Friday, January 16, 2015
Cowardice
In "On the Rainy River" I couldn't help but feel sorry for Tim O'Brian. He decided one day to flee for Canada, and while reading I thought without a doubt I would flee. He explains that that makes him a coward, however he was just concerned for his life. In the end after he spends a while with Elroy, he decides to go back and go to war because he felt ashamed of running. Do you think that you would run? I definitely think I would. He did not want to fight in a war that he knew nothing about, which I do not believe is cowardly. I feel as though the draft was taking away a part of his free will. I see him running to Canada as taking it back. I know that I would not want someone to tell me that I HAD to fight in a war. That is forcing someone to risk their lives without their consent, which I feel is wrong.
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It is true that O'Brien was facing a difficult situation, having to fight in a war he did not believe in, effectively being forced to support the war. I wonder however, how he feels about his time in Vietnam now, or how he felt after he returned home. I would be curious to know if his opinions on the war or his time there have changed.
ReplyDeleteI can see how you would think that he would leave for Canada in this story. It is an impossible situation, and the reasons he gives for wanting to leave are all incredibly understandable and valid. I'm pretty sure I would leave, if I was faced with the choice: Canada was probably a lot nicer than Vietnam at the time. Of course we know all along that he is going to go to the war, as the rest of the stories are about his experiences, but the section where he is forced to decide is so very bitter. I loved the final lines "I was a coward. I went to the war". It sums up so much of what the stories try to say about soldiers.
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