On the Rainy River

Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried submerges the reader in the intense emotions of war. As a male college student roughly the same age as the characters in this novel, I identify and empathize deeply with these “boys.” Tim O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” chapter torn at my heart strings the most out of all the stories we have read thus far; the emotions of fear, shame, and cowardliness that the character Tim O’Brien shared with his readers are the same emotions I believe that I would feel in that same situation. In fact, I may have been so inclined to try to literally “run away” from my problems as well.

This story is so believable.

I should have known better. O’Brien never ran away to the Canadian border. He never stayed at the Tip Top Lodge. As Tim O’Brien expressed during his “How to Tell a True War Story” chapter:

“In many cases a true war story cannot be believed. If you believe it, be skeptical. It’s a question of credibility. Often the crazy stuff is true and the normal stuff isn’t, because the normal stuff is necessary to make you believe the truly incredible craziness.”

Tim O’Brien talks specifically about credibility. By inserting himself into this fictional piece, Tim O’Brien gives his stories—especially “On the Rainy River”—an immense amount of credibility. However, this short story is about Tim O’Brien’s character and not the author himself. It’s easy to forget this because by using his own name, the line between the fictional Tim O’Brien and the author Tim O’Brien is blurred. It makes the story more believable.

With this entire entry mind and after reading O’Brien’s first line in this chapter, I felt violated when I read in the copyright page that “On the Rainy River” has been already previously published in Playboy. Tim O’Brien promised the reader, “This is one story I’ve never told before.” Yet, I had no reason to feel this betrayal. Although Tim O’Brien actually told this story before and the story itself did not even happened, it does not mean that this story is not true. Yes—I was a sucker for trying to believe and make truth of every word in this chapter. However, this story is true because it portrays the emotions that all of us would feel in the exact same position as Tim’s character. It may not be an accurate representation of the factual events of Tim O’Brien’s life, but a story certainly represents the true feelings of the many of our war heroes today.