Compassion
In Tim O’Brien’s, “The Things They Carried”, he introduces his extremely personal story to his readers “On the Rainy River” that he supposedly has never told anyone. With this chapter he is faced with a huge life-changing crisis, he had been drafted to serve in the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War. O’Brien felt trapped, he was completely opposed to this forced command but there was no way out. He couldn’t even fathom why he would have to risk his life for a war that he strongly did not even believe in. In this unpredictable world, can compassion and cruelty live side by side? O’Brien was utterly lost and he ran. This is where he met Elroy Berdahl. Where the harsh realities of the world confer with unpredictable events, …show more content…
He was feeling so many emotions, fear being one of the most prevalent ones, and just watched every second go by painfully, as each second was closer to him going to the Army. While O’Brien was going through this “moral emergency”, he couldn’t express his true thoughts about this without being judged and felt so alone. That is when he made his final decision to run away to Canada. He packed his bags and left an apologetic note to his family. This decision led him to Berdahl’s Tip Top Lodge where his life would change …show more content…
He was fighting for his true desires while his heavy conscience fought back every second of the day. Even when he calms down and writes a letter to his parents, he still didn’t know how to start he felt like he could not, “explain some of my feelings, but there aren’t enough words, and so I just say that it’s a thing that has to be done” (52). O’Brien did not need any advice or some kind of solution for this “problem”. He didn’t need any budging or a scolding to make him do the “right” thing. He knew what was right and wrong, he was a bright and well-educated person. He just needed someone that understood. O’Brien was right there weren’t enough words in the English language to explain all this fear. Berdahl stayed to himself. He gave O’Brien the space to clear his head himself, but the soothing silence still gave off this sense that he understood, but it wasn’t pity. The last day O’Brien stayed at the lodge, Berdahl offered to pay him for all the chores he did around the lodge. Even some extra money as an emergency fund, this small gesture was the first time he felt some kind of
In Tim O’Brien’s, “The Things They Carried”, he introduces his extremely personal story to his readers “On the Rainy River” that he supposedly has never told anyone. With this chapter he is faced with a huge life-changing crisis, he had been drafted to serve in the United States Army to fight in the Vietnam War. O’Brien felt trapped, he was completely opposed to this forced command but there was no way out. He couldn’t even fathom why he would have to risk his life for a war that he strongly did not even believe in. In this unpredictable world, can compassion and cruelty live side by side? O’Brien was utterly lost and he ran. This is where he met Elroy Berdahl. Where the harsh realities of the world confer with unpredictable events, …show more content…
He was feeling so many emotions, fear being one of the most prevalent ones, and just watched every second go by painfully, as each second was closer to him going to the Army. While O’Brien was going through this “moral emergency”, he couldn’t express his true thoughts about this without being judged and felt so alone. That is when he made his final decision to run away to Canada. He packed his bags and left an apologetic note to his family. This decision led him to Berdahl’s Tip Top Lodge where his life would change …show more content…
He was fighting for his true desires while his heavy conscience fought back every second of the day. Even when he calms down and writes a letter to his parents, he still didn’t know how to start he felt like he could not, “explain some of my feelings, but there aren’t enough words, and so I just say that it’s a thing that has to be done” (52). O’Brien did not need any advice or some kind of solution for this “problem”. He didn’t need any budging or a scolding to make him do the “right” thing. He knew what was right and wrong, he was a bright and well-educated person. He just needed someone that understood. O’Brien was right there weren’t enough words in the English language to explain all this fear. Berdahl stayed to himself. He gave O’Brien the space to clear his head himself, but the soothing silence still gave off this sense that he understood, but it wasn’t pity. The last day O’Brien stayed at the lodge, Berdahl offered to pay him for all the chores he did around the lodge. Even some extra money as an emergency fund, this small gesture was the first time he felt some kind of