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Transcript

"The man who opened the door that day is the hero of my life. How do I say this without sounding sappy? Blurt it out-- the man saved me. He offered exactly what I needed, without questions, without any words at all. He took me in. He was there at the critical time-- a silent, watchful presence. (Pg 178)

In this quote, O'Brien talks about the man that helped him make the correct decision: Elroy Berdahl. Elroy Berdahl has a role that can be classified as reflective. He ultimately helps O'Brien see what he really needs to do. Without this "watchful presence", O'Brien states himself that he would have not made the right decision if it weren't for Elroy Berdahl.

"A hallucination, I suppose, but it was real as anything I would feel. I saw my parents calling to me from the far shore. I saw my brother and sister, all the townsfolk, the mayor and the entire Chamber of Commerce and all my old teacher and girlfriends and high school buddies. Like some weird sporting event: everybody screaming from the sidelines, rooting me on.

The figurative language used in this scene creates an atmosphere to the reader. This scene shows the inner conflict that O'brien faced when he had the decision to choose between having the shame of deserting everyone he knew or participating something he disagreed with.

"On The Rainy River" Figurative Language

By Sebastian Breeland & Jonathan Espinoza

Figurative language

  • O'brien utilizes figurative language in the story "On the Rainy River" to produce atmosphere, character reflection, and foreshadowing

"If the stakes ever became high enough- if the evil were evil enough, if the good were good enough- i would simply tap a secret reservoir of courage that had accumulating inside me over the years. Courage, I seem to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for that day when the account must be drawn out." (pg. 172)

This could be a symbol or a foreshadowing moment in the story that represents the decision that he would be faced with in his future. Ironically, he describes a certain "reservoir of courage" that everbody has that they can just tap into whenever they need it the most. In O'Brien's case, he would need it most when making his decision to be a deserter because of his feelings towards the United States' interference in other countries or being the honorable man he is and fighting in Vietnam.

"It was not pleasant work. Goggles were a necessity, and a rubber apron, but even so it was like standing for eight hours a day under a lukewarm blood-shower. At night I'd go home smelling of pig. It wouldn't go away. Even after a hot bath, scrubbing hard, the stink was always there- like bacon, or sausage, a dense greasy pig-stink that soaked deep into my skin and hair. I felt isolated."

At first glance it may seem like the author is talking about the aroma of pig carcass over his body. A closer inspection though could be seen as the after effects of war. "It wouldn't go away, the stink was always there". This could be a foreshadowing of what the author felt like after war and how he could never escape it. It followed him wherever he went.

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