On the Periphery: Marginalization in War and Culture

In Tim O'Brien's novel, The Things They Carried, the narrator (Tim O'Brien himself) discusses his difficult decision concerning his conscription into the army during the Vietnam. He talks about how he was so torn up inside, to the point to where he became sick inside. Eventually he becomes so distraught that he decides to run off to Canada. He ends up in the far north in Minnesota, right at the Canadian border. O'Brien is divided in sentiment; should he cross the border and start a new life in Canada, or should he return to his home and be drafted into the army? In this way, and many others, the war causes O'Brien to feel marginalized, in all meanings of the word. At he periphery of his country, O'Brien is made to feel insignificant and isolated, faced with a decision that will change his life either way.

This idea of marginalization is not only found in themes of war, but also in modern culture. Modest Mouse's song "World at Large" describes the same feelings as Tim O'Brien. The lyrics describe a person who is uncertain about life:

Ice-age heat, wave can't complain
If the world's at large, why should I remain?
Walked away to another plane

Just like O'Brien, the song describes concepts of isolation. While O'Brien's story about travelling to Minnesota may be more based in fiction than in fact, and the song as well, the emotions expressed in each are true; feelings of being isolated and sidelined.

A Hard River to Cross

In Tim O'Brien's collection of multiple war stories, The Things They Carried, many stories stick out as very bold and not really holding anything back. My favorite of these stories is named "On the Rainy River." This story details O'Brien's actions after receiving his draft notice and thinking about what to do.

I really enjoyed reading this story because of the brutal amount of emotion put into how it was written. O'Brien did a really good job of taking his emotions and precisely as well as meticulously forming them into words on paper. For example, here's a short excerpt from the story:

I remember opening up the letter, scanning the few lines, feeling the blood go thick behind my eyes. I remember a sound in my head. It wasn't thinking, just a silent howl.

O'Brien's story, while very tragic, captures the perfect representation of the "typical" person's reactions to a war draft. He didn't read it, tell himself "OOH RAH, LET'S KILL SOME GOOKS", and face the war with sheer force. He was terrified. He wondered how running away would go, how he would survive in Canada, how the Government would hunt him down and prosecute him for dodging the draft. He didn't consider himself the bad-ass warfighter, he was a scared young man. The truthfulness and sheer amount of emotion in his words and the story itself really entrapped me in it, and I really recommend that you read the entire book if you haven't already.