In “The Rainy River” O’Brien tells us an embarrassing story. He begins by talking about his stance on the war, which he is against. Then he gets a draft card in the mail and doesn’t know what to do. He then goes on about his job at the pig factory mentioning many times that the stench would cling to him. He internally goes back and forth about running away or going to fight. He then snaps and leaves for a week. He drives and drives until he comes upon this little lodge. The old man there seems to understand what O’Brien is going through even though he doesn’t ask about it. O’Brien says that the old man saved him. That man put O’Brien to work and then took him fishing. Really the old man was giving O’Brien a chance to swim for Canada and escape the war. O’Brien talked about how he imagined everyone he knew cheering for him to make a decision and how he broke down and couldn’t move. He then said the only reason he decided to stay and fight was that he was too embarrassed to run away.
The old man, Elroy, was O’Brien’s silent guide. He took Tim in without any questions and helped him through his tough times. His role ultimately led Tim to stay. If it weren’t for Elroy taking Tim “fishing”, he would never have been able to make a decision; he would have had the internal conflict continue on until he went mad and made a rash decision. By staying quiet, Elroy made it so Tim could think on his own instead of being polluted by another person’s opinions.
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