John, Love, and the War
Every human being in the world needs love. Without love, the world would be a very cold place. John Wade needs love a little more than the average person. He does things, good things and terrible things, for the purpose of being loved. Everything that John Wade does can somehow be linked to his constant need for love. Every step he takes, every decision, every move, can be connected to his need for love. He was neglected by his father and thus, his need for love only continued to grow. It grew far larger than that of other human beings’ requirement for love. The way his father treated him caused John to feel unworthy and even more desperate to please. John Wade goes to war, not to be a good citizen, not to serve his …show more content…
She could tell John had an ulterior motive for going to war. “Though concerned for his safety, Kathy also had doubts about his motives, his reasons for being there. “I just hope it’s not part of your political game plan,” she wrote. “All those dead people, John, they don’t vote.” The letter hurt him. He couldn’t understand how she could think such things. It was true that he sometimes imagined returning home a hero, looking spiffy in a crisp new uniform, smiling at the crowds and carrying himself with appropriate modesty and decorum. And it was also true that uniforms got people elected. Even so, he felt abused” (O’Brien 36). The one thing John Wade wants more than anything else in the entire world is love. His idea of love may not be ideal, however, it is a necessity of his. Whatever it is to him, he needs to feel loved. He goes to war to be elected, which is part of his game plan. A person who risks their life to protect their country is considered a good person; the reason they went to war is only for them to know. John knows that going to war will make people love him. People will see him as a courageous soldier, as a brave young man who put his life at risk to fight, and they will vote for him. And that was just the beginning of his plan. He needs to be loved to rise to the top but he also needs to earn that love from the people. John Wade knew exactly what to do so …show more content…
He longs to please his parents as well as the rest of the world. “It was in the nature of love that John Wade went to the war. Not to hurt or to be hurt, not to be a good citizen or a hero or a moral man. Only for love. Only to be loved. He imagined his father, who was dead, saying to him. “Well, you did it, you hung in there, and I’m so proud, just so incredibly proud.” He imagined his mother ironing his uniform, putting it under clear plastic and hanging it in a closet, maybe to look at now and then, maybe to touch. At times, too, John imagined loving himself. And never risking the loss of love. And winning forever the love of some secret invisible audience-the people he might meet someday, the people he had already met. Sometimes he did bad things just to be loved, and sometimes he hated himself for needing love so badly” (O’Brien 59). John needs love. He craves it, he yearns for it, he cannot live without it. John Wade is man who is starving for love. He hates himself for how much he wants love, and it is true that a lot of times when a person does not love themselves, they seek love from others. They believe that if they cannot love themselves it is okay as long as other people love them. John is perhaps trying to fill a void inside of himself with other people’s love because he is not capable of loving himself. Love is essential for him to breathe. Love is so sacred to him; he is willing to do terrible things for
Every human being in the world needs love. Without love, the world would be a very cold place. John Wade needs love a little more than the average person. He does things, good things and terrible things, for the purpose of being loved. Everything that John Wade does can somehow be linked to his constant need for love. Every step he takes, every decision, every move, can be connected to his need for love. He was neglected by his father and thus, his need for love only continued to grow. It grew far larger than that of other human beings’ requirement for love. The way his father treated him caused John to feel unworthy and even more desperate to please. John Wade goes to war, not to be a good citizen, not to serve his …show more content…
She could tell John had an ulterior motive for going to war. “Though concerned for his safety, Kathy also had doubts about his motives, his reasons for being there. “I just hope it’s not part of your political game plan,” she wrote. “All those dead people, John, they don’t vote.” The letter hurt him. He couldn’t understand how she could think such things. It was true that he sometimes imagined returning home a hero, looking spiffy in a crisp new uniform, smiling at the crowds and carrying himself with appropriate modesty and decorum. And it was also true that uniforms got people elected. Even so, he felt abused” (O’Brien 36). The one thing John Wade wants more than anything else in the entire world is love. His idea of love may not be ideal, however, it is a necessity of his. Whatever it is to him, he needs to feel loved. He goes to war to be elected, which is part of his game plan. A person who risks their life to protect their country is considered a good person; the reason they went to war is only for them to know. John knows that going to war will make people love him. People will see him as a courageous soldier, as a brave young man who put his life at risk to fight, and they will vote for him. And that was just the beginning of his plan. He needs to be loved to rise to the top but he also needs to earn that love from the people. John Wade knew exactly what to do so …show more content…
He longs to please his parents as well as the rest of the world. “It was in the nature of love that John Wade went to the war. Not to hurt or to be hurt, not to be a good citizen or a hero or a moral man. Only for love. Only to be loved. He imagined his father, who was dead, saying to him. “Well, you did it, you hung in there, and I’m so proud, just so incredibly proud.” He imagined his mother ironing his uniform, putting it under clear plastic and hanging it in a closet, maybe to look at now and then, maybe to touch. At times, too, John imagined loving himself. And never risking the loss of love. And winning forever the love of some secret invisible audience-the people he might meet someday, the people he had already met. Sometimes he did bad things just to be loved, and sometimes he hated himself for needing love so badly” (O’Brien 59). John needs love. He craves it, he yearns for it, he cannot live without it. John Wade is man who is starving for love. He hates himself for how much he wants love, and it is true that a lot of times when a person does not love themselves, they seek love from others. They believe that if they cannot love themselves it is okay as long as other people love them. John is perhaps trying to fill a void inside of himself with other people’s love because he is not capable of loving himself. Love is essential for him to breathe. Love is so sacred to him; he is willing to do terrible things for