In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'brien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim Obrien - Essay ExampleHe pictured the lake itself as vast and coldinfinitely blue and bonnie and always the same (OBrien, p.1). This allowed the reader to feel that the lake by itself is peaceful yet elicits feelings of isolation. With this OBrien builds mystery and fear, the lake brings a warning to the reader that something is going wrong or might go wrong while the twain settles in the cottage by the lake. Vietnam, on the other hand, is described as full of mud, mines and maze. This depicts clearly a view that this is a place of danger. Johns traumatic experiences in the Vietnam War, particularly the My Lai massacre, is a verification that he has deep inner conflicts and guilt that plagues his mind resulting not only to a crack in his psychological fitness but also deepens the gap amid him and his wife.Situating the story back and forth the primary election settings while inserting settings of the civilized and modern world in the form of the university campus in Minnesota, Minneapolis-St Paul and Las Vegas symbolizes the contrast between reality and delusions. This created an impact on the reader that both Vietnam and the lake symbolizes horror and secrets, both of which can destroy a person and his relationship with other people. This in fact is what happened with John and Kathys marriage. It has been destroyed by the secrets of both. It may seem that the settings symbolized the main characters, Vietnam for John and the lake for Kathy. The mystery and secrets behind Vietnam and the lake both resulted to their