“On the Rainy River” comes back to civilization. This is when Tim the author has to face the fact that he has just been drafted for the Vietnam war. He starts it off heavy saying that he has never shared this story with anyone, which he is now about to share with his readers. He is working at a job he can't stomach because he can't go to Harvard. He can't go to Harvard, because Uncle Sam want's him. This whole time he is talking about how he could fight a war he believes in, for example overthrowing a Tyrant such as Hitler. Vietnam he can't find a just cause. It is all hazy to him; which side is good which side is bad. War's should be clear cut and are musts, not maybes! This whole time I'm thinking yeah plus you're scared of dying. He decides to flee to Canada and shacks up at this lodge in the middle of nowhere, close to the Canada border. The old man that runs the place takes him and put's Tim to work. A lot is spoken in the silence between the two. The old man tells him yes you have a big decision to make, abandon everyone you love, your hopes, and dreams, or fight in a war that violates your morals and ethics. Tim knows the decision is his and his alone, respecting the old man's silent, unbiased camaraderie; he becomes comfortable around a man in a way that his own parents would be jealous of. The story comes to a climax, where I find my assumption was wrong, when the old man takes Tim to a river that borders Canada. He takes Tim right to the edge, screaming out with the force of a calm breeze “Jump!” Tim has to finally face his decision, seeing as clear as day all the people's lives involved, both future and present. He sees dead presidents, relatives, even Ho Chih Minh. Then he breaks down and cries coming to the truth that he knew all along. He can't be brave. “I went to war.”
The third and final story I read was “How to tell a True War Story”. This is by far my favorite story. The friendship and honor that is shown in these “true” war stories makes me proud to be human. O'Brien goes into depth repeatedly on how a story is not true unless you can see it happening. You have to really believe in a story to make it true. He tells of men cracking in the Jungle and ordering massive airstrikes for nothing. He talks about his squad and of a good soldier getting blown to bits by a mine. Then his best friend Rat Kiley writes the deceased's sister a letter telling how brave her brother was and they were best friends. Rat mentioned in the letter that he would take care of the sister with honor like his best bud would of wanted. “The dumb cooze never writes back!”, a war story does not give hope or show the brighter side of things a war story tells the truth. These are men we are talking about, they don't give up. When there is no hope and you see fucked up shit every day, peeling your dead friends carcass off of trees and the guy next to you just says yep he's dead. That makes me proud to be human.
