Commentary on “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien

Danisa Qinthara Irianto 11B

Guiding Questions:
1. How does the author use literary devices to deviate from the stereotypes
of American soldiers?
2. How does the relationship between Elroy Berdahl and Tim O’Brien
affect the story behind the passage?

Based on the lines “All I could do was cry” (page 36) to “a million of
ferocious citizens waving flags all shapes and colors” (page 38)

“On the Rainy River” is the fourth story on The Things They Carried, a
collection of linked historical fiction short stories written by American Novelist
Tim O’Brien in 1990 that focuses on the members of the Alpha Division who
fought together in Vietnam. A short story from that collection, called 'On the
Rainy River,' gives us the backstory on how Tim, the protagonist, became one
of those soldiers. Unlike other war literature, O’Brien’s work deals with
brutally honest opinions that surrounds raw and bare human emotions, and
explores the role of shame of the narrator in his experience during the war. It is
a central narrative that depicts the conflict in the mind of a young man who has
been drafted into a war that he objects to. Even though the name of the young
man who tells the story is Tim O'Brien, the narrator is not the author himself.
Rather, the narrator is a composite of young man that the author knew
personally. This story includes the book's most complete consideration of the
war's history, politics, and philosophy. It closely examines the conflict that the
draft created for some soldiers and for the general population. In this case, the
thesis statement is that running away from your fears does not simply make
them go away.

The pivotal extract consisting of forty five lines is written in first person point
of view and focuses the main climax of the story, illustrating how Tim breaks
down at work and finally decides that he can’t fight in the war, and runs off to
Canada. The two identifiable themes seen from the passage conflict each other,
as we observe how Tim thinks that he should do what is right, in which it is to
participate in the war. However, he later decides that he should stand up for his
morals instead by running away to Canada so that he would be able to avoid
joining a war that he doesn’t support. His decisions were also made by the help
of a static god-like character named Elroy Berdahl. He was the owner of the
Tip Top Lodge, a fishing resort located just by the rainy river. With his wise
personality, he was able to help O’Brien to make up his mind in his own gentle
way. Though the moods contrasted in this passage include fear, confusion, and
bravery, the passage is written in a confessional tone which creates immediate
sympathy towards the audience.
During the course of the developing passage, the narrator uses a few rhetorical
strategies and literary devices including repetition, seen in the reappearances of
“I saw”, which is used so that the readers are able to empathize with Tim’s
current dilemma. The author also uses a triadic expression, also known as a
tricolon, in the excessive use of the line “I couldn’t”. The empathic use of
fragments seen in the phrase “silly and hopeless” reinforces the idea that
Canada was just a fantasy to him due to the enticing and bright description of
the area. Tim O’Brien also makes use of metaphors in the line “Chunks of my
own history flashed by” as he continues to list extensive memories from his
past. This conveys the idea of immense pressure of what the youth in America
have to go through, which was to surrender their own lives, as it is what is right
for the country. Similarly, the use of time (references to the past and future)
portrays how unforgiving time would be if Tim had failed to do his social duty
to his nation and how his family will continue to censure him. All the names he
listed create an asyndeton, or the absence of a conjunction between parts of a
sentence, and it is used as a reminder to the illustrious history of America and
creates an idea of burden that the American youth are pressured to go to war.
Tim O’Brien creates the protagonist with a coward-like personality to
specifically portray that soldiers are just like humans, as Tim’s character
progression shows how he was indecisive and was unsure of what his heart
truly wanted. Here, “All I could do was cry” is an imagery that sets out the
stereotypes for men, and this proves that soldiers are not just patriotic robots
that are forced to worship their own country. In other cases, literary devices
such as symbolism seen in the line “old image of myself as a hero” depicts how
O’Brien refers to himself as a lone ranger, which defines to one who acts alone
and without the approval of others. This again contradicts to the common
stereotype set to soldiers in general as they always move in groups, rather than
working individually.

In this extract, Elroy Berdahl plays a role of a father figure to Tim as he

contemplates on going to fight in the Vietnam War or to flee to Canada and
start a new life. Though his quiet yet considerate trait stops him from
pressuring Tim to make the right decision, the readers are able to observe how
the protagonist’s character drastically shifts throughout the passage just with
the presence of Berdahl. In other words, Elroy Berdahl was Tim’s only hope
for his future, and that he successfully saved his life with his silent actions. By
the end of the text, it is evident that the rainy river mentioned on the title of the
story itself does not only physically resemble the separation between
Minnesota and Canada, but it also symbolizes Tim’s internal struggle. More
specifically, it is a mental representation of his choice regarding joining the
war. As his character develops, we notice that sometimes a person needs to be
a coward in order to be brave. This can be seen by Tim O’Brien’s final
decision, which was to return home and eventually join the army.