In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O’Brien: Theme Analysis

Tim OBriens In the Lake of the timber is centered around the mysterious disappearance of Kathy Wade. s fightthy is the key word, as through stunned the novel OBrien plays with the fine rail look system in the midst of ambiguity and reality. Kathys husband commode Wade, the main character, is a Vietnam veteran and former politician whose participation in the infamous Mai Lai drubbing ca utilise his f entirely from grace. Following a landslide defeat in the congressional elections, Kathy and lav retreat to solitude in an isolated cabin in the Minnesota woods. Here, OBrien high decrepits the stress that closeness has had on their relationship.During their retreat, Kathy disappears in the marrow of the night. Their boat is missing, scarcely there are no other clues. OBrien does not reveal the fair play behind Kathys disappearance instead, throughout the novel, in several chapters entitled Hypothesis, he proposes potential solutions. OBrien suggests that Kathy drowned in the l ake, or derriere murdered her, or that she got lost on a deserted island. In the concluding hypothesis, which is both the nearly unsuspected and the most supported by the fetch up of the novel, Kathy plans her disappearance.Weeks later, deception too goes missing, and he and Kathy are together once again in an isolated world. eon he leaves does not offer a conclusive verdict, OBrien does support from each one theory with both evidence from deceptions past and legal philosophy evidence from Kathys disappearance. The basis of In the Lake of the Woods is the burden of secrecy and the effects of truth. Mysteries are plentiful, including crappers obsession with supernatural as a teenage boy, the hiding of the Mai Lai massacre, the deceit of politics, and the central enigma of Kathys disappearance.The connecting base of operations between all of these mysteries is that secrecy was a convenient charge for stern and Kathy to avoid facing the facts, but the burden of hiding t he truth nonethelesstually proved to be too much. In the end, while the truth is ugly, it does manage to liberate keister and Kathy. To highlight this theme, OBrien forever and a day gives light imagery, namely the presence or absence of sun to differentiate between truth and mystery. OBrien highlights several aspects of joke Wades childishness to trace the mysteries that surround John back to his roots.As a child, John took an obsessive inte recess in john, making frequent trips to Karras studio of Magic to buy tricks, or illusions, as he called them. John used witching(prenominal) to escape from the verbal abuse of his drunken fuck off, capital of Minnesota, who frequently frustrate John for his weight. After school, and on most weekends, he spent his cease time down in the basement, all alone, no teasing or distractions, just perfecting his caper.There was something peaceful just about it, something firm and orderly. (208) For John, magic was a way to avoid facing his problems with his male parent. To further avoid destinying with the boozing, John even act to get rid of the liquor by transposition it with water. Another little trick, he said. (209) Both this trick and his magic tricks did zero point but increase the secrecy surrounding Johns irritated childhood. When he was sober, capital of Minnesota was a loving father, which is what John feverishly tried to imagine him as. OBrien highlighted the difference between the sober Paul and the drunk Paul through the use of light imagery.Johns mother, Eleanor, said, Hed just point those incredible blue eyes at you and youd feel like you were under a big intent sun or somethingExcept then hed go back to the booze and it was like the sun burned itself out. (195) The presence of sunlight when Paul was sober and a loving father proves that that was the image that John chose to believe. On the other hand, Eleanor said the sun burned out when Paul drank. This was because John ignored this side of his father, instead opting to cover it up with magic and secrecy.In fact, John unploughed pictures of his father, his fathers empty vodka bottles and his fathers neckties alongside his magic equipment in his box of tricks, demonstrating that he had conceived an entirely unrealistic relationship with his father in which magic and trickery acted as a facade to hide the drinking and verbal abuse. John was terrorise of discovering the truth about his father. OBrien explained that for John, Knowing is to be disappointed. To understand is to be betrayed. (242) While hiding the truth was convenient for John, the concealeds piled up and ultimately proved to be too much of a burden.For as hard as John tried to cover up the truth, he always knew about his fathers drinking. That was the worst part. The secret drinking that wasnt secret, OBrien explained. (66) When Paul hanged himself, however, John was last qualified to face the truth. He was still a child, and at the funeral he con tinually screamed in front of the entire procession, finally relieving himself of the burden of years of secrecy. While the truth of Pauls alcoholism was not pretty, and was certainly less convenient to face than simply ignoring it, it was a significant relief for John.His mother explained I hate to consecrate it, but it was a relief to prepare him out of the house. John and I, we both adored the man, but suddenly all the tension was gone and we could have supper without school term there on the edge of our seats. (97) Throughout the rest of Johns life, a similar process of hiding the truth and ultimately pass judgment it would repeat. As he progressed to the next stage of his life, as a young adult serving in the Vietnam War, John would bear a secret much heavier than his fathers alcoholism. While serving in the U. S. army, Johns battalion partook in the gruesome Mai Lai Massacre.An entire village, including hundreds of women and children, was wiped out with its inhabitants a ll murdered and buried in mass graves. Many victims were raped or tortured. In every reference to the massacre in In the Lake of the Woods, OBrien purposefully describes the bright sunlight that shone over Mai Lai on that day. In the sunlight, which shifted from rap to purple, people were shot dead and carved up with knives and raped and sodomized and bayoneted and pursy into scraps. (200) Here, OBrien reveals the brutal truth, which is fittingly accompanied with sunlight.John, however, being quite the Houdini, would of variant try to avoid the truth. Johns interest in magic continued into his adulthood. At night, obviously when the sun was down, he would perform magic tricks for his fellow soldiers, who called him Sorcerer. In fact, very few of them truly knew his real name. charge though John was more of a bystander than a participant in the massacre, he still refused to face the truth, even when one of his friends in the war tries to convince him that they can tell their s tory without repercussions.John was horrified by the massacre, and once again the terror of discovery caused him to turn to secrecy even though he obviously knew the truth. Pure wrongness, John knew. He could taste the sunlight. It had a rusty, metallic flavor, like nails on his tongue. By describing the unfavorable taste of the sunlight, OBrien demonstrates Johns negative view of the ugly truth. Thus, similar to his use of magic to avoid facing his fathers alcoholism, John kept the massacre a secret. He was able to keep it a mystery to everyone around him until he became a politician, which fit in perfectly with the theme of In the Lake of theWoods. Like many politicians, John was an expert at manipulation, curiously manipulation of the truth. He explained that, Politics was manipulation. Like a magic order of battle invisible wires and secret trapdoors. (35) But as he rose in status and ran for a seat in the Senate, it became harder to keep the secret. Much to the write down of his campaign manager, Tony Carbo, John never even told him about the massacre.Doesnt say anything about the Vietnam shitnot to his wife or me or anybodyThe abuse was a magic man, keeping that stuff locked up inside, it mustve control him crazy sometimes. (196) Carbo was certainly correct, as the burden of keeping the massacre a secret became even worse than the truth. It affected his relationship with Kathy, who described a new darkness in his eye. When John ran for a Senate seat, the press observed the truth about the Mai Lai Massacre. While it was horribly embarrassing for John and Kathy, they actually achieved peace with themselves. Patricia Hood, Kathys sister, explained Kathys cheerfulness during their last conversation onward she disappeared.She seemed so happy. Like she could finally relax and get on with her life. (182) Johns mood also lightened after news of the massacre broke, and he and Kathy took a vacation to the lake house where Kathy would soon disappear from. In the sixsome days they had there before she vanished, John and Kathy were relieved and isolated from the rest of society. Throughout the novel, John and Kathys relationship is plagued by Johns tendency to hide the truth. Kathy is truly in love with him, but she struggles to deal with the constant lying. Early on in their relationship, in fact, John constantly spied on Kathy.He was completely obsessed with manipulating their relationship. As he rationalized it, He was Sorcerer, after all, and what was love without a little mystery? (45) This mystery took a toll on his relationship with Kathy, however. Kathy felt urges to leave John, as she grew drop of the constant secrecy and spying. She had a loveless mapping with her dentist, Harmon, and in a typical nature, John chose to pretend like he was not awake that she was cheating on him. Kathy was both desperate for the truth and apprehensive about receiving the truth.To show this, OBrien used light and dark imagery. In the spiri t of the night, Kathy had a huge and desperate wanting in her heart. (253) This desire is to end the lies that her relationship is based on, such as the spying, and the desire to stop Johns constant manipulation in politics. She frequently wakes up in the middle of the night because of the burden placed upon her by Johns lies, but she always feels more relaxed during the day. It was just after six oclock in the morning.Flakes of speckled light filled the kitchen. Well, thats better, she said. (14) At the aforementioned(prenominal) time, however, Kathy was still hesitant to leave the convenience of secrecy. While she was desperate to beat an end to the lying, she worried that doing so would put an end to their relationship. John, however, was comfortable existent in secrecy, or in the dark. Wade lay back in the shadePleasant memories came to mind. Kathys laughter. The way she slept on her side, thumb up against her sleeve. He remembered the times back in college when theyd gone d ancing, how shed look at him in a way that made him awkward with joy. (183)Ultimately, Johns secrecy affected him, as it caused Kathys affair with Harmon. The lies finally came to fruition when the Mai Lai Massacre was unveiled and Johns biography unraveled. John was able to accept Kathys unfaithfulness and he halt spying on her. With the truth finally out, John and Kathy were relieved of the pressures on their relationship and they moved on. By going to the lake house in the woods, they were able to start anew with a relationship free from secrecy and manipulation. presently after, however, they would be separated again.The central mystery of In the Lake of the Woods is Kathys disappearance. She left her bed in the middle of the night and took their boat out onto the lake. Fittingly, it is completely dark when she disappears, as once again the truth is mysterious without sunlight. After weeks of searching, no one found her. Throughout the novel, OBrien proposes quaternion sol utions to the mystery, all in chapters entitled, Hypothesis. The first three are the most plausible. mayhap Kathy drowned in the lake, or was stranded on a small island, or perhaps she was even murdered by John.The police suspect the latter, since John is seemingly unaffected by Kathys disappearance. But in the final chapter, OBrien proposes the idea that in one last magic trick, John and Kathy planned her disappearance, with John joining her later on. Bethany Kee, Kathys coworker, supported this theory. peradventure they decidedHard to say. But I know this much. She had the guts. And she wanted changes. (297) Ironically, this magic trick would be the only secret that resulted positively. Having disappeared together, Kathy and John have approach the truth and are now at peace, even when the sun is down.And so one chilly evening he might have coupled her on the shore of Oak Island, or Massacre Island, or Buckete Island. perhaps she scolded him for being late. All around them the re was only wilderness, dark and silent, which was what they had come out for. They needed the solitudeMaybe they spent the night huddled at a small fire, celebrating, thinking up names for the children they wanted laughable names, sometimes, so they could laughand then later they wouldve planned the furnishings for their new house. (300) level(p) though OBrien never reveals what actually happened, this hypothesis is supported by the fact that John, who was madly in love with Kathy, was not fazed by disappearance. Out of all the hypotheses, it serves the central theme the best, as John and Kathy have been liberated by truth. In the Lake of the Woods is an excellently written book. OBrien is ingenious, and he is always one step ahead of the reader. By departure the ending inconclusive, OBrien adds to the mystery of the book. While this could leave readers unsatisfied, it was the only way OBrien could feasibly end the story.John Wade is an incredibly intriguing and ever-changing ch aracter whose different sides show throughout various parts of the novel. OBrien brilliantly intertwines elements of Johns childhood, time in Vietnam, time as a politician, and the present day. Every piece is connected, molding together into one, big(p) message. Sunlight imagery perfectly serves this message, and its subtle inclusion is well-used. In the Lake of the Woods is not the most satisfying book to read, but it is certainly a thrilling and thought-provoking work of high literary quality.