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Illusions In Tim O Brien's In The Lake Of The Woods

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“We were all talking about the space between us all and the people who hide themselves behind a wall of illusion. Never glimpse the truth – then it’s far too late when they pass away” quoted George Harrison, an English guitarist and songwriter. He meant that some people cannot handle reality, they need a way to escape and be what or who they want. However, when they create these illusions, they create distance between themselves and the real world (a space is made). And the only time people regret having that space is when their loved ones are gone; then they realize that they had something good. In the novel, “In the Lake of the Woods,” by Tim O’Brien, the main character John Wade created an illusion where he goes to escape from his violent …show more content…

As a result, he suffered from PTSD. In the article, “Madness, Mystery, Reality and Illusion,” Liam Clarke argue that there is a connection between the way magic captures an audience and psychiatric patients, in the sense that they are transported to another world. John is trying to preserve his mind, the same way how he felt when he did magic is the way he wants to feel now. John has his illusion of being innocent and naïve about everything. His wife, Kathy Wade is missing and there is the misery of what happened to her. The article “Psychological and Marital Distress in spouses of Vietnam Veterans: Importance of Spouses’ Perceptions,” by Keith D. Renshaw, Thomas L. Rodebaugh and Camila S. Rodrigues, addresses how psychological disorders affect veterans and their spouse. It is possible that he murdered his wife and disposed of her body in the Lake. John feared losing his wife, and thought that he was. So, he sent her to her eternal rest where only he can have her. John Wade created the illusion that he was unaware of what happened to Kathy. He transformed the memory of committing the act of drowning his wife into a more fantastic, magical

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