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On The Rainy River Sparknotes

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The desire for autonomy is prevalent among individuals when challenged, however, some may reassess their initial motivations, and reconsider pursuing complete independence. The short story “On the Rainy River” written by Tim O’Brien, explores his attempts at balancing the desire for independence, without sacrificing previous, deep connections. Tim aspires for society's norms to align with his ideas, in an effort to combat his fear of losing meaningful relationships from crushing his ambitions. And as Tim becomes more initiative toward his goal, his need to maintain a meaningful relationship overwhelms him with anxiety. Anxiety over perceptions of his family and loved ones, leading him to blame his inability to flee to Canada on his fear of …show more content…

Aiming to strike a balance between personal autonomy and the need for meaningful connections. Tim, when nearing the end of his boat ride with Elroy, is forced to be confronted by his choice of independence or relationship. As his choice becomes clearer, he says “it had nothing to do with morality.Embarrassment, that's all it was' ' referring to being embarrassed amongst the hallucinations that were cheering and booing him to cross the river. This narrative shift from Tim talking about the strength of his desire, to being embarrassed shows Tim attempting to balance his yearn for independence with the need for maintaining relationships. Because he pins blame on embarrassment, he saves himself the torture of admitting his “desire” wasn't strong enough to compete with his need to conform to societal expectations. As Tim and Elroy swim away from the Canadian side of the river, Tim has lost a war of his own, against societal pressure and as he “[cries ] loud, hard crying” the author shows how he doesn't believe himself to be like one of his heroes from his youth. Referenced earlier when said “Behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss” Tim couldn't put aside the personal loss associated with the following of his desires, leading to accepting a life of a

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