So, this short story is true? The author wrote his own name “Tom O’Brien, a secret hero” (p. 135). So, the narrative is he looking back on his past.
Some parts of this text were difficult to me as a foreigner to understand. Those parts about war, but at least I understand he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War. And he doesn’t even support this war. He feels it so unfair because he is a smart kid, ready for Harvard and everything. But most of all, he feels it’s unfair because he doesn’t want to fight someone else’s war. I understand him, who wants to risk their lives for something they don’t believe in? It made me think of the demonstrations the students have held on Gallaudet where many have been arrested. You know, it was fine by them because they were fighting for something they believed in. But what if they had to get arrested for something they didn’t support, like if they had to organize a demonstration against a president who supported the deaf people’s rights? I bet that most of them would feel it was bloody unfair and a personally failure. “The problem, though, was that a draft board did not let you choose the war” (p. 139).
He feels that he’s standing between these two choices, attend the war or drive to Canada and hide. After a while thinking, he drives towards Canada but he doesn’t cross the river between Minnesota and Canada. This tells me even he wants to go and hide, he’s still not sure. Something is holding him back and he finds an old fishing resort. He was only supposed stay there for one or two days, but he doesn’t make up his mind until six days later.
The owner of this place, Elroy Berdahl, has somehow a big part in Tim’s final decision. There are only the two of them who stays on this resort, so they eat together and Tim help Elroy with work and stuff on the resort. Tim describes the owner as a wise and smart man who understands what Tim is going through and describes how he doesn’t push him. Still, he knows that Tim is considering running to Canada and without saying anything he finds a reason to give him some money to his escape and takes him on a fish trip in his boat to let him swim over if he wants to. And it is in the boat Tom has to make his settlement. He is so close, but everything that is running through his head is his family, future wife, the shame etc. So he decides to go home and attend the war. You can say that even if he really wanted to do what he thought was right, he couldn’t do it to his family and to himself who had to live with this decision hole his life. His “American pride” didn’t allow him to escape.
Now I released that the two short stories was supposed to be in the same blog post, so this will be considerable shorter. The Setting Sun and the Rolling World is written by Charles Mungoshi and tells about another similar situation. A young boy who wants to leave his country by his heart, the different is that Nhamo actually does it. He doesn’t care about his father or anyone else, he feels he’s not leaving behind him anything important. He says, “The land is overworked and gives nothing now, father. And the family is almost broken up” (p. 160). His father, old Musoni, tries desperately to keep him safe by convince him to don’t go, but Nhamo is stubborn and precocious and says he knows what he is about to do. Old Musoni can not force him to stay, so in the end he gives up and lets Nhamo go. He lets his son break his bonds to the family and his home. Tim O'Brien couldn't handle the shame and what other people would say about him if he left, Nhamo is braver (almost like he doesn't care) and gives up everything he knows to reach the freedom he is searching for.
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