Rhetorical Questions In O Brien's Rainy River

In the short story “ Rainy River”, O’ Brien employs the use of rhetorical questions. These make the reader think about what decisions they would make if they were in the author's position. “ Would you jump? Would you pity for yourself? Would you think about the family and your childhood and your dream and all you’re leaving behind?” The author is asking what decision you would make but you wouldn’t really know until you were in the author's situation. However, the author is actually having to make the decision himself. “Why was I there? Why alone? Why so preoccupied?” The purpose of this statement is to show that he was outraged and confused. The reader or the author can not answer this question. By using these rhetorical questions the reader