Magic Symbol in In the Lake of the Woods

John performs magic tricks throughout his life: when he’s a child, when he’s in the army, and even when he’s a politician. The symbolism of John’s fondness is frequently and explicitly stated: magic symbolizes John’s desire to be loved by others, to hide his own weakness and sadness, and to “fool” other people into believing that he’s happier and more charismatic than he really is. At several points, O’Brien notes that magic is entertaining for the audience because the audience doesn’t really want to know how a trick is done: it both believes that the magic is “real” and senses that it’s fake. In this sense, magic, and magic’s effect on an audience, represents the way we’re meant to read In the Lake of the Woods: we’re curious about what “really” happened to Kathy, but any solution to this mystery would be far less entertaining than the mystery itself.

Magic Quotes in In the Lake of the Woods

The In the Lake of the Woods quotes below all refer to the symbol of Magic. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Vietnam, Authorship, Interpretation Theme Icon

You know, I think politics and magic were almost the same thing for him. Transformations—that’s part of it—trying to change things. When you think about it, magicians and politicians are basically control freaks.

Related Characters: Anthony “Tony” L. Carbo (speaker), John Herman Wade

Related Symbols: Magic

Page Number and Citation: 27

Explanation and Analysis:

He talked about leading a good life, doing good things telling the full truth. Politics was manipulation. Like a magic show: invisible wires and secret trapdoors.

Related Characters: John Herman Wade (speaker)

Related Symbols: Magic

Page Number and Citation: 35

Explanation and Analysis:

Audiences want to believe what they see a magician do, and yet at the same time they know better and do not believe. Therein lies the fascination of magic to modern people. It is a paradox, a riddle, a half-fulfillment of an ancient desire, a puzzle, a torment, a cheat and a truth.

Related Characters: Robert Parrish (speaker)

Related Symbols: Magic

Page Number and Citation: 96

Explanation and Analysis:

Double consummation: A way of fooling the audience by making it believe a trick is over before it really is.

Related Characters: Narrator (speaker), John Herman Wade

Related Symbols: Magic

Page Number and Citation: 192

Explanation and Analysis:

It’s odd how the mind erases horror. All the evidence suggests that John Wade was able to perform a masterly forgetting trick for nearly two decades, somehow coping, pushing it all away, and from my own experience, I can understand how he kept things buried.

Related Characters: Narrator (speaker), John Herman Wade

Related Symbols: Magic

Page Number and Citation: 298

Explanation and Analysis:

Magic Symbol Timeline in In the Lake of the Woods

The timeline below shows where the symbol Magic appears in In the Lake of the Woods. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...“We called him Sorcerer.” The next pieces of evidence are related to John’s love for magic and magic tricks: a photograph of John as a child, holding a wand, a quote... (full context)

...easy” to say that the war made him who he is. Tony Carbo imagines that magic and politics were one and the same for John. Other sources, taken from the memoirs... (full context)

As a child, John loved to perform magic tricks: silk scarves, a disappearing penny, etc. While these are only tricks, not real magic,... (full context)

...shot while John is with him. As Weber dies, he asks John to do his magic. (full context)

John’s magic eventually works its way into the military plans of his division, Charlie Company. The soldiers... (full context)

...on her. Meanwhile, men in Charlie Company die, and there’s a general feeling that his magic has worn off. The soldiers aren’t warm to him anymore. (full context)

...praise John for finding the sniper so quickly. The soldiers perform their own act of magic: they raise the sniper high into the air with a rope, so that the Vietnamese... (full context)

...own suspicion. Still, he decides, he is the Sorcerer, and he has a gift for magic. (full context)

...to her. Afterwards, they return to the party, where John makes a speech and does magic tricks. (full context)

...a child of nine or ten, John would lie in bed, surrounded by catalogs of magic tricks, making note of all the prices. The next day, he would travel alone by... (full context)

As a child, John practices magic tricks in front of the mirror. He thinks that he can use magic to read... (full context)

...little husky, but his father insisted that this wasn’t true, and criticized John for doing magic like a “pansy,” instead of playing sports. (full context)

At the age of eleven, John and his father drive to Karra’s Studio of Magic to buy John’s Christmas present. John notes that the store hasn’t changed since he was... (full context)

At the magic shop, John chooses a magic trick called the “Guillotine of Death,” which is heavy and... (full context)

...Sorcerer is in his element. Vietnam is a place with tunnels, trap doors, monsters, and magic. There is no way of telling where the Vietcong are, or what the villagers are... (full context)

When John’s father died, John was a teenager. The day he was buried, John performed magic in front of the mirror. He tells his father that he wasn’t fat, but normal. (full context)

...of more pieces of evidence. The first is a quote from Robert Parrish’s book, The Magician’s Notebook. Parrish writes that magic tricks are possible because the magician hides the true causes... (full context)

...off a miracle. The author Bernard C. Meyer notes that spectators want to believe in magic; they give in to the great force and power of the magician. (full context)

...help, but one must offer the veteran help anyway. Parrish argues that the fun of magic is that people want to believe in magic, but also know that magic is impossible.... (full context)

...to please others and be loved in return. Sandra Karra, the red-haired woman from the magic shop, notes that John continues to visit her store even when he got older but... (full context)

...argues that soldiers aren’t relieved of moral responsibility simply because they were following orders. A magician’s handbook defines misdirection—a technique the magician uses to distract the audience from the real source... (full context)

...war: 12 photographs of his father, a deck of cards, an empty bottle of vodka, magic books, and medals, including a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. (full context)

...position that nonetheless helps him forget about the war. For their five-year anniversary, John does magic for Katy and makes five roses appear. Kathy observes that he seems more content and... (full context)

...praises John for having “slick hands” and keeping his mouth shut—two invaluable skills for a magician. Pat is quoted as saying, “Forget the dentist!” and accusing the questioner of being “obsessed.”... (full context)

There is a list of magical terms and their definitions: vanish, a magic trick in which something or someone disappears; transposition,... (full context)

...better by looking in the mirror. He has almost no friends, but he puts on magic shows at school and birthday parties. His audiences applaud, and while they don’t exactly give... (full context)

...part of gambling. He also points out that John isn’t interested in luck; he’s a magician, meaning that he’s only interested in the certainty of rigging the decks. As Tony speaks,... (full context)

...bar. Tony points out that John’s career is a lot like his performances as a magician. He performs magic, and part of the charm of the trick is that everyone knows... (full context)

...Lux, and the whole state of Minnesota. That’s the risk of living life as a magic trick, he thinks. John has spent his political years try to make his past disappear—and... (full context)

...teakettle and the boathouse. He wants to tell them about his father, his fascination with magic and mirrors, etc. John drifts deep into thought. Some time later, Claude taps John, and... (full context)

...John spends the morning shoveling snow in the driveway outside Claude’s house. He thinks about magic, and contemplates a “last nifty illusion,” a piece of “casual transportation,” similar to snakes eating... (full context)

...again. John thinks about his father. As a child, John imagined his father praising his magic tricks. John thinks that he wanted to be loved to the point where he performed... (full context)

...a copy of The Peers Commission Report. Tony Carbo says that John ran out of magic—when the story about his behavior in Vietnam broke, Minnesota wasn’t forgiving at all. Patricia recalls... (full context)

...John and Kathy are happy together somewhere. Thinbill acknowledges that John pulled off one final magic trick by disappearing. Still, Thinbill says, John still dreams about flies. (full context)

...admits knowing where Kathy is. Perhaps this is the biggest mystery of all—how John, a magician, could have woken up and discovered that his wife was gone without a trace. John... (full context)

In the Lake of the Woods

Tim O’Brien

Magic Symbol Analysis

Magic Quotes in In the Lake of the Woods

Magic Symbol Timeline in In the Lake of the Woods