Literary Analysis: In the Lake of the Woods

1. John and Kathy Wade are two peas in a pod who have been married for nearly seventeen years. After a devastating political loss for State Senate that ruined his reputation and career, John decided that he and Kathy needed to go on a vacation in a remote area. They stayed in an area called The Lake of the Woods where they camped out in a small cottage near a large lake surrounded by thick pines a few miles away from the nearest town. Beginning to reminisce his traumatic past, John’s mind goes off kilter and Kathy knows that something is wrong with her husband during their vacation. She grows worried and contemplates what to do while John was in this state of mind. His constant depression about losing the election grips him hard and he starts reliving the days when he was stationed in Vietnam (he was known as Sorcerer with all the magic tricks he performed) and the anger he felt when his father committed suicide. His wife mysteriously disappears one morning during their vacation and John doesn’t recall what had happened to her or where she was. All they knew was a boat was missing, which explains that she may have gotten herself lost out on the lake. However, others began thinking otherwise. Folks started to grow suspicious of John’s enigmatic character and soon subtle accusations were thrown his way, which angered him because he was positive that he did nothing to his wife; he loved her too dearly. A massive search party began looking for Kathy but there was never any evidence that showed where she had gone. The author remains elusive as to where she went, even after John went out on the lake and looked for her himself. Both boats had gone missing by then and no one had seen either of them since. No one knows what had happened to them and the truth will always remain a mystery in the eyes of the reader.

2. The theme of the novel can be interpreted in many ways as there are many ideas that are said to be the theme of the book. The way I look at it, an important theme in the story would revolve around living in the past and the consequences that are connected with it. Throughout the book, John was known for hiding inside his past instead of moving forward with the people he loves most, particularly Kathy. O’Brien even gives examples of John with his magic tricks by showing us him constantly living in a world of mirrors where traumatic events are blown away in the wind. With this method, he would slip away from reality instead of facing it, which consequently gave a twist of insanity with his character.

3. The author’s tone in the story was very mysterious and rather eerie. I also found his tone to be informative much like an interviewer in different sections of the story. But the tone that stood out was that mysterious aura that seeped into the ears of the reader. A good example would be when John began to boil water in a teakettle during the middle of the night while muttering, “Kill Jesus”, and it sets an unnerving tone in the story. Readers begin to question his methods and dialogue when reading this particular scene. Another great example is through the interviews with the Vietnam veterans. The descriptions of some of the events in Vietnam left a creepy tone with the characters and how they reacted to some of the questions asked. “All I remember is the flies…” “We were breathing flies when it was over. They crawled up into our noses.” –Richard Thinbill.

4. Rhetorical Questions: O’Brien used this technique during the story whenever an important scene ends and he, as the narrator, begins asking questions on the plot of the story and he gives the readers something to think about during the story. “Does happiness strain credibility? Is there something in the human spirit that distrusts its own appetites, its own yearning for healing and contentment? Can we not believe that two adults, in love, might resolve to make their own miracle?” It’s also about the nature of life from time to time.

Repetition: O’Brien uses A LOT of repetition throughout the story. It’s one of the first things I noticed when reading. A line that kept appearing was “Kill Jesus” with Wayne. This, I believe, helps the reader recall back to a certain point in time and say, “Oh, yes, I remember now. Gee, the author most really like emphasizing this particular phrase in order to remind us of John’s character.” O’Brien will also describe the same scenes in later chapters to dramatize how powerful this moment is.

Anaphora: Usually in every other chapter the author will start it out with the word “Maybe” to put ideas in the reader’s heads and actions that might’ve happened. “What happened, maybe, was that Kathy drowned. Something freakish: a boating accident. Maybe a sandbar. Maybe she was skimming along…etc. Maybe she leaned over and kissed him. Maybe she whispered something.” These things come often within every other chapter.

Flashbacks: O’Brien uses flashbacks to intensify the plot by bringing back John’s past and keeping the readers informed of the character’s background. “When he was a boy, John Wade’s hobby was magic. In the basement, where he practiced in front of a stand-up mirror, he made his mother’s silk scarves change color.” This technique, I would guess, is one of the author’s favorite to use because of how often he uses it in this book and in his other Vietnam book. Many of the flashbacks came during the interviews as well about the war John was in.

Symbolism: This technique was mainly seen with the main character, John. The way John would occasionally slip back into his world of mirrors symbolized the freedom he desired through magic, pretending they weren’t tricks. His Vietnam pals calling him Sorcerer during the war was a nickname that symbolized something that he could take pride in; that he was their good luck charm. The way that John talked about him and Kathy being a couple of snakes swallowing each other up symbolized their love. “One plus one equals zero!”

Allusions: O’Brien used allusions such as quotes from books or famous people that had a relevance to the story. They popped up usually during time when interviews were going on. “In every trick there are two carefully thought out lines—the way it looks and the way it is. The success of your work depends upon your understanding the relationship of these lines.” –Robert Parrish (The Magician’s Handbook). He would also use Richard Nixon’s quotes to emphasize the plot of the story.

Irony: The only examples of irony I could think of relates to the Vietnam War. When you think of soldiers—American soldiers that is—you think of resilient, strong men with a strong passion in defeating the enemy in order to protect their country. However, O’Brien writes it in a way where many of the men were dragged into the mess without much thought on it. While they were killing the enemy, many of them were crying, shooting with their eyes closed and pretending as if they were somewhere else.

Imagery: This device is used when describing the woodsy area they resided in and the bitter foxholes in Vietnam. He often switches on and off between these scenes where description is vivid and helps the readers visualize the background picture. “A golden September day, fresh-feeling, crisp and new, and everything was part of everything else. It all blended into a smooth repetitive oneness, the trees and coves and water and sky, each piece of wilderness identical to every other piece.”

Metaphors: O’Brien liked to use metaphors to describe politicians and soldiers in the story. Their characteristics would stand out and clarify what the audience was reading and who these people were and how they were like. “John was a killing machine in the political business.” Or he would even describe Tony, the large politician, as a pig. Tony would say, “Yeah, I’m a pig.” John and Kathy were “two peas in a pod”.

Similes: O’Brien used a few similes here and there. Though not as strong as metaphors, they still will distinct characters from each other. “The man was like one of them famous onions. Keep peeling back the layers, there’s always more.” He would also use this technique to describe areas from his characters. “The place stunk, especially that ditch. Flies everywhere. They glowed in the dark. It was like the spirit world or something.” –Richard Thinbill.

 

Note: Technical difficulites + procrastination = late update. (Now you know.)