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Tim O Brien On The Rainy River Analysis

499 Words2 Pages

In the short story on the rainy river Tim O'Brien uses significant events to depict the concept of the complex relationship between one's independence and the external world. suggesting that the events an individual goes through greatly impacts one's ability to determine their own destiny. The story is focused on Tim O'Brien, a character who struggles with the shocking news of a draft notice. This significantly impacts o'briens ability to control his feelings and his inner struggles. He is forced to confront society and question his own beliefs. This critical essay of “on the rainy river" will capture the three main notes explored in the text, the unsudden impact of receiving the draft notice, the internal battle and moral conflicts the character experiences,and the influence others have on one's decision making abilities. Through analyzing the main points it will appear clear how personal choices are shaped by the events with lasting impacts

Paragraph one: the draft notice
When one is confronted with a challenging situation , individuals find themselves …show more content…

In the short story on the rainy river the draft notice tim o'brien receives is a situation that puts the character in a position where he is forced to affirm with the standard expectations and deal with the dilemmas associated with the vietnam war rather than continue with his own beliefs. When the protagonist receives a draft notice his initial response reflects the disruptive nature of the situation. He describes feeling a physical reaction, stating, "My stomach flipped over and my head started to hurt" . This immediate impact highlights the sudden disruption caused by the draft notice . Additionally

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Who Is Rat Kiley's Innocence In The Things They Carried

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Summary Of On The Idea Of A Christian College By Dr. Timothy Larsen

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Conformity In On The Rainy River 'By Tim O' Brien

839 Words | 4 Pages

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Decisions In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

721 Words | 3 Pages

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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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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A Marker On The Side Of The Boat Analysis

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Regret is a powerful emotion that has the ability to scar someone for the rest of their life. Moments of regret can come from relationships, self-made decisions and life changing events. The idea of regret also applies to “A Marker on the Side of the Boat” by Bao Ninh and “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien. Although these two literary pieces are very different in many ways, both authors describe the experience of the Vietnam War as a time of regretful decisions that negatively impacted people of both the American side and the Vietnamese side. Both authors tell a story about a character that recalls of flashbacks of the war, where they grieve over the past decisions that have affected them for the rest of their life.

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On The Rainy River Sparknotes

1102 Words | 5 Pages

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

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On The Rainy River Critical Analysis

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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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On The Rainy River Analysis

1205 Words | 5 Pages

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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On The Rainy River Character Analysis

807 Words | 4 Pages

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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Tim O Brien On The Rainy River Summary

837 Words | 4 Pages

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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Tim O Brien On The Rainy River Analysis

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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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