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Tim O Brien On The Rainy River Analysis

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In the story “On the Rainy River” O’Brien makes readers wonder how men thought about war when they would be drafted and how they felt. O’brien told readers how the conditions were back then and how people overcame their fear of the war with metaphors. He used metaphors like The Lone Ranger, how Elroy’s eyes could see through him, and finally how pig factories affected O’brien’s thoughts about war change. With this being said one example is, “Certainly that was my conviction back in the summer of 1968. Tim O'Brien: a secret hero. The Lone Ranger. “If the stakes ever became high enough for him to compares himself to the lone ranger by saying that his work was terrible and he always smelled very bad. O’Brien thought with all the things that he had to put up with the stakes were high and it took courage to be able to work in a pig processing factory. Another example he has is when he talks about how Elroy’s eyes look at him with sharp looks. …show more content…

He takes this metaphor and uses it to explain to readers that when some people look at a person it seems like they can tell what your thoughts and feelings are. With this being said, he uses many metaphors to explain how war was but the next example talks about how O’Brien’s life was before the

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As an individual is faced with an important decision, having the support and understanding of others is crucial in order to ensure the individual feels confident enough to choose, what they believe is best for them. By understanding the feelings of another and providing empathy, it lessens the individual’s hesitance to make a decision despite society’s views on the subject. In the short story “On the Rainy River” written and narrated by Tim O’Brien, the narrator is drafted to fight in the Vietnam war and considers draft dodging to avoid fighting for something he disagrees with. When forced to choose between going against his beliefs and fighting in the war, or losing everything he cares about by fleeing the country, Tim seeks refuge at the

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By using historical context, narration, and character usage, O’Brien employs the theme of mental health across to the readers to show the mental health of soldiers during this time. O’Brien portrays the story from a monumental historical point, the Vietnam War, to show how mentally oppressive the war was. The soldiers that were drafted

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O’Brien presents a variety of stories to present the complexity of war. “On The Rainy River” is a pre-war

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The narrator O’Brien discusses his personal feelings about the war and tells of his story how he ended up there. He was drafted as like a lot of young men in America at this time, and he tries to avoid going by almost fleeing the country. He decides not to flee, not for himself, or any want or pride to go to the war and fight for his country, but to avoid embarrassment. O’Brien feels if he doesn’t go to the war, he would not be able to take knowing he disappointed his family.

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Every time we make a decision in life are we influenced by things around us? In Tim O’Brien’s story “On the Rainy River”, challenged Tim’s decision if he should go to war where there is violence or to flee to Canada where there is freedom; although, his final decision was to go to war he was influenced by doing the right thing and the shame or guilt he could have felt when being faced with the dilemma of going to war. When people are put into a situation when they have to choose over two places most will go with what feels right, but others will go with what will be the best for not only themselves but others around them too. A big part of this story and real-life situations is that people want to make others happy and content so they do things

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Tim O’Brien was very clear with his stance on the war, he very much opposed it. He wasn’t able to find the meaning or purpose behind the war and most definitely didn’t want to participate in it. “I was drafted to fight a war I hated.” (O’Brien, 38). This quotation showcases Tim’s feelings about the war, and how he disliked it.

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The soldiers in the Vietnam War are portrayed as losing themselves in the chaos and trauma of combat. Through the stories of the soldiers and their experiences, O’Brien explores the ways in which war strips away one's sense of identity and humanity. The author himself is depicted as losing himself in the war. O'Brien served in the Vietnam War, and his experiences inspired much of the book. Through the character of Tim O'Brien, the author explores the ways in which war can strip away one's sense of self and purpose.

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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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Even after all these years, O’Brien is still unable to get the images of Vietnam out of him head, specifically of the man he killed. In the novel, he repeats the description of the man numerous times, almost to the point of excess, saying,“he was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole” (124).

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How does a person’s response to and perspective of a crisis define him or her? In the event of a crisis, a person’s response and perspective of it can define him or her. In the novel, The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, and the short story, “On the Rainy River”, written by Tim O’Brien, the characters experience crisis all around them. Hans Hubermann in The Book Thief and Tim O’Brien in “On the Rainy River” have a hard time staying true to themselves in moments of crisis.

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In the short story, “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien, the author develops the idea that when an individual experiences a feeling of shame and humiliation, they often tend to neglect their desires and convictions to impress society. Tim, the narrator, starts off by describing his feeling of embarrassment, “I’ve had to live with it, feeling the shame”, before even elaborating on the cause of the feeling. Near the end of the story, he admits he does not run off and escape to Canada because it had nothing to do with his, “mortality...Embarrassment, that’s all it was”. The narrator experiences this feeling of intense shame and then he decides that he will be “a coward” and go to war. His personal desire is that he wishes to live a normal life and could never imagine himself charging at an enemy position nor ever taking aim at another human being.

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How it was shaped: Tim allowed the draft of the Vietnam war and societal pressures get to the best of him and he slowly tore himself apart, he started off as a confident incorrigible man. His morals later then became corrupted, he gave into the pressures, his self proclaimed Lone Ranger status had been infected and debunked by his end decision of serving in the Vietnam war. Thesis: In the story, On the Rainy River, the author, Tim O’Brien demonstrates that an individual allows societal pressures and expectations to override their core values, morals, and beliefs; peer pressure forces individuals to put their beliefs aside so they can fit in with everyone else. The narrator, Tim O’Brien faces a similar situation when he get’s drafted for the Vietnam War.

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On the Rainy River is a story about a man, Tim O’Brien, who struggles with a life altering decision. He evaluated his own personal convictions regarding the Vietnam War at an isolated fishing lodge by the Canadian border. Three different forms of isolation are present in this story. These include physical, emotional, and societal isolation – all of which had an effect on how Tim dealt his conflicting emotions. Physical isolation played a prominent role in Tim O’Brien’s final decision to go to war.

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The short story “On the Rainy River”, by Tim O’Brien is an exploration of how guilt and the pressures of society can shape one’s decision making. O’Brien feels guilty about going to war in Vietnam which contradicts his principles and his dream of becoming a writer. In the story, O’Brien admits, “I was a coward, I went to war” (O’Brien 80); he feared how the people of his community, and the rest of society would view him if he ran away. He feared the external embarrassment he would face if he dodged his draft notice instead of serving in the war; the fear of being judged by society was too unbearable for him to face. During O’Brien’s encounter with Elroy Berdahl, he is influenced to adhere to a decision, however, he chose to conform to the expectations of society.

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