My collage shows the awe and beauty of War. You will see things you’ve never seen before when at war. The casual/natural violence and morbidity is shocking to some. It has its own beauty, the way that you stare at it and try to figure it out in your head can be compared to something beautiful.

The chapter “On the Rainy River.” This chapter tells the story of Tim O’Brien’s decision to fight in the war. As Tim is fleeing the U.S. he stops at an inn. This is where he meets Elroy Berdahl. During this time O’Brien is having a dilemma, on one hand he can flee to Canada to avoid the draft. Although fleeing would save his life, he would be outcast by society and his family. On the other hand he could take the chance of survival and go to war.

Both sides have their pros and cons but at the moment Tim decides to escape to Canada. A mile from the Canadian border Tim decides to stop at an inn. The owner of the place is Elroy Berdahl, a soon to be “hero” in O’Brien’s life. During his stay, O’Brien is tasked with jobs by Elroy and they soon become acquainted in each other’s life. On the last day of O’Brien’s stay, Elroy becomes a big factor in whether or not Tim would go to war. Elroy gave Tim two paths, one would be a “ticket” to Canada along with cash to survive. The other option would be to use the money to go back home to be sent off to Vietnam.

During Tim’s time at the lodge, Elroy never once asked him why he was there. In fact, Elroy never really said more than a few words. Although Elroy is a man of few words, Tim knows what Elroy is thinking. There are tons of heroes that exist today. By Tim’s standards an example of a hero could be, your best friends. Another example would be, your grandparents/parents. Both examples can be people who help you through life changing decisions. Actually, Elroy himself is kind of like a grandparent to Tim during his stay.

Is our country hero obsessed? I would say yes, by society’s standards you are expected to be a hero. A hero to us is someone with courage, strength, compassion, and a strong sense of selflessness. Today, there are millions of movies, novels, games, etc. that portray heroes. Superhero movies are some of the most popular movies in the United states but also the whole world. Often times people will grow up to be like their heroes and the certain characters that they look up to will stay in their mind their whole life.

Tim O’Brien’s definition of Courage is explained like this, “(Courage) Comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being and stashing it away and letting it earn interest” (pg 38). The way that he explains is like saying that you can only be a hero to people, or be courageous, a certain amount of times in a certain amount of time. I think he defines courage this way because for people who aren’t naturally courageous you may only be courageous a small amount of times. Me personally I would describe courage as getting over something challenging and seemingly crazy to others. Choosing to put yourself in the “open” out of your comfort zone and past something like, performing in front of a crowd for the first time.

I agree, you can enter a war as an act of cowardice. In O’Brien’s case, he was swayed back to the war because he didn’t have enough courage to leave society. He was scared of what people would think of him if he had avoided the war. O’Brien is ashamed of himself because he was pressured into fighting a war he didn’t believe in. Courage avoids shame, you feel ashamed after failing to stand up to yourself and be courageous.

This is my English 3 blog. My name is Ike H, I don’t like reading books.