On The Rainy River Essay

Words: 685
Pages: 3

Life can bring unexpected events that people might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of Tim O’Brien in the short story, “On the Rainy River” from the novel The Things They Carried. As the author and the main character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. He faces conflict of whether he should or should not go to the war after being drafted. He couldn’t imagine how hard it is to be fighting without knowing how to fight. He also couldn’t imagine the reason for war. Additionally, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends, and everything he loves behind. Tim O’Brien shows in his short story, “On the Rainy River” that it is important to stick to your true beliefs by using irony, foreshadowing, and flashback. Irony is expressed in the story through Tim O’Brien’s experience and belief. Tim O’Brien, in his short story, states that “I survived, but it’s not a happy ending. I was a coward. I went to the war (61). It is important to consider this because people who usually go to war aren’t cowards since they are fighting for our …show more content…
In the short story, “On the Rainy River”, by Tim O’Brien, he claims that “ the war in Vietnam seemed to be wrong and saw no purpose of it”(40). This is a valuable point. In other words, he believes that the war he is being drafted to has no purpose. This is example of foreshadowing because at the start of the story, he is saying how he is being drafted to the war. Even though he had some strong thoughts about the war, he ended up going to the war. Tim O’Brien had many questions about why the war was happening. For instance, he would ask if it was a civil war and why would someone start the war. Also, O’Brien had said that he is not fit to fight the war. He couldn’t tolerate authority, he didn’t know a rifle, and the sight of blood made him