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On the Rainy River
63
Analysis of "On the Rainy River" by Tim Obrien
Delanie Tucker
Summary of "On the Rainy River"
Summary
"On the Rainy River" is only one
of the multiple stories included in O'Brien's book, The Things They Carried. It follows the main character, Tim O'Brien, as he has an internal battle
regarding whether he will go
to war or not.
Timeline
Time Line
- O'Brien comes home from
school and is drafted (June of '68)
- The summer of '68 -> O'Brien works on a meat packing plant
- August of '68 -> He began fleeing North and ended up at Tip Top Lodge, right on the Candian Border
- Six days later -> Tim O'Brien went to war
Our Characters
Characters
Tim O' Brien
and
Elroy Berdahl
Tim O' Brien
Tim O' Brien
Beyond being the narrator, I think his character represents the two sides of the conflcit at that time, regarding the Vietnam War. Not all Americans believed in the war, much like O' Brien, so his character represents that sort of uncertainty.
"Young, yes, and politically naive, but even so the American war in Vietnam seemed to me wrong. Certain blood was being shed for uncertain reasons. I saw no unity of purpose, no consensus on matters of philosophy or history
or law."
Quote #1
(O' Brien, 173)
"I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because I was embarrassed not to."
Quote #2
(O' Brien 186)
Elroy Berdahl
Elroy Berdahl
He was a silent but sturdy support system for O' Brien. I thik he was also a symbol, of sorts, for both sides of the war. He didnt judge anyone who fled to Canada, but he did stick my and encourage, in his own way, O' Brien to think it over. Berdahl taking O' Brien to the river was his way of making the young man think
of both options.
"The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life... He offered exactly what I needed, without questions, without any words at all. He took me in. He was there at the crucial time - a silent, watchful presence."
Quote
(O' Brien 178)
Nasrullah Mambrol for
Literary Theory and Critisism
Theme of the story, in her opinion: "embarrassment and reputation act as more powerful motivations than valor or courage" (Mambrol).
Plot/ themes
I agree that this is a large theme of the story, as most of "On the Rainy River" relies on the inner battle between embarassment and courage. We see it time and time again in O' Brien's inner dialogue, and our narrator even admits that the sole "motivator" in him going to war is embarassment.
Personal Interpretation
"...I couldn't risk the embarrassment. It was as if there were an audience to
my Iife, that swirl of faces along the river, and in my head I could hear
people screaming at me. Traitor!"
Quote #1
(O' Brien 186)
"I would go to the war - I would kill and maybe die - because
I was
embarrassed not to."
Quote #2
(O' Brien 186)
Back to the War
Beyond this them of embarassment, though, I also think, as I said with the characters, there is a prominent theme in the contradiction that surrounded this war, or contradiction in general. I think a good example of this is found when comparing O' Brien's summer job with his opinion on killing.
"It was not pleasant work... it was like standing for eight hours a day under lukewarm
blood-shower. At night I'd go home smelling of pig."
Quote #1
(O' Brien 175)
"The sight of blood
made me
queasy."
Quote #2
(O' Brien 174)
"There was a
slim young man
I would one day
kill with a
hand grenade along
a red clay trail outside the village of My Khe."
Quote #3
(O' Brien 185)
The River
Symbols
To further contradiction being a theme, I think the river is a symbol of that. You have the two sides: one being canada, one being war. You see a phyical manifestation of O' Brien's internal dilemma.
"I remember staring
at the old man,
then at my hands, then at Canada...
That close -
twenty yards..."
Quote #1
(O' Brien 183)
"I saw my parents calling to me
from the far shoreline. I saw my brother and sister, all the townsfolk..."
Quote #2
(O' Brien 185)
Works Cited
Mambrol, Nasrullah. “Analysis of Tim O'Brien's on the Rainy River.”
Literary Theory and Criticism, 3 June 2021, https://literariness.org/2021/06/03/analysis-of-tim-obriens-on-the-rainy-river/.
O'Brien, Tim. “On the Rainy River.” The Things They Carried,
MARINER BOOKS, S.l., 2022.