The Value of Doubt through O’Brien’s “On the Rainy River” Essay Example for Free

The Value of interrogative sentence through OBriens On the showery River EssayPeople value being certain as it gives them a sense of stability, impudence and control. Being certain gives one the power to be able to confidently assert beliefs or claims and interpret upon them. Descartes says as seen in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2005), As my proof increases, my doubt decreases, conversely, as my doubt increases, my evidence decreases. Doubting threatens the stability and assurance one initially possesses, which is why it is less frequently valued or appreciated.However there is value in doubt, because through doubt, a person undergoes contemplation that may order a finding or disposition, eventually evaluating the certainty of something. As a consequence the actions of the person to contendd this certainty may be compromised. This is exemplified in Tim OBriens short story entitled On the Rainy River. The short story On the Rainy River chronicles the events of OBriens life aft(prenominal) he has successfully finished his studies at Macalaster College. During his bridle in school, he was an achiever.It was the time of the Vietnam War and he then learns that he was being requested to go to battle. Undecided as to whether he should fight or not, he chose to stay and work in a factory but eventually realized that he could not make a way out of fighting. Unable to handle his situation anymore he fled to the Canadian boundary. at that place he met and spent time with the angle resort owner Elroy Berdahl. OBrien conjectured on the events of his life, especially during the fishing trip where he was faced with the option of going to Canada or going off to war.In the end, OBrien chose to go return to his hometown and eventually decided to fight in the Vietnam War (Sparknotes, 2006). From the summary above, it can be seen that OBrien doubted joining the war. This doubt that OBrien felt was a huge contrast to the certainty he had when he was in Macalaster College. In the institution he was an honors student and represented the student body, making him hefty and secure about himself, his ideas and his values. One example of this is his stand against war (Sparknotes, 2006). Once he received parole of going to war, his initial reaction was to stand by his conviction.However, the notice fueled his thoughts about going to war. He started to contemplate and think about whether he is fit to be a combatant. People making him facial expression that he had to go to war further aggravated his hesitation. He also realized that it would be unverbalised for him to find an excuse or a way out of combat. Doubting showed his struggle of letting go of what he was certain about, which was not to go to war. Because of internal and external influences that fed his doubt, his certainty on denouncing war diminished and he was unable to handle the burden and decided to run away.However, by leaving and meet Elroy, he was also able to refl ect upon the consequences of going and not going to war. He finally decides that he could not bear the thought of disappointing people he knew, especially his family. This shows the value of doubt because had he not questioned his stand, he would have not considered weighing what was more important to him at that point in his life. As he looked back, whether he was ashamed of his decision or not is not the main point.What is to be stressed is that his doubt was able to question his certainty and it made him act towards this as seen by his decision in the end to join the army. In conclusion, the value of doubt can be seen in the text as it shows how OBriens outlook on participating in the war was affected. First, doubting allowed him to contemplate and reflect on something that he used to be certain about. Second, doubt contributed to changing his conviction, as after much contemplation, he could not bear the embarrassment of not going to war that led him to fight.Doubt is valuable b ecause it has the power to challenge something that one considers as certain, and allows that person to take action. References Sparknotes. (2006). The things they carried study guide On the rainy river. Retrieved October 24, 2007 from http//www. sparknotes. com/lit/thingscarried/section4. rhtml Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (2005). Descartes epistemology. Retrieved October 24, 2007 from http//plato. stanford. edu/entries/descartes-epistemology/