Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Exploration 5 Alex Thompson

1.     The story that has meant the most to me is "On The Rainy River." Tim O'Brian i showing his true colors here in this passage. He shares a story that many people at the tim did not know and that would cause people to look at him differently. I have the same feelings towards war as he does, but his final decision was different than what mine would of been if I was in his circumstances. This shows true human emotions and a tearing of a new life to his old one where he could likely die in battle for his country.

2.     Tim O'Brian is who I connect with. In my response for number one I stated that he and I have the same mindset on war and what we would do to escape the draft. He is also a leader in his school and had a great future in front of him. He shows, courage, bravery, and independence. He shows all of these characteristics mostly when he was at the cabin with Elroy.

3.      I enjoy how Tim O'Brian relives his stories through the processes of writing. He shares his stories with other people through his book to help us visualize the past and have a mindset of what happened when he was living through this war. He is a very descriptive writer, all the way down to the smell of things. I really like that I can imagine the smells and sights of what happened, even if it is sometimes gory or horrific.

4.     In the chapter "On the Rainy River" I liked the part where he stated his scholarship opportunity and he got selected for the draft and is now "loosing" it, all because he has to go away. Page 39, the second paragraph on that page, "...I was too good for this war. Too smart, too compassionate, too everything. It couldn't happen. I was above it. I had the world dicked- Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude and president for the student body and a full ride scholarship for grad studies at Harvard." That really hit me that people were taken away from their lives for this war. I personally think that is horrible and shouldn't be done. But it happens anyways.

6 comments:

  1. I also found the "On the Rainy River" chapter very interesting. I think that a lot of people would have the same mindset as you and him given the same circumstance. I cannot imagine getting drafted myself, but I think that running to Canada may also cross my mind.

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  2. I agree with you completely on what you said about "On The Rainy River." I also found that chapter very influential, how Tim decided to tell us (the reader) a story that he has never told anyone before helped me to connect personally with Tim. I also found it wonderful how you said that this chapter showed "true human emotions" because up to this point we are only hearing the thoughts of someone in the Army.

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  3. I really like how Tim relives through his stories and writings too. He does a really good job putting in perspective that we can visualize and experience the emotions that he wants us to.

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  4. Alex, I agree completely with you what you said about Tim O'Brian. I think he is an excellent writer and I agree with his detail. He grabs my attention when he writes with much detail.

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  5. I more than felt a connection with Tim O'Brien! I felt like his thinking was so drastically appropriate and sometimes i can get that same thinking cap on. When he realized all the ways out of war and listed what they were and why he couldn't take them to get out of this war i came to a realization this is all too true. Tim is an incredible character and maybe it's because i see his mindset more but i share a huge connection to him as well!

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  6. I too, really like how good Tim is at telling his stories through his writing. It is almost like you are there experiencing what is happening. This book is very easy to read because of how easily it captures your attention.

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