...On the Rainy River” is an exploration of the role of shame in war. The story develops the theme of embarrassment as a motivating factor, first introduced by Jimmy Cross in “The Things They Carried” and “Love.” Just as Jimmy Cross feels guilty about Ted Lavender’s death, O’Brien feels guilty about going to Vietnam against his principles. He questions his own motives, and in this story he returns to the genesis of his decision in order to examine with us the specifics of cause and effect. Ironically, despite its specific details and its preoccupation with reality, “On the Rainy River” is the story most easily identifiable as fiction. The real Tim O’Brien did indeed struggle with his decision to heed his draft notice, but he never actually ran to the Canadian border, and he never stayed at the Tip Top Lodge. Still, as he states explicitly later in the work, the point of a story like this one is not to deliver true facts exactly as they happened but rather to use facts and details in order to give an accurate account of the feelings behind a given situation. Though the events in the story are not true, the story itself conveys an emotional truth. By describing his personal history, O’Brien makes a broader comment on the confusion that soldiers experienced when the demands of their country and community conflicted with the demands of their princples and conscience. O’Brien’s description of his moral dilemma about going to Vietnam illustrates how the war was fought by soldiers...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
...In "The Things They Carried", the men carried many physical things but weighing even heavier were the experiences the men were forced were to go through. Tim O'Brien, the author, used many different items and situations in his book to symbolize how the war effected him and the soldiers he fought along side of. In chapter four, On the Rainy River, Tim O'Brien tells us how he runs to a little place outside of Canada and meets an old man who discreetly helps O'Brien make his decision to or not to dodge the draft. This story symbolizes that he is being forced to fight a war he does not believe in. O'Brien says "I was drafted to fight a war I hated," (O'Brien, 39). He tells us that he doesn't believe in the war but yet, he was forced to fight and be apart of it. O'Brien feared being ridiculed if he dodged the war but he also didn't want to be critiqued as a...
Words: 479 - Pages: 2
...In Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, Tim’s use of imagery affects the tone of his story. The tone doesn’t just explain how Tim feels, imagery helps show the tone of the story, and with the effects of the choice of words Tim uses throughout the story. Tim describes the pig factory and the shore in the story, these are some examples of imagery in this story. The descriptions of these scenes are important for showing Tim’s tone in these scenarios. Firstly, the imagery of the pig factory shows the tone, by the use of descriptive word choice. The pig factory is important for describing Tim’s tone, he says “The plant specialized in pork products, and for eight hours a day I stood on a quarter-mile assembly line—more properly, a disassembly...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...Rather than including impractical information, rhetors include specific details and use certain styles in order to achieve their purpose. Within the excerpt from Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River”, the author communicates his internal conflictions about the war. The rhetor of this excerpt uses both syntax and imagery in order to justify his decision and earn ethical acceptance from the audience. O’Brien includes imagery as a method to support and propel his purpose. The audience has perceived O’Brien as a wimp for considering fleeing to Canada to avoid the war, but his use of imagery proves just how appealing Canada is. As O’Brien gazes across the shoreline, he describes, “I could see tiny red berries on the bushes. I could see a squirrel...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
...Throughout The Things They Carried, O'Brien using language to dramatize his stories, drawing the reader into the world of the book. In the chapter, “On the Rainy River,” O'Brien is faced with the decision of escaping to Canada, or allow himself to be dragged into a war he doesn't believe in. From the very beginning of the chapter, the reader is brought into the story and experiences the sadness and uncertainty along with him, ultimately leading to the finale that brought about his decision. O'Brien is able to do this by using language to explain how he felt on the river, at the border, and at his realization. The first two paragraphs were about the river. As O'Brien sat in the boat, practically alone with his decision, the rocking of the boat symbolized the uncertainty he felt while the fast current symbolized his racing thoughts. As he sat in the rocking boat, he emphasized how big the world was as “there was a vastness to the...
Words: 767 - Pages: 4
...In the beginning of the chapter On the Rainy River, Tim O’Brien starts by saying, “This is one story I’ve never told before. Not brother or sister, not even to my wife”(O’Brien,38) By telling us this, he has already captured the reader's attention by making us feel important because he his confiding in us something he hasn’t even told his loved ones.”On the Rainy River” is a fictional story based on Tim’s memories of the Vietnam war.In this chapter, Tim has an opportunity to swim to Canada and escape fighting in the Vietnam war instead of fighting for his country. The author, who shares the same name as the main character, Tim O’Brien, turns the decision process into something so vivid that it makes the reader feel as if they were Tim...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...The Vietnam War was a time of complete and utter madness for the United States. It was the 1960s-the United States was fighting Communist views, the Civil Rights Movement was in full force, and all the hippies wanted world peace. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction, “On The Rainy River,” he uses rhetorical devices such as a confessional tone, the theme of embarrassment as motivation, metaphor, and rhetorical question to help explore the utter conflict one can have when being shamed into fighting a war one does not believe in. Unfortunately, Tim O’Brien was in a huge moral dilemma-the question of avoiding the draft or fighting for a war he did not believe in. A lot of people were faced with the same moral issue, when the United States decided...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...Principals and conscience in conflict before going to the Vietnam War has led to lifelong shame through the moral confusion in a lot of American soldier’s mind. In Tim O’ Brien’s story “On the Rainy River”, the author himself had a hard time deciding whether to go to the war or not. Feeling more ashamed and embarrassed than ever, he had experienced this moral confusion of going to the Vietnam War as an American soldier. Like any other American soldier, going to the Vietnam War is a heroic yet cowardly act. Tim O’ Brien did not know whether to go take part in the war or not, he felt fear in a numerous things about war: “I feared losing the respect of my parents. I feared the law. I feared ridicule and censure.” (3) From this one can see how Tim is aware of how his parents and...
Words: 542 - Pages: 3
...In his short story, “On the Rainy River”, Tim O'Brien writes about the thoughts and actions of a younger version of himself who has been drafted to fight in the Vietnam war. He uses imagery to create a tone of uncertainty in this young man who does not want to fight in the war due to his beliefs, but who also does not want to be a disgrace to his family if he decides to run away. O'Brien truly fought in the Vietnam war and did not agree with why America sent soldiers to die in a foreign land, so his short story was written in a perspective that is unique to others. As he continues to think about the draft and what decision he will choose, O'Brien says, “I felt paralyzed. All around me the options seemed to be narrowing as if I were hurtling...
Words: 636 - Pages: 3
...Geography Nigeria is located on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa and is roughly twice the size of California. Its neighboring nations are Benin, Niger, Cameroon, and Chad. Nigeria is found in the tropics and has two different seasons, the Dry season and Rainy season. The major rivers passing through Nigeria are the Niger, the third largest river in Africa and the Benue, which flows into the Niger River. The Niger Delta sometimes called the Oil Rivers, due to the past production of palm oil. South Africa is the southern tip of Africa, which includes two islands of the southeast tip of Cape Town, Prince Edward and Marion. South Africa is roughly twice the size of Texas. It borders Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia. There are two major rivers in South Africa, the Limpopo, a stretch of which is shared with Zimbabwe, and the Orange which flows into the Vaal. The Orange River flows from east to west across the central landscape, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean at the Namibian border (Safrica.info). South Africa is different from Nigeria in that it actually has another country within its borders, Lesotho. It is in the Drakensberg Mountains where South Africa obtains water from the snowcapped peaks of the landlocked nation. Also, South Africa has three capitals, while Nigeria has one, Abuja. Bloemfontein is the capital of the judiciary, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Pretoria is the administrative capital, as well as the formal capital of the...
Words: 1302 - Pages: 6
...Tim ignores his instrumental purpose and universal/ethical orientation when he decides to go to Vietnam because it goes against his personal interests and beliefs. Tim knows he is not fit for war, “I was no solider. I hated Boy Scouts. I hated camping out. I hated dirt and tents and mosquitoes. The sight of blood made me queasy, and I couldn’t tolerate authority, and I didn’t know a rifle from a slingshot.” (“Rainy River” Pg. 39-40) Tim believes that he isn’t cut out for the battlefield, that he will most likely die, and so he is against going off and fighting because he just has no personal interest in it. His personal interest also goes hand in hand with his belief in fighting, “There should be a law, I thought. If you support a war, if you think it’s worth the price, that’s fine, but you have to put your own precious fluids on the line.” (“Rainy River” Pg. 40) Tim’s own personal beliefs keep him away from the war. Tim is a scholar not a fighter and he believes that nobody should be stuck in a situation, such as the war, if they don’t want to. Tim holds himself back from going off to Vietnam and the environment gives him another choice to consider, an eight-hour drive to Canada. Instead Tim goes against everything that he puts his confidence into and ruins his life. Tim’s choice results in him being unhappy “…and then to Vietnam, where I was a solider, and then home...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...Rainy Season Essay Anonymous Articles [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]Of all the season in India, the rainy season is the most beautiful and beloved one. How patiently and anxiously the people wait for its arrival. And if unfortunately the rains are delayed, the people go to temples, mosques and churches to say their prayers. Sometimes they perform “yajnas” to please Indra the god of rains. Relief from heat In a hot country like India where the summer is very hot is natural for the people to wish for arrival of rains. The earth gets hot and parched. The ponds and lakes run dry. The water level in the wells sinks low. There is scarcity of water everywhere. The hot winds and dust storms make life miserable. The whole land beards a horrible look. And then rains begin. The dark and rolling clouds cover the burning sun. They hide from the weary looks of the people. A wave of pleasure fills the atmosphere. It is filled with a deep feeling of joy. There is singing and dancing and merry making everywhere. The young ladies swing Thula handing from a neem or peepal tree. They sing songs of love and adventure. The children bathe in the shower. They swim in the little pool of rain water. They shout with joy. Nature at her best The nature is at her best in the rainy season. The old earth becomes young. Her wrinkles change into green and long grasses. Her looks become quite fresh and young. The dry and sandy beds are again alive with flowing water. The murmuring sound...
Words: 465 - Pages: 2
...The runaway This passage is untitled « The runaway » but it’s actually « On the Rainy River » which is a short story written by Tim O’Brien. This American author published in 1990 « The Things They Carried », a collection of related stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War. While modeled after the author’biography and sharing the same name, Tim is a fictional character and not the author who’s intentionally blurs this distinction, even though he has also been drafted overthere. To sum up briefly, the character, 21, tells us how his storybook world collapsed when he received a draft notice for the Vietnam War. We’ll fisrt develop the dilemma which tortures Tim. Then we’ll analyze the role of the second character, Elroy, and the unexpected « nonconformist » punch line. This excerpt takes place in Minnesota where Tim is fishing on the Rainy River which marks the border between the USA and Canada. It deals with the issues of whether the war he has been drafted into is right and if he should go to the war or be a coward and run away from the war. The dilemma is hard. The draft, at least during the Vietnam war, was a sort of lottery that determined the order of men, by birthdate, to serve as soldiers. This was instituted because there were not enough voluntary soldiers serving in the military. The ways a citizen of the U.S. could avoid going to the Vietnam War was either leave the country or contract some life threatening desease. The first one may...
Words: 674 - Pages: 3
...Ethiopia is a landlocked country located in Northeastern Africa, also known as the Horn of Africa, which has a total area of 1,221,900 square kilometers. Ethiopia is bordered by Kenya to the south, Somalia to the east, Eritrea to the northeast, and Sudan to the West. The country largely consists of high plateaus. The highest peak is Ras Dashen in the Bale Mountains. The Rift Valley separates the western and eastern highlands. The biggest rivers in Ethiopia are Blue Nile, Awash, Baro, Omo, Tekkeze, Wabe Shebelle, and Genale. The regions near Somalia climate are similar to a desert atmosphere. The lower basin features hot, swampy tropical conditions, while the highlands have an Alpine climate. The majority of the population lives in highland...
Words: 253 - Pages: 2
...Throughout the story Tim O’Brien was indecisive with his decisions as he let his fears corrupt his decisions,which also lead him back to the problem that he was attempting to escape from. Tim O’Brien had many fears, he feared leaving his family and life behind in order to escape to Canada and not participate in the war, “I was afraid of walking away from my own life,my friends and my family,” (page 5); he also feared that his reputation would be tarnished and that he would be labelled as a coward “the young O’Brien kid, how the damned sissy had taken off to Canada.” (page 5). This is also evident when he states, “All the eyes on me—the town, the whole universe—and I couldn't risk the embarrassment […] I felt myself blush. I couldn't tolerate...
Words: 286 - Pages: 2
