What Role Does War Play In Shaping The Pretense Narrative Of John Wade

In the Lake of the Woods Reading Journals

What role does war play in shaping the pretense narrative of John Wade?

The role of war is absolutely key to shaping John’s pretense narrative. In Thuan Yen, O'Brien gruesomely depicts tragic events. “There were dead waterfowl and dead house pets. people were dying loudly inside he L-shaped hootch” (182). The fact that John Wade is heavily involved in the massacre at Thuan Yen causes us to make moral judgments about his character that change our perception of him as a politician/husband and then further change how we perceive new developments later in the story, such as the possibility that he killed Kathy. This works exceptionally well for O'Brien because, coupled with the lack of a conclusive ending

John Wade, his secret spying. Kathy, her affair with a dentist as well as her knowledge of John’s spying and Kathy’s sister who knew about both Kathy’s affair and John’s spying. The secret plays an integral role in developing one of the story's main themes, that is appearances. If you appear not to know a secret, everything should stay the same, in balance. But if a secret is discovered it could derail any number of things such as marriage and candidacy as happened to John and Kathy Wade. Kathy keeps secrets for quite simple reasons compared to John. In life she wants a “blue Victorian” with “white shutters and a white picket fence, a porch that [wraps] around three sides, a yard full of ferns and flower beds and azalea bushes” (115). She keeps her secrets so that she can keep her hopes and dreams alive. On the other hand, John has secrets from others such as his spying, which he keeps to maintain his image both publicly and privately. But, also has secrets he keeps from himself, such as his role in Thuan Yen or the reasons his father died, which he does to maintain his sanity. Secrets he keeps from others, he keeps for many of the same reasons as Kathy. To ensure his hopes and dreams are still possible, still attainable. Secrets he keeps from himself scare him and they also give away mental instability in his character. His delusions: “kill Jesus” (81) and pouring boiling water on plants, he attempts to hide from himself. If they weren’t secrets then the entire conclusion could potentially focus on him as the killer and leave nothing to speculation. If everyone knew each other's secrets, then O’Brien would lose an essential part of his story: the possible motive(s). The one element that serves to develop the entire plot, the reader's perspective and all speculation as to what happened to Kathy. Clearly, O’Brien recognizes the power secrets have on others, because they become a large chunk of the