After reading "On the Rainy River", do you believe that Tim O'Brien acted cowardly or courageously? Support your answer with reasoning.
Due Monday
About Me
- Brad Feick
- I attended Plymouth High School, graduated with a Bachelor of Science - Education from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and am in my fourth year as an English teacher at PHS. I am also earning my Master's Degree from Walden University in Adolescent Literacy and Technology to be fulfilled in May 2011. At PHS I am also involved in coaching girls' junior varsity soccer and boys' junior varsity basketball.
30 comments:
I think in the end going back home was not the courageous thing to do, not because going to fight in a war doesn’t take courage, it does. I think it wasn’t courageous because of the reasons he went back, the fact that he was afraid of what others would think and what his family would think. He didn’t go back to fight for what he believed in but rather what he feared. I think some of him still regrets not swimming to Canada, because when he retells the story of himself looking for what awaited him on the Minnesota side of the river he tells of a young man that he would killed during the war, and in my opinion he seems to regret it. So, in this case I think going back home to wait to fight in a war he didn’t believe in was not the courageous thing to do.
I think that he was cowardly when he got on that boat and saw the hallucination but I think what made him courageous was that he didn't jump and go to Canada even if it was because he was scared he stayed on that boat because of fear. Sometimes fear makes us courageous while others think it makes us a coward. In this case though I think him being afraid and fighting for something he didn't believe in made him courageous. I think that courageous doesn't mean having a lot of courage it means doing something even if you don't want to and the only reason your doing it is because your scared of what others will think, and that sometimes others will make you courageous. I think that the hallucinations were meant to be there to make him embarrassed to make him courageous.
I think that going back to the U.S. and fighting a war he didn't believe in was the courageous thing to do. The easy way out was to do nothing, which he tried and it turned out that he needed to make a decision. It wasn't easy, but would have been easier to just hop off that boat, and never look back. His life would have started on a different, more normal path in Canada. He would have met someone, and started a family, and maybe regretted the decision, but wouldn't have to remember the stories about the war that haunt him. But he did the honerable and difficult thing, and went back. Cause it was the right thing to do.
The fact that Tim O'Brien went up to the Rainy River in the first place is not very courageous, but he did have some courage when he decided to stay for a week and think about what he was doing, instead of fleeing right away. He thought about his situation and who it would effect, but in the end it seems like he wasn't staying in the boat for himself, but because he didn't want others to think of him in a cowardly way. I feel like that isn't very courageous at all.
In my opinion I think he was cowardly. When he was leaving his home and in the end when he's coming back, it might have looked like courage, but to me it was more of fear. He thought about how his famliy and everyone of his area would judge him instead of thinking what was best for him, which would have taken courage. Out on the Rainy River when he is imagining all those people in a crowd, I think it's because in a way he's letting other people make his decisions for him. He's so afraid of what everyone else will do and think of him that he let's it influence his decision in the end. In the beginning, when he talks about how he never told anyone this story, makes me think he feels regret for some of the choices he made. Maybe he wishes he wouldn't have acted as cowardly in some of those situations as he did.
I think that running away from home was a cowardly thing to do. Sure, he might be scared and all but he'd have to fact his fears sooner or later. I think it was courageous that he didn't jump off the boat and decided to go back home. He really didn't want to fight in a war he didn't believe in, but turning around and returning home made up for leaving in the first place.
I think that he acted cowardly because in the end he didn't follow his own thoughts and feelings and let others start to sway his decision. He became too worried about others and what they might think and didn't follow what he wanted because he thought he would be an embarrassment even when others have done exactly what he was thinking of doing. I know it takes courage to go to war but to let others almost think for you is a very cowardly act and you will never be able to be by yourself if you rely on other for your decisions.
I think that he was cowardly because he even considered going to Canada and running away. While I can see why he would want to and might even say he was almost being courageous, he let others, his family, friends and neighbors back home sway his decision and change what he probably would have done. This is why I think that what he did was very cowardly.
I think he acted cowardly. Although he went to war, which takes courage, he went to war because of peer pressure. While I was reading this story, I kept thinking about tithing, or giving an offering at church. I was taught growing up that you give to God because you want to give, or you feel the need to give, not because everyone else is giving, or that you feel it’s the right thing to do. God loves a happy giver, not a regretful giver. It’s just like O’Brien, he didn’t want to go to war, but he went because he felt he had to go, and that it was the right thing to do, which was the wrong reason.
i think that he was courageous. I think that because i decided to face the truth and to go back and fight the war. not many men would have the courage to say no and turn back if they were that close to freedom. it must have taking a lot of courage to go home and face the us and his parents after almost fleeing the country.
I think that Tim O'Brian was both a coward and someone who showed courage. I think that Tim was a coward when he went back home after he went to Minnesota because he didn't even believe in what he was doing. He just did it because it's what you are supposed to do. I think he was courageous when he when to Minnesota because he was standing up for what he believed in and doing what he thought would be the best for him. But, to me, there was something that outweighed him acting like a coward... I think that the really courageous that Tim did was actually writing this down in his book. I think that it better shows the readers the conflict of fighting in a war when you don't believe in what you're fighting for.
In a way, what Tim did was both courageous and cowardly. Part of the reason he turned back was to keep up a good image, because he didn't want his family and friends to be disappointed in him. And that would be his cowardly side, because you shouldn't worry about what others may think. But you have to look at his courageous side also! It would take a tremendous amount of guts to turn your back on freedom and walk back to a war that you have to fight in. He knew that fleeing the draft was not the right thing to do, and so he returned home to face that fear.
I think that not going across the border to Canada was courageous thing. O Brian could have crossed the boarder very easily but he decided not to, he had a duty to fight for his country.He thought about how it would affect everyone not just himself. He would have to leave his family and never see them again, so he decided to go fight. I think O Brian was a coward when he went to the rainy river in the first place. He should have just staid where he was and not tried to run to see what it would feel like. He didn't really think of what he wanted he just wanted to please people.
At the time, i thought that he was a coward, but I don't blame him for not wanting to die in a war that he didn't even support. Maybe driving to Canada wasn't the smartest idea either, but he did what he thought was right at the time. After I read the whole chapter, I thought that he was courageous for serving America as a US soldier and for being brave enough to tell his story for the first time in this book. I'm excited to read the rest of the book and to see what happens at the end.
I agree with the people that felt that Tim O'Brien showed both courage and cowardness when he went back to fight. I think that on some level, O'Brien always knew he was going to end up fighting in the war. He ran away from home with the intention of going to Canada because he was afraid of the war and he didn't believe in it. But if he truly was brave enough to leave his country behind, he would have done it right away, not wait a week on the border. He always knew that he wouldn't be able to leave happily in Canada because of all the shame he would have to live with, and staying on the border was just him stalling. When it came down to it, he was more afraid of other people's opinions than the war. He was cowardly in letting others people's opinions rule his decisions and not facing that fear, but on the other hand, he was choosing to face his fear of the war which took courage.
Like some others said, I think he was acting cowardly while acting courageously. Just imagine if you were drafted what would you do? Well I would definately not jump the boarder but I can't say I wouldnt have thoughts of it. But what O'Brien did showed that he was about to give up his life back home to go to Canada, showing courage. But then he would be running away from the duty of an American citizen, showing that he was a coward. Still at the end I am glad that he did not do the illegal thing by jumping the boarder.
I think that Tim O'Brien was acting courageously with his actions. He made a wise decision to not go over to Canada and his way of handling the situation was very brave. In my mind i think he could of acted out in a more violent way, but instead he chose to just let the idea of going to war soak in his head for awhile. O'Brien could have done many other things in reaction to getting called away from his family, friends, and life basically, but he was able to get away for a llittle bit and think about what could happen if he chose a different path.
I believe that Tim O'Brien was both courageous and cowardly. He was drafted to fight in a war he did not support or even understand and likely have his life ended or end the lives of others. He was expected by most to not even consider running away or turning his back and I know if I were in his situation I would have thought of all of my options. He ran away from his life to think his plans over, which in a way was cowardly. I think he did just need some time alone to figure out what he wanted and needed to do. He was couragous to turn away from his freedom when he was so close to the border. I think that when he decided to fight he decided it for the wrong reasons. It was cowardly to care so much about other peoples opinions but that obviously really mattered to him. However, I believe that anyone who goes to fight in a war for our country must have a great deal of courage. Tim O'Brien, like the rest of us, acted courageously at some points and cowardly at others.
To start with, running away up to Rainy River was a cowardly thing to do. He wasn't the only one that was being drafted into a war that they didn't believe in, it was probably happening all over the country. The fact that he did come back and fight wasn't exactly courageous though, because he only did it out of fear. He was scared of what would happen either way and finally decided to do what he was told to do. He ran away out of fear and came back out of fear. I don't think he was being courageous or brave or anything, he was just scared. Being courageous is ignoring your fear, being strong, and going through with what you have to do. Tim O'Brien was hallucinating and crying and couldn't decide what to do because he didn't want what might happen to him either way he went. To me, that isn't exactly courage.
I believe he was both a coward but courageous at the same time. I didn't agree with his decision to go up the Rainy River and thought it was corwardly, but the fact that he changed his mind shows that he has some courage in him. He was so close to getting away from the war and then decided to do the courageous thing and return to it.
I think that in the beginning of this section he acted cowardly because he was running away from his problem. He was letting his fears interfere with his life, so fleeing was a cowardly act. When he was in the boat hallucinating I think that the people he saw was what he feared the most, them thinking about him in a bad way, and judging him. He just couldn't accept embarrassment. So when he decided to go into war its still a cowardly act because he is still running away from his fear of being embarrassed by doing so.
I think that he was not couragous. he probably does not want to go to war and maybe he just hasn't done what he wanted to do yet. I would have fled. He also probably didn't want to kill people. People change after they go to war. They see things that no one else could imagine.
I think that he was courageous. Going to war is scary. You never know what is going to happen and even though he considered going to canada and running from the problem he didnt. He was mostly pressured into it but he still could have gone to canada if he was really a coward. Im sure most of the people going to war considered running, not just him. He did go to war. The people that ran away were cowards. I think that he was courageous.
I think that Tim O'Brien was for the most part cowardly because he let his mind take over the best of him. Tim O'Brien seemed like a smart guy that had it all going for him. Then, he got the letter saying he was drafted into the Vietnam War. After this happened Tim O'Brien let his thoughts take control over him. He was debating whether to leave the country, which I think was very cowardly for him to do. If it wasn't for him meeting Elroy, I don't think that Tim would've made the decision that he made.
I think that Tim was both a coward and courageous. He obvioulsy was cowardly when he ran away. This showed that he couldn't face his fears and doubts and the war. With this on his shoulders, the idea that this war was bigger than him, that he ran from his family, that fear has overcome all the courage he had ever had, all the strength he may've built up over the years, gone because of this stupid decission, is when he became courageous. He turned around because he wanted to prove to everyone that he is strong willed and has no fear. It might've been more pride than anything, but in the end there's so few people who actually have the courage to make the trip overseas to fight in a war. This made him courageous, and really if someone has the strength that allows you to bounce back from a fear that almost takes everything away from you, it's the most courageous thing one can do.
I think that Tim was cowardly because he did not stand up for what he truly believed in. He did not think there was a reason for the war. Instead of taking a stand for what he thought was right he turned back because he was scared, and partly because he did not want to look foolish to all of his friends and family. He was more concerned about his image then what truly mattered.
I think his decisions was courageous and cowardly all meshed together. When Tim talked about the mockery and the patriotic ridicule I feel he was too focused on what others would think of him. This, to me is a characteristics of a coward, to be too scared of what people would think so you don't do what seems right to you. At the same time, it takes alot of courage to fight for something you do not believe in, especially a war you do not understand and support. I do give him credit for actually going back. Beacause, this to me says he had the courage to do at least that much. This also throws me off because, he went to go fight for all the wrong reasons. In the end, Tim should not be labeled with the coward or the courageous one.
Merriam and Webster say that courage is "mental or moral strength to venture,preserve,and withstand danger,fear, or difficulty." When he first found that he was drafted, he acted cowardly because of his indecision of the war by fleeing to the border. Then, when the opportunity came for him to jump off the boat for Canada, he was forced to decide which was the lesser of two evils, war or humiliation? I think that making the decision alone was courageous, but he was also deciding for the wrong reasons. When you think about it, we have all had those moments, where you feel great, and at the same time, not so hot. I think that he was both cowardly and courageous, which just means that he's human.
I believe that Tim was a pretty courageous guy. Fighting in a war that you don't even support is pretty courageous. He could have died in a war that he didn't even believe in, but chose to fight anyway. Many may think that he was a wimp for even thinking about fleeing to Canada, but I think that they're wrong. I personaly would have considered leaving too and I'm sure many would. It's not cowardly, it's just part of a thinking process, to look at all options. I think he made the correct decision by fighting the war. It will make his family proud.
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