John Wade A character Study--In the Lake of the Woods
John Wade is by far the most intricate and perplexing character examined throughout the novel In The Lake Of the Woods. His character hinges on the brink of order and chaos; on one hand, he is defined as a man who is obsessed with controlling the events and people around him. It is this obsession with control and order that lies alongside the central idea of the novel; that John Wade does not really know what happened to his wife. His blackouts and tendency towards spurts of violence highlight the chaos that lies beneath the surface of his life. The image of the mirrors demonstrate this aspects of John's life; the mirrors represent both his attempt to control his world as well as a sanctuary from the reality of his helplessness.The source of John's Wade's complexity can be traced to his childhood. As a child John tries desperately to win his father's affection; Unfortunately, as is evident, John's alcoholic father seems to prefer a different sort of child, more simple and typically American. Subsequently John -through his uniqueness- fails to satisfy his father. John's father teases and ridicules him throughout his childhood. John's mother sees this as the beginning of his need to escape from
For his entire life, it seemed that there had been the terror of discovery... he had tricked up his own life. Only for love, only to be loved. (p246) John's need to control reality results in his complete retreat from it. He develops an external imagery and history, a mask shown to the world that bears no relation to inner truth. He 'moved with determination across the surface of his life'.(p76) hence, by relying on secrecy, Wade loses touch with himself. His overbearing control of the external results in a deep inner chaos and loss of identity. The election was only part of it. There was also those mirrors in his head. An electric buzz, the chemistry inside of him, the hum of the lake in the woods. He felt the pinch of depravity. (p49)
Some common words found in the essay are:
Woods John, Ultimately John's, John Wade, John Wayne, Subsequently John, John's Wade's, Lake Woods, John Wade's, Maybe Maybe, Vietnam John, john wade, lake woods, john's life, tries desperately,
Approximate Word count = 1119
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
