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Archetypes in On the Rainy River by Tim O’Brien

One literary theory that is extensively used in the story On the Rainy River is

archetypal. In the short story, Tim O’Brien uses the setting, character as well as

symbolic archetypes to depict the psychological struggles he undergoes in the process of

deciding whether to join the war in Vietnam or run away to Canada (Thesis statement).

O’Brien begins the story by describing a setting archetype that foreshadows the cruelties and

man-slaughter often experienced in war: the slaughterhouse. The author is intentional in his

choice of words to ensure that the reader can draw parallels between the despicable working

conditions at the meat-processing plant and a battlefield. He states that “as a carcass passed

by, you’d lean forward and swing the gun up against the clots and squeeze the trigger, all in

one motion, and the brush would whirl, and water would come shooting out…it was not a

pleasant work” (par. 6). The diction that O’Brien uses to describe the dreadful setting helps to

justify his dilemma over joining the Vietnam War.

Further, the author explores the setting archetype to explain to the reader the

aftermath of war implicitly. O’Brien recounts how the stench from the workstation refused to

leave his body “even after a hot bath and scrubbing hard” (par. 6). The implicit explanation

strongly parallels the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often experienced by soldiers

returning from the active line of duty in the sense that people with PTSD usually report being

haunted by the cruelties and man-slaughter witnessed in war, more or less like the stench kept
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on affecting O’Brien even when off duty. Overall, the despicable work setting acts as an

archetype that foreshadows the war that O’Brien is just about to join hence helps the reader to

understand the author’s dilemma.

Another setting archetype is the Tip Top Lodge, which acts as a haven for the

troubled protagonist in the story. In most stories, haven archetypes are often settings where

troubled characters find shelter as they regain their strength or even clear their heads to make

a decision. Hence, after driving for eight hours to the border of the USA and Canada, O’Brien

finds the isolated Tip Top Lodge at a time when he is “exhausted and scared sick” (par. 15).

The Lodge provides a pivotal shelter for the protagonist, and it is in the course of his stay at

the haven archetype that O’Brien decides to return home and honor the draft by joining the

Vietnam War.

After the haven archetype, the author introduces another well-known archetype in the

form of a character: Elroy Berdahl. Berdahl takes care of O’Brien during the six days, which

were arguably the make-or-break point in the protagonist’s life. O’Brien states that “he

(Berdahl) offered exactly what I needed, without questions, without any words at all. He was

there at the critical time—a silent, watchful presence” (par. 16). In other words, Berdahl is

the caregiver who provides companionship and guidance to O’Brien at a time when the main

character is most vulnerable. The most exciting thing to note in the relationship between the

two characters is that Berdahl helps the main character to decide what course to take without

harsh judgment. Berdahl fulfills his role through silence and watchfulness, allowing the main

character to face the situation and determine a course of action without coercion or

manipulation.

Additionally, O’Brien can be considered as the explorer type of character archetype.

Explorer archetypes are typically characters in a given narration that undergo transformation

and self-discovery through exploration. The main character had harbored the idea of running
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away from the Vietnam War for a significant amount of time. He states that both his

“conscience and instincts were telling me to make a break for it, just take off and run like hell

and never stop” (par. 9). The 8-hour trip to the Rainy River is the exploration journey in the

story, and it defines the turning point in the life of the main character. O’Brien’s inward

exploration reaches its climax on the Rainy River. After Berdahl steers the boat across the

river to within touch of Canada, the author is forced to reckon with the reality that his running

away into Canada will shape: he will be branded a “traitor…turncoat, pussy” (par. 40). It is at

this point that he realizes that he “could not endure the mockery or the disgrace, or the

patriotic ridicule” (par. 40) and submits to joining the war.

Finally, O’Brien’s journey north of the Prairies and the final decision making on the

waters of the Rainy River can be interpreted as symbolic archetypes of ascension and water,

respectively. The former archetype depicts an inward process whereby the character involved

has to re-evaluate his/her beliefs and come up with a decision. Such an inner search is

symbolized by O’Brien’s journey north of the prairies. After the ascension, comes water

which symbolized rebirth. After the reckoning on the waters of the Rainy River, we can see a

new O’Brien who ditches his plans to run away. Instead, a consideration of the

embarrassment that such a move would bring on him compels the main character to return

home and join the war.

In conclusion, the story On the Rainy River comprehensively uses archetypes to

represent both the struggles and the turning point in the life of the main character. The

archetypes not only identifies O’Brien’s story with several other narrations that utilize

archetypes but also makes it more attractive to the reader as not everything is presented

explicitly.
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Works Cited

O’Brien, Tim. “On the Rainy River.” The Things They Carried. New York. Houghton

Mifflin, 1990.