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

Tim OBriens In the Lake of the Woods is centered close to the mysterious disappearance of Kathy Wade. Mysterious is the key word, as passim the novel OBrien plays with the fine line between ambiguity and reality. Kathys husband buns Wade, the main character, is a Vietnam veterinary and former politician whose participation in the infamous Mai Lai abattoir caused his f every(prenominal) from grace. Following a landslide defeat in the congressional elections, Kathy and John retreat to solitude in an isolated cabin in the Minnesota woods. Here, OBrien highlights the stress that seclusion has had on their relationship. During their retreat, Kathy disappears in the middle of the night. Their boat is missing, but on that point are no other clues. OBrien does not give way the the true behind Kathys disappearance; instead, throughout the novel, in several chapters entitled Hypothesis, he proposes potential solutions. OBrien suggests that Kathy drowned in the lake, or John murdered her, or that she got lost on a deserted island. In the final hypothesis, which is both the just about unsuspected and the most supported by the end of the novel, Kathy plans her disappearance. Weeks later, John too goes missing, and he and Kathy are together once once again in an isolated world.

While he leaves does not fracture a conclusive verdict, OBrien does support each theory with both evidence from Johns past and law of nature 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 Johns infantile fixation with magic as a young boy, the hiding of the Mai Lai massacre, the dissembling of politics, and the central mystery of Kathys disappearance. The connecting theme between all of these mysteries is that secrecy was a convenient way for John and Kathy to keep down facing the facts, but the burden of hiding the truth in the end proved to be too much. In the end, while the truth is ugly, it does manage to liberate John and... If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay

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