Ethical evaluation of The Things They Carried On the Rainy River - Essay Example

Tim's moral fight against the draft in The Things They Carried. The protagonist, Tim O'Brien, inThe Things They Carried felt ashamed. He had been dreaming for the past twenty years about his nightmare of shame. He felt guilty and wanted to write down his experiences to analyze and explain his past. All along, he had assumed that he had the moral courage in reserves and would be able to draw upon his well of courage when the right time came. If he were a coward right from the start, he would not have written this; 'All of us, I suppose, like to believe that in a moral emergency we will behave like the heroes of our youth, bravely and forthrightly, without thought of personal loss or discredit. (O'Brien 39). Tim wrote that he was drafted to fight a war he hated. He gave a lengthy explanation about a page long on why he believed that the Vietnam war was uncalled for. That maybe why he chose to run away. He was confused on why the war was being fought. At this stage, we read that underlying tone that O'Brien was not a mindless follower of America's public policy. He confirmed this when he wrote later on that he was a liberal, meaning he valued his individual liberty as his primary political concern. (O'Brien 42). Ironically, he valued his liberty for himself and failed to fight for his beliefs. He did not want to fight for the liberty of other individuals since that would jeopardize his own liberty. He reasoned that the politicians should fight in their own war, enlist their relatives into combat and be responsible for the lives of their loved ones that they put in the firing line. Tim tried to say that if the politician were personally involved in warfare, he would not be that steadfast in supporting the war because he might lose his relatives. He wanted it to be made a law because he thought it was unfair that the ordinary and common people were drafted to serve the country's interests while the politicians who called for the war could escape from fighting in it. (O'Brien 42). He told the readers that he initially felt angry, followed by self pity and then numbness. His father asked him what he intended to do and Tim could only say he would wait. I believe that if Tim O'Brien was an outright coward, he would have escaped from being found and drafted into the army. Why did he choose to wait It could have been his inclination to hope that the draft might be reversed or that he wanted time to think over things. As fate would have it, Tim spent that summer working in a meat processing plant. He was immersed in pigs' blood and had the taste of what it would be like in the kind of environment that saw bloodshed. That was not the kind of job that a coward could stomach. He spent his free time thinking about his situation. Again, we read that Tim disagreed with the principles behind the rationale for the Vietnam war. Suddenly, we read that Tim was afraid of death. (O'Brien 44 ). He began to think about evading his draft. He imagined the possible consequences and reactions. He imagined himself defending his position. After some days of deliberation, Tim cracked. He took off running in his car towards the border near Canada. Tim believed that this was his time of bravery when he dared to turn against social conventions, responsibilities, his established life and everything he had ever been in his whole entire life of some seventeen years. Was it bravery or cowardice that prevented him talking to and confiding in his parents Tim penned a vague goodbye note to them. He was uncertain what he would really do and he could not bring himself to confess to them that his intention then was to run away to Canada to escape his draft. By the time he reached Tip Top Lodge at Rainy River, Tim wrote that he was exhausted and 'scared sick'. (O'Brien 47). Tim met Elroy Berdahl, the operator of Tip Top Lodge, who took him by boat into Canada, upon the pretext of fishing. It was actually to test Tim's courage. Tim knew and understood that this was the moment of truth for him. He was a coward because he could not take this opportunity to flee into Canada. At the end of the chapter, Tim wrote that he was a coward because he went to war. Tim meant that he was a coward because he could not stand up for his convictions. He felt embarrassed when he imagined what would be the reactions from the people around him. He felt ashamed that he couldn't do what was expected of him to do. He wrote that; 'I couldn't make myself be brave. It had nothing to do with morality. Embarrassment, that's all it was.' (O'Brien 59). Tim has presented a paradox situation in which running away from his draft was actually a brave option in his mind and staying behind to obey fighting a war he did not believe in was a cowardly deed. President Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to sign the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 which created the country's first peacetime draft. From 1948 until this present time, American men were drafted to fill manpower needs in the U.S. Armed Forces. It is mandatory under America's Military Selective Service Act. (15th Field Artillery Regiment 1917 - 2004). Research information has shown that the young are disinterested to enlist in volunteer and regular armed forces. If financial motivation were to be provided, then the true spirit of volunteerism and service would be lost. This was a moral issue. This might imply that under the circumstances of solely obtaining financial restitution, it might be morally unjustifiable to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces. It goes without saying that the men who have handicaps and inabilities are morally justified in abstaining from service in The Armed Forces. Tim has mentioned that the politicians often do not have their relatives serving in the active army. This violates the American citizenship laws which state that there should be equal treatment for all American citizens and social status should not stand between the man and the draft. Under these circumstances of the moral injustice of preferential treatment, one might argue against being drafted for service. Another argument is that a man from the public has basic needs for survival that must be satisfied before he can take care of others by working in the Armed Forces. If a man lacks the necessary motivations to serve in the army, then it is argued that it is morally justifiable to refuse to serve. (SearchWrap.com). Tim also used this line of mental reasoning to explain to readers his predicament with himself. Tim felt that his needs for his life would not be fulfilled by serving his draft and he thought that the brave thing to do would be to possess his freedom to do what was necessary for himself. He also lacked the motivation to serve in the Army. (O'Brien 40). We read that Tim 'had taken a modest stand against the war.' (O'Brien 41). In this case, it would be wrong for Tim to go against his moral convictions to serve his draft. Tim has argued that going against his moral belief was his act of cowardice. Tim wrote that it was not morally justifiable for the public to approve of sending him into war because they did not understand the mechanisms of war. (O'Brien 45). I would conclude that Tim had his personal moral reasons for not serving his draft and he had debated over their justifications. Tim acted against his moral stand because of his fear of being an embarrassment to himself. He felt he was a coward because he gave in to the public demand of obedience to the draft. The end. Works Cited. O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. USA: Amazon.com. 15th Field Artillery Regiment 1917 - 2004. "Background of Selective Service." 15th Field Artillery Regiment 1917 - 2004. 25 Jun. 2001. 27 Feb. 2007. < http://www.landscaper.net/draft.htm > SearchWrap.com. "To Serve or Not to Serve: Why We're Not Committing to National Service." 21 Aug. 2006. 27 Feb. 2007. < http://searchwarp.com/swa87806.htm > Read More