Literary Analysis : The Lake Of The Woods By Tim O ' Brien

mystery and remained an enigmatic piece of literature even in its conclusion. The point-of-view, plot, and figurative language developed by O’Brien were critical in maintaining the mystery as consistently and effectively as was evident in, In the Lake of the Woods. The main character, John Wade, believed he was a magician from early childhood and throughout his development into adulthood. He was the ultimate magician both personally and in his perception of his vocations of soldier and politician.

In the Lake of the Woods is a fictional mystery written by Tim O'Brien. Through the book we learn that our lovers, husbands, and wives have qualities beyond what our eyes can see. John Wade and Kathy are in a marriage so obscure that their secrets lead to an emotional downfall. After John Wade loss in his Senatorial Campaign, his feeling towards Kathy take on a whole different outlook. His compulsive and obsessive behavior causes Kathy to distance herself from him. His war experience and emotional trauma are a major cause for his strange behavior. We remain pondering about Kathy's mysterious disappearance, which becomes fatal for her. Possible scenarios are presented in eight

Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods is centered around the mysterious disappearance of Kathy Wade. Mysterious is the key word, as throughout the novel O’Brien plays with the fine line between ambiguity and reality. Kathy’s husband John Wade, the main character, is a Vietnam veteran and former politician whose participation in the infamous Mai Lai Massacre caused his fall from grace. Following a landslide defeat in the congressional elections, Kathy and John retreat to solitude in an isolated cabin in the Minnesota woods. Here, O’Brien highlights the stress that secrecy has had on their relationship. During their retreat, Kathy disappears in the middle of the night. Their boat is missing, but there are no other clues. O’Brien does

Alistair Macleod is a famous Canadian author that wrote stories about small towns in the east coast. His stories have been praised for the emotional impact they have on the readers. Macleod’s stories focus heavily on gender politics, geographical settings, and following in the examples of superiors among other things. “The Boat” is a short story that focuses primarily on gender roles and how it affects both the men and the women in the story. The two main male characters in “The Boat,” the father and the son, are both characters that are forced into their roles as men that work in order to fend for their families. This specific story resonated with me because I have rarely seen a narrative where male characters are controlled by their female

Masculinity in "Men Should Weep" by Ena Lamont Stewart and "Perfect Days" by Liz Lochead

The theme in the book Shane, by Jack Schaefer, portrays that true manhood consists not of bravado or status, but of character, honor, and loyalty. The main character is a man named Shane, who rides into a small valley mysteriously at the beginning of the book and takes a position as the aid of a farmer, Joe Starett. When Shane arrives, Joe and the other farmers of the valley are struggling, while the rancher Fletcher is the highest valley authority. The townspeople and Bob, Joe’s son, struggle to discover what make a man honorable and manly. They hold Fletcher and his cowboys as authorities, manly men in a culture that admires this, because of the glamour of their profession. Fletcher’s confidence and bravado, as well as his profession and position, appear to the townspeople to be the epitome of manhood. Bob falls into this easy way of thinking as well; he says that before Shane came into his life his highest aspiration was to become like his father, but his ambition was to first be a cowboy. Bob visualizes himself riding through the country: rough, strong, free, and well-liked. After Shane arrives, Bob starts thinking about true manhood, comparing his father, Shane, Fletcher, and the cowboys. He realizes that manhood is not being like Fletcher, with shows of bravado designed to insult others, but instead is standing up for your family and principles when necessary. Bob also learns that manhood has to do a great deal with character, finding

In Michael Kimmel’s “Manhood in America: A Cultural History”, he provides a broad, heavily researched cultural history of the development of manhood and the definition of masculinity throughout American history. Beginning in the 19th century and ending in the present day administration of Barack Obama, Kimmel identifies that over time society has demanded more and more that the common man be “self-made”. Kimmel’s overall goal in writing this book is to introduce a new concept of masculinity that eliminates the battle that every man faces when trying to achieve so-called “manhood”. He explores the natural instincts that men have and how these instincts are affected by self-control, the surrounding environment, and overall levels of happiness.

He began again to daze off staring at the fire and imagining the hairy man crouched down in the summer sun. The Call of the Wild written by Jack London is an adventure book that follows the life of a once tamed dog known as Buck to a dog that has retrogressed to a more primitive state during the Yukon Gold Rush. Buck who eventually answered the call of the wild had to go through many difficulties to get there.The theme power of the primitive is reinforced by the retrogression of a dog despite the love of mankind.

The concept of femininity and masculinity is mentioned many times throughout the essay to highlight it

1. Joss Whedon says that ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ is “your basic horror movie taken apart; five kids go to a cabin in the woods to have a fun weekend of partying and possibly sex… and are therefore dismembered”. Whedon and Goddard have in essence tried to create a movie with roots tied to the horror genre; it is simply your common slasher movie where the characters are killed off one by one till there is either one person left or none for that matter. ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ also has ties to other genres such as comedy, this can be seen in scenes such as where they are all sitting around in the main room, playing truth or dare, and Jules is dared to kiss the wolfs head on the wall, also in the scene where Marty

Into the woods was an adventurous play that was perfect for the use of your imagination and spirit. Into the Woods had numerous different fairy tales involved which could make a small child feel like he/she was in heaven. The acting, music, concept, stage design, costumes, and even the language of the play all mixed to perfection. The crowd became involved right away with the irony of the play. I liked how Into the Woods was set up in the beginning because it made the play easier to follow. However, the play seemed to be a little lengthy and some of the characters became annoying. I do not believe the second part of the play altogether was necessary. Into the Woods did not fulfill my expectations to the max,

I found both Peter Walsh in Mrs. Dalloway and Mr. Ramsay in To the Lighthouse to be very interesting characters within the topic of “masculinity.” Through these characters, Woolf gives us a different idea of what masculinity is and questions what society’s idea of masculinity is. Though they deem themselves as separate and higher than women, both Peter Walsh and Mr. Dalloway depend on women more than they’d like to admit. We begin to see that perhaps these men are not so masculine after all. Or perhaps, masculinity can take on a different form than we think.

In the game The Oregon Trail, the player tries to make the journey west for gold without their character dying. Just like the game portrays, the trail was a grueling journey to follow a dream. The trail was a game of reality for families moving west. The dream of striking gold and being rich. Women tagged along with their husbands on their journey for gold. The journey was long and difficult, often leading to injuries and death. While on the journey women kept a feminine demeanor even though being faced with many difficulties and having immense responsibilities and constant fear.

When thinking of masculinity in literature, one author has who has become synonymous with manliness comes to mind, Ernest Hemingway. Critics have spent countless hours studying his writing in order to gain insight into his world of manly delights, including his views on sex, war, and sport. His views can be seen through his characters, his themes and even his style of writing.