn money. Tim’s character feels that American society and Uncle Sam forced him into a war he did not want to fight in. He feels frustrated because the politicians who decided to send the country to war with little reason will not fight in it themselves and the very society that pushed him into this war is not contributing

Moreover, O’Brien took the brave decision to leave his country, and everything he loves behind. He described how his inner voice drive him to run away, “Both my consciences and my instincts were telling me to make a

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.

In the memoir The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien, the chapter titled: On the Rainy River has a central idea of resentment, embarrassment and eventual acceptance to change. The author creates this central idea with the use of a regretful tone, man vs society conflict, and dreary imagery. The theme of this chapter contributes to O’Brien’s intentions for the book because it demonstrates the struggle, shame, and or confusion each man drafted into the war experienced.

Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case in the short story “On The Rainy River” written by Tim O’Brien. Young Tim is drafted to the military to fight the American War in Vietnam. He faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. The thought of giving up the future he has worked so hard for and instead fight a war “for uncertain reasons” terrifies him. He must make the agonizing decision of whether to pursue his personal desire and in turn be shamed by society or conform, sacrificing his ideals in the process.

O’brien reveals throughout the story that the men feared embarrassment, and it was often times their fear of embarrassment that motivated their actions. In the beginning, on page 38, O’Brien admits to being so scared of embarrassment that he was willing to “kill and maybe die” just so that he wouldn’t be embarrassed of not going to

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.

Tim O’Brien wrote a memoir, in which he wrote about his life as a Vietnam soldier, called If I Die in a Combat Zone. Raised in Worthington, Minnesota, Tim O’Brien was influenced by wars while growing up (particularly the Korean War). Soon landing in the training facility at Fort Lewis in Washington, O’Brien’s life was about to change. In If I Die in a Combat Zone, author Tim O'Brien argued that the Vietnam War was full of courage through how the soldiers chose to stay and battle for their nation, his depictions of Plato, and through O’Brien’s experiences of his fellow soldier’s deaths.

Going through an era when the Vietnam War was a smash hit in your town, many high school senior boys would be drafted out if their number was on the list of people. The men drafted had to leave behind their families and aspirations. Tim O’Brien uses different perspectives in The Things They Carried to show if something tragic happens in life, consequently dealing with it may be hard. Moving on will help in the future.

Tim O’Brien was born in Austin, Minnesota on October 1, 1946 (Glerean). He spent his childhood growing up in Worthington, Minnesota. Worthington is a small town in the southern part of Minnesota. Tim’s father was an insurance salesman and participated in World War II as a sailor (Glerean). Tim’s mother was an elementary school teacher. Tim had an all-American childhood. He loved learning magic tricks, playing baseball, and reading books. He attended Macalester College and graduated in 1968 with a degree in political science (Tim O’Brien). Around the same time he received his diploma, Tim also received an unexpected and unwanted piece of paper: a draft notice (Glerean). O’Brien was against war, but despite this fact he went overseas to fight for America. He felt pressure from both his family and his country to fight in the war. O’Brien went to Vietnam despite his negative attitude toward the conflict. O’Brien fought in the Vietnam War from, 1969 to 1970. “He served in the 3rd Platoon; Company A, 5th Battalion, 46th Infantry

When the Vietnam war took place, many people protested against it as they believed that the war’s purpose was illogical and unreasonable. Many people tried to protest against it in different ways; for example, men who were drafted to the war fled the country - as a form of protest - in order to dodge the draft. Stories like “On the Rainy River” and “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” show how men reacted when they were drafted to the Vietnam War, a war which they were opposed to. In the story “On the Rainy River” - the story was written by an author was also named Tim O’Brien just like the main character in the story - O’Brien was opposed to the war as he believed that the war was unjust and unreasonable and saw it as unnecessary. He tried to flee the country to dodge the draft but he couldn’t bring himself to do it as he felt too guilty and ashamed of his decision to avoid fighting in the war. However, in the story “John Strickland: Draft Dodger” - the story was written by John Strickland himself - Strickland, a man who also disagreed with the reason for the war, fled the country as he didn’t believe in fighting in a war which had no solid purpose. From his perspective, fleeing the country to dodge the draft was his way of protesting against the war. Both Strickland and O’Brien didn’t agree or support the war for similar reasons. Yet, only Strickland stuck to his convictions and dodged the draft to show that he was against the war whereas O’Brien wasn’t

In this section, “On the Rainy River,” O’Brien stays at the Tip Top Lodge with the owner, a man named Elroy. Naturally after spending six days together it would seem logical that Elroy would have some question. The “obvious questions,” as O’brien calls them, “Why was I there? Why alone? Why so preoccupied?” are questions that are never asked by Elroy and are never directly answered (47).

Is it fair to hold individuals responsible for a choice society pressured them to make?

The whole time during this book O'Brien is talking about him thinking about how the war isn't right, how he shouldn't be in Vietnam, how the US shouldn't be in Vietnam, but, he cannot