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Rain Fang

B2 English II

22 January 2018

Mr. Sieloff

Have you ever been bothered by what people around you think of you? In On The Rainy

River of Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, O’Brien uses diction and rhetorical

devices to express the larger theme of fear.

After he fled close to the border between the U.S. and Canada, O’Brien begins to think

more carefully about the idea of escaping the draft. On his last days in the Tip Top Lodge,

O’Brien starts to feel “hot, stupid shame” (15). He gets overwhelmed by his emotions because he

was afraid of the judgement people would have about him if he flees to Canada. This powerful

fear of shame was actually his only motivation to go to the Vietnam War, even though he thinks

it is dumb and was against his beliefs about war. This could indicate that his future actions in the

war would be affected by this misguided emotion too.

Furthermore, O’Brien’s fear was so powerful that it overcame his own conscience.

Although he strongly believed that the war was unjustified in the beginning of the chapter and

thought "the very facts were shrouded in uncertainty", he writes “I was ashamed to be there at

the Tip Top Lodge. I was ashamed of my conscience, ashamed to be doing the right thing.”(15)

This parallelism highlights his fear and shame about running away, even if it was against his

conscience. This conveys the power of fear as it defeats a man’s own conscience, and it forces

him to go to a war which he felt totally unjustified. Also, he emphasizes the shame caused by the

fear each time he repeats it. This increasing intensity of shame further elaborates the power of

fear.
 Fang 2

Also, O’Brien uses figurative language to elaborate on the power of fear. During his days

at the Tip Top Lodge, O’Brien feels like he would “slipped out of (his) own skin” (16). This

hyperbole highlights his fear and panic as his mind struggles to make the decision of whether to

escape the war. This gives the reader an clear idea of the overwhelming internal conflicts

happening inside of O’Brien. Also, his struggle indicates that his fear could eventually lead him

to war, as seen later in the chapter.

In conclusion, it is not bravery that motivated many people to join the war, but rather the

fear of embarrassment and shame of not joining. It is kind of ironic that people usually think

soldiers are courageous, when many of them abandoned their own conscience and joined fearing

others would look down upon them. Real courage is to stand their ground when others are

pressuring them. Even in modern days, this is still relevant, as many people are forced to make

decisions because of how other people think of them, even though they know it is the wrong.