Setting

Oh, Canada:

During one of my favorite flashbacks, Tim finds himself near the shore of Canada, where a new life could await him. This was during the summer he received his draft letter. After spending a few weeks contemplating what he should do, he realized he couldn’t take the stress of the decision anymore. He took off north, headed towards the Rainy River. When he got there, he went west, “not aiming at anything” (O’Brien 47).

Eventually he arrives at the Tip Top Lodge, where he and the owner, Elroy Berdahl, are the only inhabitants. Tim stays there for some time, mulling over whether he would be brave and flee the country and the war or if he would be a coward and go to Vietnam to escape embarrassment. On his last full day at the Lodge, Elroy takes Tim fishing on the Rainy River (it borders Canada). Elroy brings their fourteen-foot vessel out into open water. Eventually, Tim realizes that “at some point [they] must have crossed into Canadian waters” and that the boat is “about twenty yards off the shore” (O’Brien 55-56).

Tim is finally forced to fully confront the unfortunate reality he faces. He realizes that he has the opportunity to flee and that Elroy would never say a word about it. Thinking about the courageous heroes he idolized in his youth, Tim realizes that the brave thing to do would be to swim to shore and run away. He would be alive. Safe. He wouldn’t have to fight in a war he didn’t believe in. He could live a full and happy life. The only thing holding him back is the shame and embarrassment he is going to feel .

Now, after all of that background information, I want to draw your attention to the setting. There are two main characterizations of the setting. As they approach the shore, O’Brien writes about how “there was a vastness to the world, an unpeopled rawness, just the trees and the water reaching out toward nowhere” (O’Brien 55). Upon reaching the twenty yard mark, he describes the shore’s various nature-related attributes, such as the “tiny red berries on the bushes,” a squirrel, a crow, and “the configurations of geology and human history,” ending with this final summation: a “wooded frontier” (O’Brien 56)

To Tim, Canada represents a new life. A place of freedom. The setting adds to this allure by presenting itself peaceful and harmonious, the complete opposite of war-torn Vietnam. The description of a wooded frontier illustrates the depth of Tim’s desire to escape the war. However, the longer he stares, the more he feels certain that he cannot go. He comes to the realization that Canada had become a “pitiful fantasy” and that it was “silly and hopeless” (O’Brien 57). The contrast between the serene atmosphere in front of his eyes and the vicious vision in his head shows the end of Tim’s life as a regular civilian, which wouldn’t be possible without so much emphasis on the setting.

His internal struggle resolved, Tim decides to go back home and join the war effort. He prepares himself to face the horrors so opposite of the life he lost in Canada. I can’t help but wonder if this part of the story is true or not. Did Tim O’Brien (the real person) actually consider this avenue of escape? It’s also interesting to note how much of both the character’s and author’s lives are defined by the idea of escapism. But it’s 11:44 p.m. (which isn’t actually that late; I just have other assignments to do). So, until next time, here is a poem I wrote in five minutes for my junior English class over a year ago that I forgot about until the class period it was due:

Image via OnlineMacha:

https://onlinemacha.com/is-it-worth-moving-to-canada-to-study-or-work/