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Happiness In On The Rainy River By Tim O Brien

526 Words3 Pages

An individual’s life is truly successful and healthy when they are determined to follow their desires which pay back with happiness and satisfaction. However, some individuals describe life as a curse due to being restrained from pursuing their interests, thus being unhappy with life; in other words, compromising their happiness. The short story “On the Rainy River" written by Tim O’Brien suggests that when individuals compromise their happiness, they often face emotional and moral dilemmas resulting in low self-esteem. In other words, individuals do not feel as much confidence in their life when they are facing inner conflicts about their happiness. The main character in this short story, the author himself, explains how he is going through a crisis because of his unaligned …show more content…

Individuals often compromise their happiness to conform better within society by meeting their expectations. The main character, O’Brien, showed hesitance about experiencing societal pressure as a result of his fearful behavior about joining the army to fight in the war. This was demonstrated when O'Brien stated, "I couldn't tolerate it. I couldn't endure the mockery, or the disgrace, or the patriotic ridicule". This quote supports my argument as it illustrates the societal pressure O'Brien faces because he ran away from his "duty" of fighting alongside his nation since a man is not supposed to show cowardice and only present bravery, according to society. O'Brien visioned the consequences he would face for not showing patriotism towards his country by escaping. Society puts forth many conditions and expectations that men must meet to be called "true men", or else society will deride the man for the rest of his life for not showing qualities of being a true man. Individuals often compromise their happiness to conform better within society by meeting their expectations. The main character, O’Brien, showed

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