Essay On Wade Whitehouse In Russell Banks's Affliction
The character Wade Whitehouse from the book Affliction by Russell Banks is very complex. To properly analyze his character one must take into account all aspects of his personality. To do so we must break down any information we may find about, the character’s background information, describe his personality, determine any changes to his character during the novel, and how he has affected fellow characters. First, we must look at the major factors that influence the character such as: background of the town, the family relations and early life experiences that have dramatically affected the character. The town of Lawford is a rural community in New Hampshire having no natural resources for economic strength. Due to this poor flow of money the town lacks simple services and
…show more content…
recreational facilities and therefore does not attract many tourists. Those who do visit the town are either city comers using their families’ cottage as a weekend getaway, or deer hunters traveling through because of the thriving wild life. The only success story is a local man named Gordon LaRiviere who owns a well drilling company and the boss of Wade and many other men of this town. Affliction is set in a winter scenery and throughout the book the weather is gloomy “ the sky clear as black glass” (6 Russell Banks). The weather becomes a direct reflection of the attitudes of the characters. Now we must discuss Wade’s dysfunctional family background.
His father was a severe alcoholic who regularly abused each family member. Once drunk, he became extremely violent and could not control his anger. Wade’s mother, although very loving, could not protect the children because she herself feared her abusive husband. On many occasions she had also been abused so she tried to avoid any confrontation at any cost. Wade had four siblings, two older brothers Elbourne and Charlie, who were both killed during the Vietnam War. Wade also had one younger brother Rolfe, who left town for college, and a younger sister, Lena, who left town shortly after she realized she was pregnant. As a young child Wade had to watch Elbourn and Charlie being beaten by his drunken father. Until the age of ten he thought himself invincible because his father had not laid a hand on him but this false sense of security was cruelly brought to an end. As he obeyed his mother instead of his father, Mr. Whitehouse became enraged and attacked his son, “slapping him again and again, harder each time, although each time the boy felt it less, felt only the lava-like flow of heat that each blow left behind” (102
Russell). Wade has an extremely distinct and complicated personality that at times can be hard to completely comprehend. As we familiarize ourselves better with this character we can easily recognize certain traits and connect them with past life experiences. The most obvious trait is a lack of self-esteem, which leads to an overabundant abuse of alcohol. His failed marriage to Lillian, the limited visitations allowed with his daughter and his tedious and repetitively job all lead him to believe that he is less of a man. Wade did not express his feelings openly instead kept them locked up inside which added to all the hardship already present in his life, “Wade lived almost wholly out there on his skin, with no interior space for him to retreat to, even in a crisis or at a time of emotional stress or conflict” (215 Russell). All these aspects contributed to his abuse of alcohol, which in turn led to his violence. Wade was a violent and destructive drunk that gravely harmed other citizens, he had a reputation around town as a man who was dangerous when he was drunk. He had been seen hitting a few guys, and there had been incidents including him that went all the way back to when he was in high school. One can also see that Wade is a very impatient person. He does not like to undertake a task in which he is not specialized. As mentioned earlier, Gordon LaRiviere employed him. Wade is in charge of mostly manual labor. During the off seasons Mr. LaRiviere offers Wade some office work that needs attending to. Although Wade does not quit right away, he gets very impatient after some time and eventually gives up. He does not try to ask for help but struggles to no end until he can no longer tolerate his frustration. Wade can also be seen as somewhat stubborn. Near the middle of the novel, one of Mr. LaRiviere’s friends, Mr. Twomblay, arrives in town and is taken hunting by Jack Hewitt (another local man employed by LaRiviere). While hunting Mr. Twomblay accidentally shoots himself in the chest and dies in the woods. Although Jack was nowhere near Mr. Twomblay at the time and no proof could be offered otherwise, Wade was convinced that Jack was responsible for the businessman’s death. His obsession with this case drives him mad and results in the death of Jack Hewitt, “For Wade, there was no connection, because he seemed to want badly to believe that his “best friend” had shot Evan Twombley- accidentally, of course- and was hiding the fact, which, he insisted, was what worried him.”(131 Russell) Wade’s character does not so much as change but develops. At the beginning of the novel the readers can already identify certain violent traits that the character already possesses: his violent drunkenness. As the novel progresses his violent streak only worsens, until he has become so vicious that he murders his own father and his best friend Jack. Aside from the obvious implications offered by the author, we can predict that a drastic and dangerous incident will occur at the hands of Wade. The reader’s attention is focused on his every move and therefore we can easily see how his condition declines throughout the novel. His violence begins with simple tavern brawls; it then escalates to physical abuse of his wife, and culminates with the murder of two people. Ever since his daughter Jill was of a very young age he always had a great influence on her. Although not much is said of their relationship before Wade and Lillian got divorced one can assume that Wade and Jill were very close. Since the separation, Jill has had to live without a father figure until Lillian remarried. Although Wade was replaced by a stepfather this does not replace the void existent in Jill’s life. No man can ever replace the love that a true father gives. Near the end of the novel, Wade hits Jill while she was hysterically trying to protect Margie, “her nose was bleeding, he had caught her across the mouth and nose; she stood behind me and wailed” (337 Russell). This event will remain in her memories forever. She will always remember how she was betrayed by one of the people she cared about the most in the world. Jill’s reaction was simply that of a child’s, she wanted to go home, “when I glanced over at her, she had her eyes closed, and she said in a calm voice that surprised me, “I want to go home. Will you take me home?’” (338 Russell). Wade was a character who from the beginning of his life he was almost destined to go down the wrong path. It clearly starts off with his drunk, abusive father – a trait that is passed on to him. As his life continues, wade seems to drift farther down that wrong path, and as we see in the story, he becomes even more violent and dangerous. Wade Whitehouse is a very complex man whose personality deteriorates over the course of the novel. By the end of the story he is a broken man who has destroyed his family, and has killed two men.
recreational facilities and therefore does not attract many tourists. Those who do visit the town are either city comers using their families’ cottage as a weekend getaway, or deer hunters traveling through because of the thriving wild life. The only success story is a local man named Gordon LaRiviere who owns a well drilling company and the boss of Wade and many other men of this town. Affliction is set in a winter scenery and throughout the book the weather is gloomy “ the sky clear as black glass” (6 Russell Banks). The weather becomes a direct reflection of the attitudes of the characters. Now we must discuss Wade’s dysfunctional family background.
His father was a severe alcoholic who regularly abused each family member. Once drunk, he became extremely violent and could not control his anger. Wade’s mother, although very loving, could not protect the children because she herself feared her abusive husband. On many occasions she had also been abused so she tried to avoid any confrontation at any cost. Wade had four siblings, two older brothers Elbourne and Charlie, who were both killed during the Vietnam War. Wade also had one younger brother Rolfe, who left town for college, and a younger sister, Lena, who left town shortly after she realized she was pregnant. As a young child Wade had to watch Elbourn and Charlie being beaten by his drunken father. Until the age of ten he thought himself invincible because his father had not laid a hand on him but this false sense of security was cruelly brought to an end. As he obeyed his mother instead of his father, Mr. Whitehouse became enraged and attacked his son, “slapping him again and again, harder each time, although each time the boy felt it less, felt only the lava-like flow of heat that each blow left behind” (102
Russell). Wade has an extremely distinct and complicated personality that at times can be hard to completely comprehend. As we familiarize ourselves better with this character we can easily recognize certain traits and connect them with past life experiences. The most obvious trait is a lack of self-esteem, which leads to an overabundant abuse of alcohol. His failed marriage to Lillian, the limited visitations allowed with his daughter and his tedious and repetitively job all lead him to believe that he is less of a man. Wade did not express his feelings openly instead kept them locked up inside which added to all the hardship already present in his life, “Wade lived almost wholly out there on his skin, with no interior space for him to retreat to, even in a crisis or at a time of emotional stress or conflict” (215 Russell). All these aspects contributed to his abuse of alcohol, which in turn led to his violence. Wade was a violent and destructive drunk that gravely harmed other citizens, he had a reputation around town as a man who was dangerous when he was drunk. He had been seen hitting a few guys, and there had been incidents including him that went all the way back to when he was in high school. One can also see that Wade is a very impatient person. He does not like to undertake a task in which he is not specialized. As mentioned earlier, Gordon LaRiviere employed him. Wade is in charge of mostly manual labor. During the off seasons Mr. LaRiviere offers Wade some office work that needs attending to. Although Wade does not quit right away, he gets very impatient after some time and eventually gives up. He does not try to ask for help but struggles to no end until he can no longer tolerate his frustration. Wade can also be seen as somewhat stubborn. Near the middle of the novel, one of Mr. LaRiviere’s friends, Mr. Twomblay, arrives in town and is taken hunting by Jack Hewitt (another local man employed by LaRiviere). While hunting Mr. Twomblay accidentally shoots himself in the chest and dies in the woods. Although Jack was nowhere near Mr. Twomblay at the time and no proof could be offered otherwise, Wade was convinced that Jack was responsible for the businessman’s death. His obsession with this case drives him mad and results in the death of Jack Hewitt, “For Wade, there was no connection, because he seemed to want badly to believe that his “best friend” had shot Evan Twombley- accidentally, of course- and was hiding the fact, which, he insisted, was what worried him.”(131 Russell) Wade’s character does not so much as change but develops. At the beginning of the novel the readers can already identify certain violent traits that the character already possesses: his violent drunkenness. As the novel progresses his violent streak only worsens, until he has become so vicious that he murders his own father and his best friend Jack. Aside from the obvious implications offered by the author, we can predict that a drastic and dangerous incident will occur at the hands of Wade. The reader’s attention is focused on his every move and therefore we can easily see how his condition declines throughout the novel. His violence begins with simple tavern brawls; it then escalates to physical abuse of his wife, and culminates with the murder of two people. Ever since his daughter Jill was of a very young age he always had a great influence on her. Although not much is said of their relationship before Wade and Lillian got divorced one can assume that Wade and Jill were very close. Since the separation, Jill has had to live without a father figure until Lillian remarried. Although Wade was replaced by a stepfather this does not replace the void existent in Jill’s life. No man can ever replace the love that a true father gives. Near the end of the novel, Wade hits Jill while she was hysterically trying to protect Margie, “her nose was bleeding, he had caught her across the mouth and nose; she stood behind me and wailed” (337 Russell). This event will remain in her memories forever. She will always remember how she was betrayed by one of the people she cared about the most in the world. Jill’s reaction was simply that of a child’s, she wanted to go home, “when I glanced over at her, she had her eyes closed, and she said in a calm voice that surprised me, “I want to go home. Will you take me home?’” (338 Russell). Wade was a character who from the beginning of his life he was almost destined to go down the wrong path. It clearly starts off with his drunk, abusive father – a trait that is passed on to him. As his life continues, wade seems to drift farther down that wrong path, and as we see in the story, he becomes even more violent and dangerous. Wade Whitehouse is a very complex man whose personality deteriorates over the course of the novel. By the end of the story he is a broken man who has destroyed his family, and has killed two men.