Conflict Theme

     In O'Brien's stories such as "How to Tell a True War Story", and "On the Rainy River", are placed at different times and places but both center around a central theme of self conflict. Both seem to start less serious and much more straight forward where everything is quant. In one story its just two friends playing catch and passing the time while the other centers on a young O'Brien who has no need for the war and is preparing for his life in college. Then like a switch, events escalate extremely quickly, and serious problems begin to arise in both stories that change them completely. In the first, one man suddenly dies after stepping on a land mine and his friend is left there to cope with the heavy moral conflict of if in anyway was that death their fault or could they ever have stopped it from happening. In O'Brien's supposed personal story, he is all of a sudden is sent a draft notice and his dreams of college and avoiding the war go out the window. He must not come to terms with he major decision of to go to war or run away to Canada and leave his home behind. Each story has a different problem, but both come to a climatic point where those in distress finally snap in order to face their demons head on. O'Brien is brought to face his reality on a lake on the Canadian border where he is presented a final choice. He experiences an amazing vision that even when described is still hard to imagine. Through this emotional vision he finds the answer he needs, but in Rat Kiley's case, the solider who witnessed his friend die, its more of an ager filled revelation. He gets so made at himself about what happened that he tortures and mutilates a baby buffalo in order to quell the burning conflict inside. Each story is filled with extreme emotion and theses stories seem to showcase the two sides of solving a problem. One is running away while the other goes headstrong until it is hopefully over. the most important part though is it shows how to over come and how there will be parts in life where one must except what has been dealt to them and learn to move forward from every passing obstacle.