Wade’s extreme usage of manipulation and illusions for personal gain rapidly change his childhood identity for the worse.Wade is fascinated with the idea of bending an unhappy reality into one where he feels normal. For this task, he uses the “mirror” in his head to deflect reality. In modern times, most doctors would diagnose Wade with a mental condition, and try to help him overcome his issues. Instead, he is left untreated and his condition negatively affects his identity well into adulthood. O’Brien’s “mirror” is what enables him to deny the world around him. In Verlyn Klinkenborg’s “A Self-Made Man”, a paper praising O’Brien’s writing of In the Lake of the Woods, she says “At the center of Wade’s character is a problem of vision”(164).
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Wade’s increased obsession with his alter ego Sorcerer sparks an internal battle between his two selves, which results in him suffering consequences in the real world. As Wade reflects on what he has become he says “Sometimes he was Sorcerer...was relative” (The Lake 281). Sorcerer is leaking into Wade’s daily life and compromising his sanity. His identity is rapidly switching to a darker, more demented version of his former self, which causes many problems between him and other soldiers, and eventually him and his wife. By using his “magic” in Vietnam, John figures his identity will remain the same when he returns home, but it fails to fully protect him. John’s past at My Lai catches up with him during his Senatorial election, ruining his winning chances. In Franklin’s “Kicking the Denial Syndrome”, he mentions how “The reality of that war, which can be denied but not escaped underlies every page of In the Lake of the Woods”(3). The My Lai massacre becomes all too real to Wade again, after it escapes from deep within. Wade’s denial leaves a permanent mark on his name and ruins his career as a politician, destroying the respected identity he used to …show more content…
John struggles mentally without his wife to support him as resurfacing memories begin to drive him crazy. The more he denies the memories the more they occur, creating a cycle of horribleness. As the town becomes more suspicious of John, the more he denies involvement in Kathy’s disappearance. This drives him to start drinking away the pain. “‘I’m not drunk’ Wade said. ‘Who said drunk?’ ‘I’m not’”(O’Brien, The Lake 84). In Verlyn Klinkenborg’s “A Self-Made Man”, she explores John’s father. She writes, “Wade is the son of an alcoholic father who hanged himself in the family garage” (164). John begins to become like his father, an abusive alcoholic who cannot admit to himself that he has a problem till it is too late. John had once wished to never become like his father, but he is slowly becoming him. His identity becomes increasingly abusive and even more manipulative in his final days. With the pressure building all around him, Wade takes a boat and disappears into the lake all alone. His once great identity of a skilled politician and loving husband rapidly changed to that of a broken, tainted shell of a man that once was, all as a result of
Wade’s increased obsession with his alter ego Sorcerer sparks an internal battle between his two selves, which results in him suffering consequences in the real world. As Wade reflects on what he has become he says “Sometimes he was Sorcerer...was relative” (The Lake 281). Sorcerer is leaking into Wade’s daily life and compromising his sanity. His identity is rapidly switching to a darker, more demented version of his former self, which causes many problems between him and other soldiers, and eventually him and his wife. By using his “magic” in Vietnam, John figures his identity will remain the same when he returns home, but it fails to fully protect him. John’s past at My Lai catches up with him during his Senatorial election, ruining his winning chances. In Franklin’s “Kicking the Denial Syndrome”, he mentions how “The reality of that war, which can be denied but not escaped underlies every page of In the Lake of the Woods”(3). The My Lai massacre becomes all too real to Wade again, after it escapes from deep within. Wade’s denial leaves a permanent mark on his name and ruins his career as a politician, destroying the respected identity he used to …show more content…
John struggles mentally without his wife to support him as resurfacing memories begin to drive him crazy. The more he denies the memories the more they occur, creating a cycle of horribleness. As the town becomes more suspicious of John, the more he denies involvement in Kathy’s disappearance. This drives him to start drinking away the pain. “‘I’m not drunk’ Wade said. ‘Who said drunk?’ ‘I’m not’”(O’Brien, The Lake 84). In Verlyn Klinkenborg’s “A Self-Made Man”, she explores John’s father. She writes, “Wade is the son of an alcoholic father who hanged himself in the family garage” (164). John begins to become like his father, an abusive alcoholic who cannot admit to himself that he has a problem till it is too late. John had once wished to never become like his father, but he is slowly becoming him. His identity becomes increasingly abusive and even more manipulative in his final days. With the pressure building all around him, Wade takes a boat and disappears into the lake all alone. His once great identity of a skilled politician and loving husband rapidly changed to that of a broken, tainted shell of a man that once was, all as a result of