Woods Essay, Research Paper
Ambiguity in In the Lake of the Woods
We all perform vanishing tricks, effacing history, locking up our lives and slipping day by day into the shadows (301). Reality is relative to the observer; beings so, history is what one makes it. The main character in In the Lake of the Woods is a man named John Wade; the reader knows he is a lawyer, a politician and a Vietnam War vet. He and his wife, Kathy, are vacationing in a cabin by a lake to get over a terrible loss in an election after some information about his past in the war surfaced. Some how, his wife disappears. Later, Wade runs away, having nothing to stay around for; his wife mysteriously vanishes, he is suspected for murder and his political career is over. The book is written to look as a documentary of these events, containing chapters of history, evidence, and hypothesizes about Kathy s whereabouts. Also, the book has no ending, attempting to mimic life; there is no neat and sugary The End . All this is a ploy to make this fictitious novel more real and convincing in order to show that facts are only lies that one believes; or that nothing is a fact. Throughout In the Lake of the Woods, Tim O Brien is making that point by including information on the Vietnam War, including the author s comments and Wade s behavior.
Tim O Brien incorporates certain things about the war that prove his case that facts depend on the observer. In a war, commands are often delayed, ignored or not delivered at all, causing massive problems and result in mistakes. The Vietnam War is no different from any other. In this book we are given the example of the My Lai Massacre. On March 16, 1968 Charlie Company, 11th Brigade, was given orders by Lt. William Calley to destroy the village of My Lai. Calley believed the people of My Lai were all Viet Cong and/or Viet Cong supporters; to him, that was the truth. When William Calley was court-martialed, in his testimony he said:
Q: What were they firing at?
A: At the enemy, sir.
Q: Did you see them (the enemy)?
A: I wasn t discriminating.
Q: what do you mean you weren t discriminating?
A: I didn t discriminate between individuals in the village, sir.
They were all the enemy, they were all to be destroyed, sir.
(141)
Another man believes that babies were going to attack him and that was why he killed them. Some men have even blocked out the memory of it all together. Even though Wade doesn t exist, he forced himself to believe he was involved. This shows that the event changes from person to person, proving O Brien s theory.
Hollingsworth 2
O Brien also includes his own comments in the footers explaining to the reader that there are no facts or endings. After comparing his own experience in the war to Wade s he comments, I find myself wondering if these old tattered memories weren t lifted from someone else s life, or from a piece of fiction I once read or once heard about. My own war does not belong to me (298). O Brien is not even sure if his past is what he really experienced, but none the less, to him he lived through the bombings and the deaths and he saw certain unthinkable things and is only now doubting his recollections. O Brien also says that the story of John Wade seems more true to him then his own memories. He is showing the reader that ambiguity is part of everyone s life; no one will ever know what s true and what s make-believe. He also warns the reader there are no answers, Kathy Wade is forever missing, and if you require solutions, you will have to look beyond these pages. Or read a different book (30).
There is also the subject of John Wade. Since Wade was about nine, he s studied magic. When he was about 14, after his father s death, he would practice magic in front of a mirror. In front of the mirror everything was possible, even happiness (65) What he saw in the mirror, he considered true and believed it. Wade is also known as Sorcerer. When he is Sorcerer, he can do anything or be anyone he wants; and there s always a new Sorcerer to be. In the war, Wade killed one of his own men and an innocent old Vietnamese man. The mirrors weren t working for him anymore, they couldn t invert the images of the old man with his hoe or of PFC Weatherby smiling down before Wade shot him. It drove him insane and he couldn t operate, knowing what he did. The trick was to reinvent himself (269). And so he did, when he went back to the U.S. he was a new Sorcerer; he had erased his own past, literally cutting himself out of existence. Wade has been many things, but he s always been a loser. That was the one thing he couldn t escape or obliterate. He was a failure at being a son; his father would make fun of him and then later killed himself. He was a coward in the war; he was afraid to admit what he had done. He was a bad husband; he didn t appreciate Kathy so she had an affair. He also made her get an abortion when a baby would get in the way of politics. Finally, he was a bad politician; his first intentions were about doing good things but when it became about winning, his past came back and he lost by a crushing landslide. Yet, he convinced himself his father loved him, he was a good man during the war, his wife was utterly in love with him, and that he cared about the people voting for him. It was all in his imagination but to him it was real, even when others could prove otherwise.
The readers will never know what happened to John and Kathy. If they died, just ran away, or swallowed each other up like two snakes on a trail . Though, none of that matters; it s only a side note to the untrue facts of existence that Tim O Brien is trying to teach us. Truth is an odd word. What really is true? And can you ever be sure? Of course, what s true to one person can be an absolute joke to another. As humans, we can only have faith in what we know to be real; only try to believe, even if it means being oblivious to another s facts. For all one knows, life itself might be a dream; one huge fantasy we create for our self. Maybe everything one knows is just some vision he or she creates to protect him or herself from the immorality he or she sees or does. O Brien isn t going as far to say life is a dream but he is saying life isn t true and is full of unanswered questions. All secrets lead to the dark, and beyond there is only maybe (301).
O Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods. New York City:
Penguin Group, 1994.
Другие работы по теме:
Water Source Essay Research Paper Flagstaff has
Water Source Essay, Research Paper Flagstaff has more then just one or even two sources of water. This city has five sources of water to draw from. Even though some of these sources are not used to there full potential. Upper Lake Mary and the Lake Mary aquifer are one of the more widely known of the five. Lake Mary and its aquifer are replenished by snowmelt mostly.
Eutrophication Essay Research Paper Eutrophication is the
Eutrophication Essay, Research Paper Eutrophication is the over growth of algae in water ecosystems where nutrients are usually limiting. Many fresh water systems are ‘oligotrophic’, meaning that the growth of primary producers (algae) is limited not by dissolved gas or light, but by nutrients such as nitrates and minerals.
The First Flight Essay Research Paper There
The First Flight Essay, Research Paper There were sixty feet of air between the ledge of that cliff and the crest of the lake. As four sixteen-year-old boys climed to the top, we all gazed down to see what awaited. I can still remember thinking that it looked a lot farther away from the top that it did from the boat, but we all had something to prove that day.
Hatchet Essay Research Paper Hatchet Gary Paulsen
Hatchet Essay, Research Paper Hatchet Gary Paulsen 9-26-00 13 year old Brian Robinson is going to visit his father. His parents are divorced and his father lives in Canada. Brian has to take a plane to Canada. His mother gives him a gift before he leaves and it is a hatchet that fits on his belt so Brian puts it there.
John Berger Essay Research Paper In John
John Berger Essay, Research Paper In John Berger?s essay ?Another Way of Telling,? Berger argues that photographs contain a ?third meaning.? Berger claims that the third meaning is personal and relies almost completely on the individual viewer. As a result, no photograph can convey the same message to any two people and no two photographs can convey the same message to any one person.
History Of Lake Champlain Vermont Essay Research
Paper The Evolution of Lake Champlain Basin A billion years ago, Lake Champlain and all of North America was covered by huge glaciers. The air was rich in oxygen because of photosynthesis done by plants.
Holes Essay Research Paper HolesThe book Holes
Holes Essay, Research Paper Holes The book Holes is about kids that do bad things and they get send to a detention center, Camp Green Lake. Camp Green Lake was once a very large lake, the largest lake in Texas. That was over a hundred years ago. Now it?s just a flat dry land. During the summer the temperature hovers around ninety-five degrees.
Niniane The Lady Of The Lake Essay
, Research Paper Do you think women hold powerful positions in today?s society? Would you believe that women were powerful as long ago as the fifth and sixth centuries? BELIEVE IT! Niniane, The Lady of the Lake, was one of the most powerful and influential women in King Arthur?s court. She used her intelligence and beauty to place herself at the right hand of King Arthur himself.
Sir Lancelot Essay Research Paper Sir Lancelot
Sir Lancelot Essay, Research Paper Sir Lancelot Lancelot was the son of King Ban of Benwick. King Ban became involved in a war with the neighboring kingdom of King Claudus. Claudus defeated Ban and forced the king and queen to flee. As they fled, Elaine, Lancelot’s mother, puts baby Lancelot beside a lake and the Lady of the Lake steals the child away from her.
Sir Lancelot Du Lake Essay Research Paper
Sir Lancelot du Lake was quite possibly the bravest and most gallant knight in the world. His battles were pretty much lopsided, due to his extreme skill. He was King Arthur’s best knight. He was very adventurous and prone to getting into trouble, which he always came out of without a scratch. Why was Lancelot honored so? In the last four paragraphs, I will try to explain this to my best ability.
My Fuck Life Essay Research Paper Each
My Fuck Life Essay, Research Paper Each piece was marked with four numbers: the first indicated which span; the second, noted which row of stones; and the last two indicated which position in that
The Pond Essay Research Paper The Pond
The Pond Essay, Research Paper The Pond It was the middle of springtime and across from my house where the incident took place. There was a lake there in which my brother and I
Limnic eruption
imnic eruption A limnic eruption, also referred to as a lake overturn, is a rare type of natural disaster in which carbon dioxide (CO2) suddenly erupts from deep lake water, suffocating wildlife, livestock and humans. Such an eruption may also cause tsunamis in the lake as the rising CO2 displaces water. Scientists believe landslides, volcanic activity, or explosions can trigger such an eruption.
King Lear Act 5 Scene 3 Essay
, Research Paper Unseen text-King Lear (The passage is taken from Act 5,scene 3 and only Lear speaks throughout) The thing I find most interesting about the language used in this passage, is the dream like image it creates. I think the amount of contradictive language, used in the passage is also of some note as it creates ambiguity.
Inferno By Dante Essay Research Paper Although
Inferno By Dante Essay, Research Paper Although it is hard to read Dante’s triple rhyme, I am thrilled by the Inferno’s ambiguity and allegoric power. It is really “a three-dimensional art.” Just like Picasso in his paintings, Dante makes me think about the meaning of the situations and their implications.
Art And Mind Essay Research Paper The
Art And Mind Essay, Research Paper The human mind is a very powerful tool and organ. There are however imperfections in the way it processes things. Illusions for
Excalibur Essay Research Paper ExcaliburExcaliburIn Arthurian legend
Excalibur Essay, Research Paper Excalibur Excalibur:In Arthurian legend, the sword belonging to King Arthur. The sword with jeweled hilt and magic powers, of King Arthur of the Britons. One legend says the ?Lady of The Lake? gave it to him. Another says it is the sword fixed into the miraculous stone, to be removed only by the man that would become King.
Ketchup Essay Research Paper October 30 2000Ms
Ketchup Essay, Research Paper October 30, 2000 Ms. Peggy Charen 5335 W. Lake Dr. Memphis, TN 65804 Dear Ms. Charen I received your letter concerning the new Ketchup labels. I can see where you are coming from, but can assure you that is not what is happening in our classrooms.
Jane Eyre Essay Research Paper The ambiguity
Jane Eyre Essay, Research Paper The ambiguity of Jane Eyre with respect to gender and class actually makes it more interesting to read. It struggles with sensitive subjects, and sometimes it fails to defy societal convention. But its failures are often as interesting as its successes. It doesn’t pretend to offer an ultimate truth of personal freedom.
Greasy Lake Initiation Essay Research Paper Stephen
Greasy Lake: Initiation Essay, Research Paper Stephen Kohut 1 ?Greasy Lake? by T.C. Boyle is an initiation story about three boys in search of ?something they have ?yet to? find?(398). What they are trying to find is their identity. Like most teenagers, these boys are rebellious and involve themselves in socially deviant behavior, because they are not yet mature enough to comprehend the potentially devastating ramifications of their actions.
Pet Fly Vrs Greasy Lake Essay Research
Paper The Styles of Pet Fly And Greasy Lake There are many writers that write poems and books with the same styles. This essay will compare the styles of Greasy Lake by T. Coraghessan Boyle and the fictional Pet Fly by Walter Mosley.
Triumph Of A Swan And Dance Man
Essay, Research Paper Triumph of a swan and dance manMatthew Bourne gives a valuable insight into what makes him tick in conversation with Alastair MacaulayMatthew Bourne and his Adventures in Motion Pictures: In Conversation with Alastair Macaulay Faber & Faber ?14.99, pp403Matthew Bourne’s male Swan Lake returns to London this week, after a spell on Broadway and several British tours.
Swan Lake Vs Revelations Essay Research Paper
Alvin Ailey s Revelations and Tchaikovsky s Swan Lake are two different styles of dance from very different points in history. Revelations is a contemporary dance and Swan Lake is a classical dance. Each dance has certain points that have made it critically acclaimed. They both incorporate different styles of dance but they do share a few characteristics.
Birthmark By Hawthorne Essay Research Paper How
Birthmark By Hawthorne Essay, Research Paper How does Hawthorne in the "Birthmark" use Irony, Ambiguity, Paradox, and Symbol? Ambiguity: Two different interpretations can be used to describe
Once More To The Lake By Elwyn
White Essay, Research Paper There are a few remembrances in our life like that at a lake in Maine that attract us and refresh our memory even though that happened a long time ago. ?Once More to the Lake? written by Elwyn Brooks White is a wonderful recollection of summer times spent with his family, and especially with his father at the lake in Maine.
Greasy Lake Vs Big Game Essay Research
Paper T. Coraghessan Boyle s Greasy Lake and Big Game are similarly structured but completely different short stories that explain the transitions of people from fake slaves of their image to genuine and realized individuals. If not portrayed in the stories, the development in the characters certainly escapes into the reader s imagination and almost magically makes them the learned.
Anaylisis Of The Lake Essay Research Paper
An Analysis of Once More to the Lake The smell of an old wood cabin or the feel of a cool lake breeze against one s face can bring back many fond memories for many people. The senses, in their own way, can physically bring back memories that seem so real you can get lost in your own imagination. E. B. White tells in the essay Once More to the Lake about how his trip back to a childhood vacation spot not only took him to the lake, but also sent his imagination back in time.
Fire In The Lake Essay Research Paper
Fire in the Lake By Gerard ChretienEnglish:Vietnam 2002 Prof:Morgan Shulz Twenty-eight years after publication, and 25 after the war’s end, Fire in the Lake remains one of the very best books on the Viet Nam war. Sadly, Americans are woefully ignorant of the rest of the world. We have little real knowledge of our own history; but for the rest of the world’s history and culture, we have neither knowledge nor regard.
Swan Lake Essay Research Paper Swan LakeSwan
Swan Lake Essay, Research Paper Swan Lake Swan Lake is a ballet that consist of four acts. It is based from a German fairy tale. It contains music from Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The first performance of Swan Lake was in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater. It was held on May 4, 1877. The choreographer was Julius Reisinger.
The Lake Essay Research Paper The Lake
The Lake Essay, Research Paper The Lake It was the middle of springtime and across from my house where theincident took place. There was a lake there in which my brother and Iloved to explore from time to time. The humidity and waterdrops wherereminiscent of a fully functional sauna. The onslaught of heat andburning glow of the sun was relentless.
Once More To The Lake Essay Research
Paper Summary In the short story Once More to the Lake, by E.B. White, he tells us of a time he returned to a favorite childhood place with his son. The place was a camp on a lake in Maine that he went to as a child with his family every August for a month.
Lake Baikal
In the midth of a thinly populated wildness lies the foremost natural wonder - lake Baikal.