Rhetoric Analysis

"He stationed himself at a bus stop outside. His eyes ached -- his heart, too-- everything. And there was also the squeeze of indecision. At times he was struck by a fierce desire to believe that the suspicion was nothing but a demon in his head. Other times he wanted to believe the worst. He didn't know why. It was as though something inside him, his genes or his bone marrow, required the certainty of a confirmed betrayal; a witnessed kiss, a witnessed embrace. The facts would be absolute. In a dim way, only half admitted, John understood that the alternative was simply to love her, and to go on loving her, yet somehow ambiguity seemed intolerable. Nothing could ever be sure, not if he spied forever, because there was always the threat of tomorrow's treachery, or next year's treachery, or the treachery implicit in all the tomorrows beyond that" (43).

In this passage, O'Brien varies from short, choppy sentences to longer, more in-depth sentences, uses repetition, and provides unique punctuation. 

Out of the first eight sentences in the passage, six of them contain eight words or less. Then, the last two sentences both have at least twenty seven words. The mix of sentence length makes this passage eye-catching. The short sentences make the paragraph easy to read while the longer ones' purpose is to add character thoughts, which makes the passage easier to understand. 

The theme of repetition is present in the passage and it adds stress to the reused words. "Because there was always the threat of tomorrow's treachery, or next year's treachery, or the treachery implicit in all the tomorrows beyond that" (43). The repetition of treachery makes the sentence feel gloomy and sad and that if Kathy ever did something to break John's trust it would hurt John greatly.

What also makes O'Brien unique is his use of punctuation. "Required the certainty of a confirmed betrayal; a witnessed kiss, a witnessed embrace" (43). Instead of separating the sequence with periods, O'Brien uses a semicolon and uses a comma at the end of the sequence. The semicolon makes the reader stop for a second, which isolates the next part of the sentence and makes it stronger.

Spying on Her

While attending the University of Minnesota during the autumn of 1966, John first met Kathy. Even though he was a senior and she was a freshman, he wanted to make her love him and never stop. He was so urgent because he feared losing Kathy.  "'Here I am,' she said, 'and I'm not going anywhere'" (32). Though Kathy would say things like this all the time to comfort John, he was never sure of her validity. So, in early November he began spying on her to make sure she was not cheating on him. He would follow her everywhere she went and not stop spying on her until the light in her dorm room turned off. 

"He felt some guilt at first, which bothered him, but he also found satisfaction in it... Down inside, of course, John realized that spying wasn't proper, yet he couldn't bring himself to stop. In part, he thought, Kathy brought it upon herself: she had a personality that lured him on... They'd be at a movie together, or a party, and she'd simply vanish" (32-33).

The vanishing worried him: was she seeing another guy? Was she bored of him? No and no. John just had to understand that she needed some alone time. All of the spying helped him cope with his worries, but he never made any discoveries. Watching her every move, he got to know Kathy very well. He learned her favorite candy bar, a Hershey's, he learned about her teachers and friends, and he even watched her shop for his birthday present. "'It's weird,' Kathy told him once, 'how well you know me" (34). He had a love/hate relationship with his spying. He loved always knowing what she was doing and liked being secretive about it. However, he hated how in order to not feel worried he had to trace her every move. The theme of secrecy and self-entertainment are present yet again.

Childhood

John's childhood was one of sorrow and pretending. At the age of fourteen, John lost his father. "In the weeks that followed, because he was young and full of grief, he tried to pretend that his father was not truly dead" (14). He would talk to his father in his imagination carrying on everyday conversations. This comforted John and helped the grief die down quicker. "'Don't be dead,' he'd say, and his father, would wink and say, 'Well, hey, keep talking,' and then for a long while they'd discuss the right way to hit a baseball" (14). Though this was merely nothing but pretending, it helped. Pretending seemed to be John's only escape from the harsh reality of his father's death. The theme of pretending led to one of John's most passionate childhood hobbies: magic. Though his tricks were nothing but trickery, he pretended it was true magic, just for the thrill. Some of his favorite tricks to perform were "Miser's Dream, Horn of Plenty, Spirit of the Dark, Egg Bag, Guillotine of Death" (25). Though these tricks were not real magic, John pretended they were. "He was a dreamer" (31). Dreams of his father returning to life rang true through his puerile mind, however, they were nothing but his active imagination working at its best.

Evidence

One unique feature of the novel is how some chapters are named "Evidence." About one of every three chapters is given this title. In these short, yet helpful passages, aphorisms are offered through the use of quotes of famous people and quotes from John Wade's family members, such as his mother, Eleanor K. Wade, are also present. "He was always a secretive boy. I guess you could say he was obsessed by secrets. It was his nature" said Eleanor (8). Another passage offered in "Evidence" (Chapter 2) is the description of Kathy, John's wife's physical being: "Age: 38; Height: 5'6"; Weight: 118 pounds; Hair: Blond" (9). What makes the "Evidence" chapters so unique is how O'Brien offers reasons for everything he writes about his characters. It is his way of backing up his character's reactions with real evidence. Not only do these passages substantiate what O'Brien is doing, they also offer flashbacks in order to gain a better sense of the personalities of the characters. In an interview, Eleanor said, "He used to practice down in the basement, just stand in front of that old mirror of his and do tricks for hours and hours. His father didn't think it was healthy. Always alone, always shut up by himself. A very secretive boy" (25). Being an odd, quiet man as an adult in the novel, the reader now understands that his childhood molded him into that kind of man. "Evidence" chapters offer insight to the reader which makes the story easier to comprehend.

First Encounter

We first meet John and Kathy Wade in the first chapter of the novel. The married couple's love and relationship are deteriorating and will both soon be non-existent. Our first encounter of of the couple takes places on the deck of their forest home in the Lake of the Woods, Minnesota. Quickly, we learn that their favorite thoughts to dwell upon and talk about are their future desires. "'Verona,' Kathy would say, 'I'd love to spend a few days in Verona'" (2). They would go on talking about visiting Verona and all the things they would see and do, and would try to make the dream real in their minds. However, all of the Wade's fancies, along with this one, would remain only a dream as Kathy would be leaving John in two days time. Dealing out false hope was one of Kathy's strengths. "'It's not really so terrible... I mean, it's bad, but we can make it better.' In less than thirty-six hours she would be gone, but now she lay beside him on the porch and talked about all the ways they could make it better" (3). This makes me pity John because he thinks he has an amazing wife who loves him as he does she, yet she has little feelings for him and she always gets his hopes up only to crush them in the end. I'm worried about how John will react when he finds that she has left him; his reaction could be tragic.