Injustice In On The Rainy River

The choice between justice and injustice is always a difficult decision to make, especially during the time of war and when the decision challenges one’s moral belief. In the 1950’s, the US declared war against North Vietnam. The war itself was hard to be classified as either justified or unjustified. But if this struggle between justice and injustice comes to an individual, how would the individual make his own choice? This question is discussed in the short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien. Immediately after O’Brien receives the draft card informing him to go to war, the choice between fighting the war and escaping fulfils his mind. The author employs character development to suggest the idea about how the conflict between an individual’s …show more content…
In the face of justice and injustice, struggling with fear is another huge factor that tears him apart. He would never experience this kind of fear if he lives without struggling with the conflict. O’Brien states, “all [he] wanted was to live the life [he] was born to—a mainstream life”. He has a full-ride scholarship for graduate studies at Harvard; he wants to go to school, graduate, and find a regular job. His fear of death is very common among those who could live an ordinary life, because no one wants to risk his life in a war that he believes is wrong. However, O’Brien’s terror of war is far beyond the fear of death. He is also afraid of exile. He clearly states that he is “afraid of walking away from [his] own life… everything that mattered to [him]”. He is also afraid of being unable to return his home by law. We can see that O’Brien values his identity, personal history and connection to his family as precious as his life. He does not want to be blamed by others, to feel ashamed on himself, or to dishonour his family, which generates his deepest fear—moral judgements of his community. Killing people is obviously more blameworthy than avoiding responsibilities, but the people in his community blindly and uniformly support the war, and they stand on the moral high ground, criticizing his lack of courage, patriotism and spirit, which overwhelms O’Brien’s idea of …show more content…
Although he fears judgements from his community, and he still feels “ashamed of [his] conscience”, it finally makes him to escape, he headed west along the Rainy River, which literally separates Canada and the US. Symbolically, it separates war and peace, and for O’Brien, as he claims, it separates his life from another. The only person there is a man named Elroy Berdahl—the owner of the cabins. His appearance does not show any sharpness; he rarely talks and makes no judgements on O’Brien, which significantly juxtaposes with O’Brien’s community. Berdahl and his cabin are representations of a non-judgemental environment, where O’Brien can listen to himself and express his true nature and make the right decision. However, O’Brien chooses the path against his belief. He feels that people will judge him, and their prejudice makes him hallucinate: “everybody screaming from the sidelines, rooting at [him]”. He feels a sense that everyone is urging him to join war. This time, in a peaceful place without any judgements from his community, he unfortunately betrays his moral belief and join the war. His own justice is overwhelmed by the inner shame. Ironically, O’Brien cares so much about his identity and reputation, but as soon as he chooses to go fight the war, he abandons his true self and what he sees as just. At that moment, his