Summary vs. Analysis of “On the Rainy River”
Summary
Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” tells the story of the summer of 1968 and how he handles the pressure of going to war or choosing not to go. June 17, 1968 was the exact day when Tim opened received the draft notice. That afternoon, he remembered “opening up the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes” (O’Brien 45). This image represents the feeling that O’Brien has for being drafted into the war. A month before, he had just graduated from Macalester College, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, and was president of the student body. O’Brien is discouraged by getting his draft notice because he believes that he is too good for the war, and starts to find a way to get out of going to war. He started a summer job in his hometown of Worthington, Minnesota at an Armour meatpacking plant where his main job was to remove blood clots from the necks of the dead pigs. In the midst of summer, O’Brien starts thinking about making the escape to Canada, about eight hours from his hometown. That small voice in his head is telling him to run, but he fears that if he flees, he will lose the love and respect of not only his family, but of his community as well. As O’Brien is contemplating and trying to take in all these intense thoughts, he keeps driving further north until he reaches the Rainy River, which for him, separated one life from another. As he drives, he pulls up to a neglected old fishing resort called the Tip Top Lodge. As O’Brien recalls, “Actually it was not a lodge at all, just eight or nine tiny yellow cabins clustered on a peninsula that jutted northward into the Rainy River”, (O’Brien 51). O’Brien then meets the smart, intellectual old man named Elroy Berdahl. O’Brien and Elroy end up spending six days together at the lodge, and he feels a great sense of acceptance from Elroy. Elroy wants to give O’Brien money for helping him around the lodge to prepare for winter, but O’Brien refuses. He then takes a moment to look back on this time, and wonders if any of it is even real, or if he is just dreaming. On the final day at the lodge, Elroy takes O’Brien out on the river to go fishing. As they are on the boat, O’Brien realizes that they must have passed into the Canadian waters. This is when it all becomes real to O’Brien that he must choose which path to take, which direction he wants his life to go. This is when O’Brien says of Elroy that, “he meant to bring me up against the realities, to guide me across the river and to take me to the edge and to stand a kind of vigil as I chose a life for myself,” (O’Brien 58). Right then and there, O’Brien begins to realize that Canada is just a pure fantasy, that it’s not the best route for him to take. He imagines the disappointment and sadness of his family and community if he chooses not to go to war. He can’t live with the embarrassment not going to war would entail, so he decides that he will go and become a soldier. That’s when Elroy pulls in his line and heads back towards Minnesota.
Analysis
“On the Rainy River” is an accurate and telling expedition of the embarrassment and guilt that war can bring for some people, especially if they don’t agree with what it stands for. This story heavily weighs on the guilt of abstaining from the draft and the effect that it would more so have on the people in O’Brien’s community. Throughout the story, he mentions numerous times that he wouldn’t want his hometown community to disrespect him if he decided not to go because they all strongly encouraged him to go. Again, this comes back to the embarrassment and shame that O’Brien would carry with him forever, which is why he would flee to Canada. Elroy Berdahl is not only a true friend and hero to O’Brien, but the real effect he has on O’Brien is that he helps him to see what freedom would be like, and how it would feel if he were to cross over the border to Canada. It’s almost as if Elroy is challenging O’Brien to see if the grass is really greener on the other side. In this case it’s not, and he feels compelled to go into action. O’Brien begs for us to recognize how complicated his position is by asking the reader, “What would you do? Would you feel pity for yourself? Would you think about your family and childhood and your dreams and all you’re leaving behind? Would it hurt? Would it feel like dying? Would you cry, as I did?”(O’Brien 59). These questions O’Brien asks helps us to realize how tough it is for one to make this life-changing decision, and how big of an impact it has on them and their emotions. Lastly, this story does a great job of illustrating how the power of war can transform a person whether it is good or bad.
Summary
Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” tells the story of the summer of 1968 and how he handles the pressure of going to war or choosing not to go. June 17, 1968 was the exact day when Tim opened received the draft notice. That afternoon, he remembered “opening up the letter, scanning the first few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes” (O’Brien 45). This image represents the feeling that O’Brien has for being drafted into the war. A month before, he had just graduated from Macalester College, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, and was president of the student body. O’Brien is discouraged by getting his draft notice because he believes that he is too good for the war, and starts to find a way to get out of going to war. He started a summer job in his hometown of Worthington, Minnesota at an Armour meatpacking plant where his main job was to remove blood clots from the necks of the dead pigs. In the midst of summer, O’Brien starts thinking about making the escape to Canada, about eight hours from his hometown. That small voice in his head is telling him to run, but he fears that if he flees, he will lose the love and respect of not only his family, but of his community as well. As O’Brien is contemplating and trying to take in all these intense thoughts, he keeps driving further north until he reaches the Rainy River, which for him, separated one life from another. As he drives, he pulls up to a neglected old fishing resort called the Tip Top Lodge. As O’Brien recalls, “Actually it was not a lodge at all, just eight or nine tiny yellow cabins clustered on a peninsula that jutted northward into the Rainy River”, (O’Brien 51). O’Brien then meets the smart, intellectual old man named Elroy Berdahl. O’Brien and Elroy end up spending six days together at the lodge, and he feels a great sense of acceptance from Elroy. Elroy wants to give O’Brien money for helping him around the lodge to prepare for winter, but O’Brien refuses. He then takes a moment to look back on this time, and wonders if any of it is even real, or if he is just dreaming. On the final day at the lodge, Elroy takes O’Brien out on the river to go fishing. As they are on the boat, O’Brien realizes that they must have passed into the Canadian waters. This is when it all becomes real to O’Brien that he must choose which path to take, which direction he wants his life to go. This is when O’Brien says of Elroy that, “he meant to bring me up against the realities, to guide me across the river and to take me to the edge and to stand a kind of vigil as I chose a life for myself,” (O’Brien 58). Right then and there, O’Brien begins to realize that Canada is just a pure fantasy, that it’s not the best route for him to take. He imagines the disappointment and sadness of his family and community if he chooses not to go to war. He can’t live with the embarrassment not going to war would entail, so he decides that he will go and become a soldier. That’s when Elroy pulls in his line and heads back towards Minnesota.
Analysis
“On the Rainy River” is an accurate and telling expedition of the embarrassment and guilt that war can bring for some people, especially if they don’t agree with what it stands for. This story heavily weighs on the guilt of abstaining from the draft and the effect that it would more so have on the people in O’Brien’s community. Throughout the story, he mentions numerous times that he wouldn’t want his hometown community to disrespect him if he decided not to go because they all strongly encouraged him to go. Again, this comes back to the embarrassment and shame that O’Brien would carry with him forever, which is why he would flee to Canada. Elroy Berdahl is not only a true friend and hero to O’Brien, but the real effect he has on O’Brien is that he helps him to see what freedom would be like, and how it would feel if he were to cross over the border to Canada. It’s almost as if Elroy is challenging O’Brien to see if the grass is really greener on the other side. In this case it’s not, and he feels compelled to go into action. O’Brien begs for us to recognize how complicated his position is by asking the reader, “What would you do? Would you feel pity for yourself? Would you think about your family and childhood and your dreams and all you’re leaving behind? Would it hurt? Would it feel like dying? Would you cry, as I did?”(O’Brien 59). These questions O’Brien asks helps us to realize how tough it is for one to make this life-changing decision, and how big of an impact it has on them and their emotions. Lastly, this story does a great job of illustrating how the power of war can transform a person whether it is good or bad.
MLA: O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Houghton Mifflin/Seymour Lawerence. Boston. 1990.
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