Character Analysis Of John Wade In In The Lake Of The Woods

The protagonist of In the Lake of the Woods, John Wade can attribute most of his traits to his experiences and choices that he has made in his life. Specifically, his childhood and fighting in Vietnam affected John immensely, in which shaped him into the secretive and murderous man he is today. While the events of his childhood laid the original framework for this instability, it was truly the war that ingrained it within John. The secretive and distrusting nature of John originates from his own father's secretiveness he witnessed as a child. At first glance John’s father seemed like a great guy with zero problems: “People enjoyed his company-- John too-- and the neighborhood kids were always stopping by...to toss around a football or listen to his father’s stories…” (O’Brian, 2006, pg.66). In reality, his father was

As a kid grows up, they learn from their parents how to deal with situations. In the case of John, his dad had a huge influence on him and seeing his dad sneak into the garage at night to have a drink had a huge impact, whether he knew it or not. John learned from his father to put up a front that everything is normal, even though things were far from that. Alike his dad’s secrets of being an alcoholic, John withheld the stories of the horrific things he did in Vietnam from Kathy. In this respect, the events of him killing innocent people and committing war crimes in Vietnam contributed to his secretive nature as well. He himself can’t seem to come to terms with the atrocities his battalion committed--which is why he keeps revisiting the memories--