Sure...here it is. Bear in mind that I haven't really checked over it, so I hope its OK!
Contention: That without Sorcerer and his tricks covering up his insecurities, John Wade was left as fragile and vulnerable as his child self.
He was lost. John Wade drifted off towards the endless horizon, the infinite wilderness of the water engulfing him on all sides. He was lost within his own memories, his insecurities and his fears; lost within the tangle of his own life. No longer could Sorcerer protect him. No longer could he take refuge behind the mirrors in his head. Finally, John Wade had “lost himself in the tangle.”
As the mysterious story of Vietnam veteran John Wade slowly unfolds, concluding with his mysterious disappearance in rural Minnesota, Tim O’Brien explores the ways in which individuals attempt to hide their insecurities and cover up their vulnerabilities. As the novel progresses and Wade’s past is slowly revealed, it is clear that even as an adult, John Wade was left as fragile and as vulnerable as a child. His loveless childhood coupled with his traumatic tour of duty in the chaotic battlefields of the Vietnam War reveal the ways in which the disturbed man attempted to hide his insecurities in order to gain the love and control that he so yearned for. As a child, longing for affection from his alcoholic father, John Wade hid behind his the mirrors in his head in order to escape his undesirable reality and enter a surreal world in which he had control over his life. As Wade moved to the hellish landscape of Vietnam, again he hid behind his alter ego “Sorcerer” in order to gain control within the chaotic environment of the war. In both cases, O’Brien suggests that without his defence mechanisms – his tricks and mirrors – John Wade would have lost himself in the tangle of his own life long before his political defeat. It is only while floating endlessly in the wide expanse of the Lake of the Woods that Wade finally realises that he can longer hide behind his tricks. With his ultimate demise, it is more evident than ever that without Sorcerer and his tricks covering up his vulnerabilities, John Wade was left as a fragile and unstable man, unable to live within the confines of his own reality.
Wade’s childhood, and the lack unconditional love that he received as a youth, formed the basis of his insecurities as an adult. As readers witness Wade’s difficult childhood, it is evident that he yearned for nothing more than love and affection from his father. As a slightly chubby child, all Wade wanted was his father’s pride and respect, yet as an alcoholic, his father provided none of this. The “constant teasing” that made up much of Wade’s childhood only added to his already fragile state. It is this abuse that led to Wade’s emotional and physical dislocation, placing him into a world of betrayal and disappointment. In order to regain control over his life Wade was driven towards magic and towards the alternate reality that he could create for himself within the mirrors that he set up within his mind. Trapped in a loveless and cruel world, John Wade “hid behind the mirrors”, setting up a barrier between his own mind and his reality. In order to gain the love that he so longed for, Wade retreated to his basement, “performing the necessary tricks” to feel his father’s admiration and pride, even if only in his mind. It was there, in the basement, where “miracle happened”. Away from the cruel reality of his own life, Wade was able to escape the real world – “slide behind the glass” – in order to create a new reality for himself. In order to deal with the lack of affection he received from his father, Wade had no option but to escape the world in which he lived. Ultimately, O’Brien suggests that without his tricks protecting him from his own reality, John Wade would have lost control of his life, unable to progress even past his childhood years. It was only with the aid of his mirrors covering up his insecurities that Wade was able to feel his father’s love and thus, continue living within the loveless reality of his existence.
Moreover, John Wade’s tour of duty as a soldier in the hellish battlefields of Vietnam further highlights the ways in which he attempted to his insecurities. As a child, Wade escaped behind the mirrors in his mind in order to feel the love and affection of his father that he so desired. While in Vietnam, in an equally uncontrollable environment, Wade created an alter ego for himself, “Sorcerer”, in order to take control of the chaotic war landscape. Behind the mask of Sorcerer however, Wade was still the fragile little boy who yearned for the affection of others. In the world of “ghost and graveyards” that was the Vietnam landscape, Wade attempted, just like in his childhood, to seize control of the seemingly uncontrollable environment. Through the graphic depictions of the Vietnam War O’Brien demonstrates both the savagery and chaotic nature of the conflict. “The war was aimless,” O’Brien describes, “no visible enemy.” For an unstable individual like Wade, it comes as little surprise that he yearned for control over the unruly terrain. By hiding behind the mask of Sorcerer, Wade was not only able to seize control over the Vietnam landscape and gain the affection of his fellow soldiers, but was able to retain his sanity within the paranoia and confusion of the war. Wade’s new persona, similarly to the mirrors of his childhood, gave him a sense of control over the distorted, chaotic world that he had been thrust into. As death, destruction and carnage surrounded him, Wade found solace in Sorcerer – a sense of security that protected him from the insanity that war often brought on. Without his alter ego, Sorcerer, O’Brien leaves little doubt to what would have happened to John Wade in the “spirit world” of Vietnam. Like it did to so many other soldiers, the horrors of the war would have ridded Wade of his sanity, preventing him from re-entering the real world as a sane man. The effects of war are brutal on any individual, yet for a man with a haunted past such as that of John Wade, surviving the mental and physical stranglehold of war would have been impossible. Thus, without the ability to hide behind his mask of Sorcerer, John Wade would have lost himself within the Vietnam War long before this return to America. His fragility and insecurity, skilfully hidden behind the mirrors in his own head, were always lurking behind the mask that he had set up for himself. As they had done in his childhood, Wade’s tricks during his tour of duty protected him, but only superficially covering up the vulnerability within.
Finally, at his ultimate demise, Wade realises that he can no longer hide behind his tricks and mirrors, resulting in him losing himself within the insecurities which he so desperately tried to conceal. As Wade drifts off, his small boat floating in the great expanse of water in the Lake of the Woods, he finally realises that the barriers he had set up between himself and his reality must be broken down. While hiding behind the mask of Sorcerer in the savage battlefields of Vietnam, John Wade lost his own identity. Wade’s sister-in-law, Patricia Hood suggests that Wade “actually thought of himself as Sorcerer” – the tricks and mirrors that he had set up as a means of defence, had in fact taken over his spirit, resulting in the destroyed individual who appears lost in the final pages of the novel. Without his mirrors protecting him from his insecurities and fears, Wade was, for the first time since his childhood, presented with the real world – a world of torture, brutality, lovelessness and betrayal. Without the tricks that had served him so well in the past, protecting him from the insanity of war and allowing him to feel affection as a child, Wade was left alone and isolated not only within the Lake of the Woods, but within the world he inhabited and the reality from which he had so desperately tried to escape. John Wade, without his tricks and mirrors blinding him from the true reality of his life, was left raw and vulnerable – no longer could he hide behind his mask in order to avoid facing reality. Thus, without Sorcerer and his tricks covering up his insecurities, John Wade was left as vulnerable and fragile as his child self – a man who had lost himself years ago within the tangle of his own life.
As the story of John Wade slowly unfolds, readers are swept away into O’Brien’s depictions of Wade’s childhood, his tour of duty and his ultimate demise in the Lake of the Woods. It is through the journey of this enigmatic character that O’Brien demonstrates the ways in which individuals attempt to cover up their insecurities in order to progress through their lives. From his loveless childhood to his traumatic experiences in Vietnam, Wade hide behind illusions that he created for himself, unable to face the reality of his own life. With Wade’s final realisation at the novel’s conclusion, O’Brien suggests that a life of such trickery and delusion is unwise. After all, O'Brien suggests that no matter how hard one attempts to escape their own reality, “the illusion is never perfect. None ever was.”
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