Figurative Language In On The Rainy River

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The Way Life Goes

Imagine making the hardest decision of your life. Imagine leaving everything like your friends, family, house, school. Imagine going to war and thinking everyday would be your last. In the chapter “On the Rainy River” O’Brien’s character has to ask himself the same questions to solve the predicament that he’s in. The author Tim O’Brien amplifies his characters ultimate judgement of his values by applying different types of language such as irony, figurative language, and imagery. O’Brien’s character factors both decisions that could alter his life attentively. That's when irony comes into play. O’Brien deduces that he will be deemed more courageous if he ends up leaving his hometown by swimming to Canada than if he fights for a war that he doesn't agree on in the first place. But he is afraid of the repercussions that might come along with that decision such as …show more content…
Before he makes his decision O’Brien takes in the scenery for the first time. He describes the river before Canada as an “unpeopled rawness, just the trees and the sky”. O’Brien is so close Canada that he can literally swim to the shore but before he can he comes to a realization. He analyzes the scenery and comes to the conclusion that Canada is just a fantasy. If he goes to Canada all of his problems vanish and he can live a peaceful life without the cruel notion of war berating him. The river that O’Brien’s on represents a type of limbo or gateway between fantasy and reality and he must decide where he wants to preside for the rest of his days. The passage also talks about how O’Brien felt “a great worldwide sadness that came pressing down on me”. This clearly represents his characters need to make a choice because he knows that the moment he decides whether he wants to live in a fantasy or a reality will end up taking a toll on him for the rest of his
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