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Heroes In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

656 Words3 Pages

Heroes are everywhere, and no one ever knows when they will show up in life. In the story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien, the story describes a certain time in someone’s life that they didn’t know what to do. TIm O’Brien is the character and is very confused with what he wants to do. He was called to the war, something called the draft wanted to bring him into the war, basically volunteer him. O’Brien then decides to leave his job and head north to Canada. O’Brien stops at a seemed to be an abandoned campground, it's not abandoned. To the sound of his vehicle a man opens the door from the main building. A man with a face O’Brien will never forget. This man helps O’Brien overcome his fear of death and also leaving his family by never bringing up the subject of the matter, but also by giving him a chance to leave, leave the United States to flee the war. The man who …show more content…

Elroy and O’Brien leave on a short fishing trip to go out on the Rainy River, well doing so Elroy pulls only twenty yards off of the Canadian shore. “Twenty yards. I could’ve done it. I could’ve jumped and started swimming for my life” (412-413). O’Brien is describing how he could’ve just fled the country forever, but the thought of his family and everyone else kept him back. After O’Brien tried to jump in he couldn’t he tried, the old man still remained quiet, knowing what was going on. “Elroy Berdahl remained quiet. He kept fishing. He worked his line with the tips of his fingers, patiently, squinting out at his red and white bobber on the Rainy River” (501-502). Elroy, still with his patience, knew what O’Brien wanted to do. He gave him the life choice, stay here and fight or go to Canada and flee. Making O’Brien make the decisions to stay. Stay for his family, for not being called a traitor or any of the embarrassment. He simply stayed and fought in the Vietnam

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