“On the Rainy River” The short story “On the Rainy River” is an integral chapter in the memoir The Things They Carried written by William Timothy O’Brien. The short story is written through the perspective of O’Brien in present day and as a young man faced with a draft notice for the Vietnam War. In “On the Rainy River‚” O’Brien portrays the importance of bravery of individuals in the society through the use of symbolism‚ powerful tone‚ reflective point of view‚ narrative devices‚ and through the
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ways. In “On the Rainy River”‚ Tim writes about facing the decision to fight in a war he didn’t believe in or flee to canada. In “How to Tell a True War Story” Tim writes about what he believes a true war story is all about. In “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong” Rat Kiley tells a story about a woman who gets sent to Vietnam on request of her boyfriend‚ a medic in the war. Each of these stories has instances where there is no right or wrong answer in different ways. “On the Rainy River” deals with Tim’s
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The struggle between one’s desires and expectations leads an individual to falter from their values and beliefs resulting in dire consequences to one’s morality and internal self. The short story "On a Rainy River" clearly demonstrates the conflict between the two dilemmas as the main character‚ Tim O’Brien‚ is faced with a decision to fight a pointless war or desert his country‚ choosing between potentially dying‚ or being branded as a coward. "Traitor! they yelled. Turncoat! Pussy! I felt myself
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Diana Nguyen English 2 Pre-AP 2 5 November 2013 On The Rainy River prompt In Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River”‚ Tim is presented with a conflict that would change his life depending on which choice he makes. Tim narrates the story in a mix of present day and flashbacks‚ being that the voice of the younger Tim O’Brien is less mature and less morally complex than present day Tim. In the summer of 1968‚ Tim‚ a recent college graduate‚ receives a draft notice to fight in The Vietnam War. This
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author to tell the story in their own words and in another way ot strategie thereby changing the main idea of the real story. Dealing with characters‚ non-fiction involves real people who were present but fiction only creates characters. In ‘On a Rainy River’‚ the author seems to be physically calm especially while talking to the old man. But he has a lot of negative thoughts about going to the war as well. He is more of a coward because he was scared to go fight and did not have the courage to stand
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Through his piece‚ “On the Rainy River‚” author Tim O’Brien uses varied sentence structure to portray an dissatisfied and stressed tone‚ by interrupting long-winded thoughts and tangents with sharp and poignant realizations to express his apprehension surrounding his escape to Canada after being drafted to the Vietnam War. O’Brien exemplifies this when he states‚ “Getting chased by the Border Patrol- helicopters and searchlights and barking dogs – I’d be crashing through the woods‚ I’d be down on
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Andrea Esparza Mrs. Kinder English II Pre-AP – 1 September 16‚ 2012 A Secret Hero At the beginning‚ Tim O’Brien’s story‚ “On the Rainy River”‚ suggests to be about a story never told. He never told his story to anyone‚ not his wife‚ not his siblings‚ or his parents. The author‚ Tim O’Brien uses condemnation of the Vietnam War‚ his decision to run‚ and expatriation versus the war to illustrate the conflicts he faced in his life. The conflicts make the reader think about how the decision would
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The relationship you have with others often has a direct effect on the basis of your very own personal identity. In the essay "On The Rainy River‚" the author Tim O’Brien tells about his experiences and how his relationship with a single person had effected his life so dramatically. It is hard for anyone to rely fully on their own personal experiences when there are so many other people out there with different experiences of their own. Sometimes it take the experiences and knowledge of others to
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factors dictate how a person‚ or animal in some cases‚ will evolve or emerge in the end of the story. The people around a character and where the character lives usually determines what type of person or animal they are. The short story “On the Rainy River” shows how location helps a character grow and develop. Location plays a substantial role in how a character develops and how they learn the necessary material for growing up. Tim O’Brien‚ drafted into the Vietnam War‚ bolts out of town‚ avoiding
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battle. Although Polynices is considered a traitor to the land of Thebes‚ Antigone feels that to respect the wishes of the gods she must burry him. She faithfully acts upon her morals‚ even though they oppose the law. However‚ in the story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien‚ Tim is not so persistent with his loyalty to his morals. Although he is very against the war he has been drafted into‚ in the end he ends up going to battle due to his fear of letting his family and country down. While both Tim
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