In the Lake of the Woods Essay Essay

In the Lake of the Woods is a non-linear novel by Tim O Brien that consists of the themes damage and insecurity. The protagonist of the text, prat Wade is driven into insanity due to his caution of losing the love of his life, Kathy. Throughout the novel, john Wades secrets are heart-to-heart to the world, this cosmos the reason that ended his career as a pol, which was the final exam push towards his madness. Wade was not only affected by his burst import in his career, except his childhood and experiences of war in Vietnam left wing him traumatized and receiveing despicable of love. backside begins to crave love at an untimely stage I his life, after he meets Kathy he develops an fixing for her and wrenchs open on her love. He faces many issues with Kathy, trust being the principal(prenominal) ane this could potentially be the reason for Johns breakdown of sanity. Although Kathy compete a large role in his life and downfall, there was a whole other(a) range of factors that took part in his fall to insanity.John Wade started off his career with a goal in mind, to become something important in the political world. As he progressed through his career, he became aware of the fact that his past could ruin what he was currently building. Wade, as a child learnt to deal with his problems by bottling them up and pretending secret code had happened this could not have happened. Therefore it did not John believes that if he lies to himself, and perpetually blocks out memories of his dirty past, he would be safe from the secrets. His method did not serve to his likings, as his secrets were exposed to the world despite Johns lies to himself. The secrets of his partaking in the massacre of Thuan Yen were exposed during his election, which levyd to be a career ender. John used his career as a politician to gain the love and affection he so deeply desired. festering up, he didnt receive the love he craved, you show me a politician and Ill show you an unhappy childhood. John losing the election was basically the loss of his source of love and his sense of power and meet. This potentially cloud John into insanity.As a child, John Wade suffered. He love his bring but didnt receive any affection in return. His father continuously teased john, referring to him as jiggling john. This makes John feel that if his own father could notlove him, then he was unworthy of love itself. At the young age of fourteen, Johns father committed suicide. This traumatized john and led to his desire to kill the night of his fathers funeral. He asked to kill his father for dying John was clearly provoke by his fathers death, but instead of venting his provoke in a healthy way, he pretended it didnt happen, It was pretending, but the pretending helped. As John grew older he enrolled with the army to charge up in the Vietnam War. He was registered with a group called Charlie company Unfortunately, John was knotted in the massacre of thuan yen, where he witnessed murder, torture and had a starting time hand experience in taking two lives, one being his mate PFC weatherby. This came venture to John as nightmares and flash gutss. He tried and true to forget and pretend it didnt happen but it all came back to him during his slumbers, the memories and guilt will alship canal be with john, in some way.The failed politician met Kathy in the autumn of 1966 at the university of Minnesota. Johns obsession is diaphanous from the very moment he meets Kathy. He is in love with her, and the frolic is to make her love him and never stop. John treats life as a fancy show, growing up, magic was his only friend, it gave him a sense of power, happiness and was the only thing going right in his life, as an adult John continues to use tricks to solve all of his problems. John, in a sense, manipulates Kathy and develops a fixation on her and doesnt stop at anything to start out out everything about her life. His urgency comes from fear he doesnt want to lose her. After his father committed suicide and in a way, abandoned John, he feels that at any moment Kathy can scarce get up and leave. Kathy had a tendency to simply vanish. She is ferociously independent which intimidated john because he felt that Kathy was too advantageously for him. John genuinely loves Kathy, but the way he represents their love is dreadful he compared their love to a pair of snakes hes seen on a trail near Pinkville, each snake eating the others tail, a bizarre circle of appetites that brought the heads closer and closer Thats how our love feels. This image, along with his desire crawl inside her belly indicates a love that is both obsessive and destructive. His need to control and consume Kathy dictates how his obsession for his wife leads to the loss of his sanity.Although Johns fear of losing Kathy is a main part of his downfall, there is a whole range of factors that lead to his mental breakdown. His fear of losing his wife all tr ails back to his childhood, where his first traumatizing experience takes place. When the fourteen year Olds father died, he was not languish in a normal way, It seems almost as if john lost the concept of having a father figure rather then his real(a) father. This becomes clearer when john remembers an idolized and great version of his father unlike the real one, who was continuously teasing John and suffered from alcoholism. John begins his life of pretence from this moment on thinking the pretending would help. As Wade develops into an adult, his ways never seem to change. During his time served in the Vietnam War, John is better know as sorcerer because of his magic tricks and deceit to the rest of his fellow soldiers. John, having started magic from a young age, continues to use it in his adulthood, providing him with a sense of control and power and during the time was fulfilling his craving for love. John takes part in a horrific act of massacring in Thuan yen where he kil ls two kind lives, and watches his fellow soldiers in Charlie company murder numerous people. This comes back to traumatize and haunt John, as Post traumatic stress disorder tends to do, it came back as flashbacks and nightmares. His infatuation with Kathy was a major part in Johns demise however, the various other components in the novel prove to have had an effect on his sanity.