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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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Decision Division: On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

1030 Words | 5 Pages

Decision Division What’s the biggest decision that one has to make in life? Many will say what field of work they are going into or what college they want to attend. A big decision that Tim O’Brien has to choose between is going back home to go to war or flee to Canada to try to avoid the war. On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brien takes place in Minnesota during the Vietnam War where many males from the ages of 18-26 are getting drafted.

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

1363 Words | 6 Pages

22 million American men were drafted for the Vietnam War, 30,000 men leaving the country to avoid the inevitable draft. In Tim O’Brien’s 1990 historical fiction novel The Things They Carried, 22 short stories of the war are told by a first hand soldier who had experienced the guilt and grief associated with war. These stories follow O’Brien’s fellow soldiers and friends as they go along the war and the audience sees the development of these soldiers whose life had just been turned upside down. The readers see the guilt and grief associated with the war and the variety of how these soldiers cope with this loss. Rat Kiley, Mary Anne, and Linda are all characters the readers see whose innocence is ripped away from them at such a young age and

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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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How Is Tim O Brien A Dynamic

617 Words | 3 Pages

The main character, Tim O'Brien, in the story On The Rainy River, is shown to be a round dynamic overall through his personality and belief change to war. The indications of a dynamic character are when a character goes through significant changes to their personality or other inner beliefs. The first indication of such change is shown through the initial and post-change moments of his stance on participating in the war. Tim's stance was that "when a nation goes to war, it must have reasonable confidence in the justice and imperative of its cause"(O'Brien, 20). Through this statement.

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

620 Words | 3 Pages

Plenary Keynote “On the Idea of a Christian College” - Dr. Timothy Larsen (8:30 session) “Knowledge is an end in and of itself” In this discussion, Dr. Timothy Larsen discussed the calling and the mission of a Christian liberal arts college and how a college like Northwestern allows us as students to connect our faith, purpose, intellect, and service. Throughout the speech, Larsen argued against the critics who believe that a liberal arts education is worthless and that students who attend such colleges are “being scammed” because they are taught things that they will never otherwise use in their careers and/or life. These critics of a liberal arts education do not believe there is a utility-maximizing point for the widened array of required subject study offered at a liberal arts college.

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

839 Words | 4 Pages

‘’I was a coward. I went to the war’’ Pg187. In the short story, ‘’On The Rainy River’’ by Tim O’Brien, The protagonist faces a difficult life decision, he did not want to conform to society the way others wanted him to. He wanted to keep his personal beliefs. Tim O’Brien does not want to conform no matter how vital it is that he should.

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Literary Standards In The Things They Carried, By Tim O Brien

833 Words | 4 Pages

For example, he tells the story of Curt Lemon's death and proceeds to analyze and explain why it holds an element of truth. Ultimately, he surmises, "truth in a story is not necessarily due to 'factual' accuracy." Instead, if the story affects the reader or listener in a personal and meaningful way, then that emotion is the truth of the story. O'Brien tests these ideas by relating the stories that others told in Vietnam, like the story of a soldier who brought his girlfriend to Vietnam and grows more and more terrified as she becomes fascinated by the war and ultimately never returns home. The soldiers who hear the story doubt its truth, but are drawn into the story nonetheless, showing that factual accuracy is less important but emotions is kinda the big

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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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Tim O Brien On The Rainy River Analysis

708 Words | 3 Pages

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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A Marker On The Side Of The Boat Analysis

813 Words | 4 Pages

O’Brien tells the readers about him reflecting back twenty years ago, he wonders if running away from the war were just events that happened in another dimension, he pictures himself writing a letter to his parents: “I’m finishing up a letter to my Parents that tells what I'm about to do and why I'm doing it and how sorry I am that I’d never found the courage to talk to them about it”(O’Brien 80). Even twenty years after his running from the war, O’Brien still feels sorry for not finding the courage to tell his parents about his decision of escaping to Canada to start a new life. O’Brien presented his outlook that even if someone was not directly involved in the war, this event had impacted them indirectly, for instance, how a person’s reaction to the war can create regret for important friends and

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On The Rainy River Reader Response

612 Words | 3 Pages

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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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

1184 Words | 5 Pages

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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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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