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Tim O Brien's On The Rainy River

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Tim O Brien's On The Rainy River
On the Rainy River is about a young man torn in a moral conflict. He as been drafted to fight a war he does not believe in, and feels he has two choices that will both alter his life completely. Number one is to run to Canada where he can live free of war and live his life by his own standards. Number two requires his submission to the judgmental remarks of his townspeople and society by fighting in the war. Tim O'Brien, the author, ultimately chooses option two, and states he chose the coward's choice of a solution. Setting plays a key role in illuminating O'Brien's life-changing decision and what swayed him to choose the cowardly option. The meat factory where he worked, the Tip-Top Lodge, and the Rainy River itself all contribute to the decision from …show more content…
The Rainy River is the center between the two extremes. Elroy takes O'Brien on his fishing boat out on the choppy waters, fights the current and wind upstream, then takes the boat to the edge of Canada and kills the engine. The boat wasn't swayed in either direction, so it was entirely up O'Brien to make his decision. He was close enough to see the beauty that Canada offered. "I could see tiny red berries on the bushes, I could see a squirrel up in one of the birch trees," but O'Brien was also keen enough to notice the warning signs, " the big crow looking at me from a boulder along the river." While the river bank was lined with red berries, intricate leaf patterns, and dense brush with wildlife, the crow was the final warning to O'Brien that this was a dangerous path he was setting towards. The sagging roof, the dangerous dock, and now the watchful crow, they all contribute to the warning label that comes with the decision to run to Canada, and O'Brien took heed to that warning. Even though Canada seemed liked the perfect escape on the edges, he was scared of the dark signs that symbolized what may hide behind the
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