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How Does Tim O Brien Use Juxtaposition In On The Rainy River

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What would you do if you were drafted in the war? Would you go to fight for your country? Or maybe you dont believe in it and decide to leave? Would you do it for your family and friends? Would you only think about yourself and your choice? These were the decisions many soldiers fought against before going to war, including the narrator of the book. In the chapter, "On The Rainy River" from his novel The Things They Carried, author Tim O'Brien uses the motif of pig stench, the symbolism of Elroy Berdahl, and juxtaposition to communicate how people who were drafted dealt with internal conflict between their beliefs and their country before and after the war. Throughout the chapter, O'Brien uses sensory imagery to describe the main character …show more content…

"At night I'd go home smelling of the pig. It wouldn't go away. Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the stink was always there- like old bacon, or sausage, a dense greasy pig-stink that soaked deep into my skin and hair. Among the other things. I remember, it was tough getting dates that summer." (O'Brien, 43). This is one of the various times O'Brien has shown the smell of pig that continues to stay with the main character, as it shows how he succumbs to becoming lonelier, being left with his own thoughts about his life, and what to do with his future. Furthermore, as the idea of the war continues to haunt him, it causes him to slowly move away from the people in his …show more content…

As we come to the end of the chapter, we find one more quote that juxtaposes how his conflict continues to stay with him despite the war being over. "I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to war."(O'Brien, 55). These last few words are used with juxtaposition to show how the conflict caused him to go to the war because of his community's thoughts of the draft. Unfortunately, even after the war had finished, he still thought his choice was wrong, and had to deal with the aftermath as well as his internal conflict. Although people would say that going to the war was the bravest thing to do, the main character still believed in it being wrong to go as well as deciding not to run away. For the fact is that he had only stayed because of the his community, how he was still pulled down by their standards and the people around him that he was too afraid to do what he thought was the right choice. By going into the war, he had survived watching his comrades die in the war, forced to fight in Vietnam with no clear goal. From the use of juxtaposition in this last passage, the reader is shown how even though Tim chose the decision that was said to be the right one, he still said that he was a coward for not going with what he truly believed

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The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien is a novel that emphasizes symbolism in chapter 7, “How to Tell a War Story” the character/narrator Tim O’Brien expresses The struggle that affects a soldier in the war. “He shot it twice in the flanks. It wasn't to kill; it was to hurt it” (O'Brien, 75) In Chapter 7 How to Tell a war story, the story expresses the grief that Rat Kiley goes through.

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Throughout, Pig’s dialogue we see him portray a very nasty character to Trevor, shouting words such as ‘Go away!’ , ‘Sausage-shaped swine!’ , ‘Mine!’ and ‘Scoot!’. At the end of the book, we see that while Pig is ‘on the mend’ that he is not greedy and selfish anymore but shares his toys with Trevor.

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The things they carried Tim O’brien had strong feelings about the war. He despised it and protested against it but that still didn’t stop him from being drafted into it. He felt depressed and isolated after being drafted. O’brien tried to get out of it but failed. Tim hated war, he understood that sometimes there needed to be one but, he did not feel that way about the vietnam war.

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In addition, Tim O’Brien conveys how society’s view on cowardice leads to the feeling of guilt in soldiers in the Vietnam War. In “On The Rainy River”, O’Brien claims that he opposes the Vietnam War, and he sees no reason for the war. However, against his own will, he is drafted and is required to go to war. O’Brien reacts negatively to this saying, “All I wanted was to live the life I was born to... now I was off on the margins of exile, leaving my country forever, and it seemed so impossible and terrible and sad,” (50 and 51).

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In the short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien, the main character Tim O’Brien gets a letter notifying him that he has been selected for the draft; he is affected by this emotionally, physically, and he faces a moral dilemma because this war goes against what he believes in. Immediately upon receiving the letter O’Brien thinks, “I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn’t happen. I was above it” (1003).

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On the Rainy River Analysis One of the most compelling books I’ve read is The Things They Carried. This book is filled with many short stories of the Vietnam war. The Author tells the story from the perspective of the soldiers. This books shows us the sacrifice these men had to give for are freedom. The Things They Carried has many great stories by Tim O’brien, but On The Rainy River was my favorite and seemed to follow the psychological literary lens.

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The weight or stress of “fitting in” and the fear of being rejected by his community drove him into choosing whether to leave or stay in the country “All those eyes on me - the town, the whole universe - and I couldn’t risk the embarrassment. ”(pg.186). Tim O'Brien's decision to participate in the war can be seen as an act of courage, because it demonstrates his willingness to face societal judgment in order to fit into the duty he has to serve his

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Therefore, many soldiers deeply hesitated on going to Vietnam and were mainly not accepted when they returned. In the novel The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien writes about the themes of growth and emotional burdens as he displays his character’s stories of the effects of the Vietnam war. The chapter, “On the Rainy River”, is where O’Brien expresses his biggest growing moment when he is still a minor, battling dodging the draft,

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In "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien, the author portrays how cultural, physical, and geographical surroundings shape the psychological and moral traits of the characters, as seen through O'Brien's use of quotes that illustrate the complex interplay between environment and character development. O'Brien illustrates the psychological impact of war on soldiers by emphasizing the physical environment in which they fight. In the story "Night Life," O'Brien writes, "The night was hot and wet and heavy, and the rain seemed to be searching for something it couldn't find," conveying the oppressive nature of the jungle environment and its impact on the soldiers' sense of disorientation and vulnerability. This physical environment ultimately

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Reader Response of “On the Rainy River” The short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O 'Brien explains to the audience that all men are influenced to go into war, and that they should hide the fears and emotions that they may have along the journey. Throughout the short story the author explains his journey and opens up about his emotions when he was sent to war. Being the audience of this short story explains to you what every man must go through if they were to be sent to war.

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The chapter On the Rainy River is a depiction of what it is a like to get a draft notice. Tim O’Brien exemplifies the emotions a soldier goes through when they get a draft card. The feelings he wants the readers to feel is arguably the best depicted in this chapter. The story is believable, even when as a reader, we know it is not true, because the book is fiction. Tim O’Brien wants us to believe this story because he wants the reader to understand the emotion truth.

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This quote epitomizes the trauma caused by war. O’Brien is trying to cope, mostly through writing these war stories but has yet to put it behind him. He feels guilt, grief, and responsibility, even making up possible scenarios about the life of the man he killed and the type of person he was. This

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Fighting in a war has become an image of courage and honour. Those who fall in war are given status and respect. While those who survive are made to relive events of the war, retelling the experience of war allows soldiers to add details to make them seem more courageous than they might truly be. The story of On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brian tells a story of his lack of courage. O'Brien used his intelligence to find reasons that he should not go to war, such as not being able to survive or being better and thinks that there is no purpose for the Vietnam war and that there should be a reason for war.

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He fought a war in Vietnam that he knew nothing about, all he knew was that, “Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons” (38). He realized that he put his life on the line for a war that is surrounded in controversy and questions. Through reading The Things They Carried, it was easy to feel connected to the characters; to feel their sorrow, confusion, and pain. O’Briens ability to make his readers feel as though they are actually there in the war zones with him is a unique ability that not every author possess.

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How he hated being drafted and how badly he wanted to run away. He tells how he took time to himself to decide whether or not he was going to run away and risk being caught and imprisoned or go join the army and risk dying over in Vietnam. He states at the end, “ I passed through twins with familiar names, through the pine forests and down to the prairie, and then to Vietnam, where I was a soldier, and then home again. I survived, but it's not a happy ending. I was a coward.

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