Writing Prompt *6 Three Valid Inferences

• On the Rainy River

- The narrator of this short story is young Tim O' Brien. This stage of hie life is when he is unsure of himself about how he could possibly be a solider in a war he took a stand against (pg 41, first para). He feels like he has accomplished so much in his young life to give it all up for a situation he has no control over (pg 41 last para). As a harmless individual, he figures the draft must be a mistake because he feels he is too good of a person to be a solider to experience the violent killing, or the most important thing he feared, being killed. However, little did he know that this war, is something that is possibly going to change his life and his perspective of things about life. for example how he used to take things for granted before going into the war.

-He found himself as a coward. The old man, Elroy, took him to the border line of America and Canada. He starts to see faces of the different people, some he knew, and some he'd soon know about. He felt like all of them were watching him to make his next move, whether to be a coward that he always is, or to step out of the shell. He called this an embarrassment (pg 59).

-Young O' Brien, put himself on a high petal stool that he could even talk to no one about the experience he had before submitting himself to the war. He carried himself in such a way it was only courage that caused him to share the this part of his with the readers. "Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inherit ace, and by being frugal...(pg 40)" Before he encountered the courage to speak of his submission to the war, he had pride.

• The Ghost Soldiers

-The narrator in this short story is the older, more mature Tim O' Brien. In this part of his life, he fully committed and has accepted the war for what it is. This is the time when Vietnam seems to be nothing but a real reality check. He is able to showcase his skills as a leader, and he has pushed himself to as an individual.

-In this short story is where his maturity kicked in. For example, when he was shot, he had the determination to get revenge on Bobby Jergenson for his lack of partnership. All that seemed not to matter any longer after meeting with Jergenson, who explained and apologized for hos actions that caused O' Brien to get shot. He stated, "I hated him for making me stop hating him (pg 200)." That comes to show that the war had truly changed Tim O' Brien.

-Overall, compered to when he was younger, he has become one who he never thought he could be. On page 200, he now has the characteristics of a solider where certain feeling are within him. For example on pg 220, he states, "it is hard to admit to myself, but I was capable if evil."