Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

Tim O’Brien often carries many themes from one book to the next. Critics often chastise O’Brien for using the same war material over and over again. Some of the most prominent carry-overs are these mysterious secrets that his characters carry on their hearts and minds. It is fascinating to see how these secrets not only affect the keepers, but also those who are unknowing and ignorant to the full truths. In O’Brien’s novels, the reader is able to get a grasp on many different secrets that the characters possess, why they keep these secrets, and how difficult, nerve-racking, and troubling it is to both keep and release these guilt-filled enigmas. Specifically, in July, July and In the Lake of the Woods, Ellie Abbott and John Wade have secrets that haunt and affect the rest of their lives.
Ellie Abbott’s choice to explore a terrible inkling and to rekindle some old college flames was one that she would never forget. She cheated on her husband. This instance, with her college sweetheart, was actually her second affair. What made this time so disturbing and stressful was that he drowned in a lake while they were together. About the affair, Ellie “felt some guilt and confusion” (165) because she did love her husband, but there was something about getting away with the whole ordeal that made it worth while. Her coconspirator, Harmon, was also married with a good life and healthy income as a dentist. Neither one of them really wanted to get out their marriages, and they both realized that was impossible. They did not get together solely for the intimacy, as is the case in most affairs. Their relationship was different; they had a particular connection. As they were going about the affair, nobody else, especially their spouses, had any idea that they were being unfaithful. After Harmon’s death, it was very likely that still no one was going to find out about it. But, there was no certainty, and that is what led to the demise of Ellie Abbott.
...