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The War within the War The Struggles in life is something everyone is faced with whether it is physical, emotional mental or personal struggles. These struggles are capable of shaping an individual’s personality and outlook on life. Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars, shows that struggles lead to the character’s ultimate inner struggles, outer struggles and self-discovery. War exists in a person’s physical and psychological aspects. In The Wars, Robert Ross goes to war and fights a personal and physical battle. In the novel The Wars, Robert Ross is a sensitive nineteen year old boy who experiences first-hand the horrors of battle as a Canadian Soldier in the First World War in hopes of trying to find who he is. Being named a Lieutenant shortly after arriving in Europe, Robert is thrust into combat. War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Timothy Findley shows the effects wars have on individuals in his novel The Wars. Findley suggests that war can change a persons behaviour in many different ways, however it is seen to be negatively more often then not. Robert Ross, the main character of The Wars, shows symptoms of what is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in today’s society. War is having a growing effect on Robert. His exposure to the violence is leaving him in a frail state of mind and physically. His behaviour can be interpreted as being increasingly violent and can show his decreasing mental health which is a sign of physical struggles within th... ... middle of paper ... ...the battlefield by one of his comrades, Robert experiences difficulty trying to get to sleep. All he wanted was a dream. Escape. But nobody dreams on a Battlefield. There isn’t any sleep that long. War is something soldiers go to in hopes of escaping or leaving their lives back in their home land. For some people relatable to Robert, trying to “find” who you are in war is considered to be an option. Going to war does not mean that you are a man, and sadly is viewed upon as a “manly” duty. Roberts struggles are based on his personal and family life, which he is unable to find his true calling or meaning in life throughout all of the chaos within his life. War should not be a result of a person trying to find who they are. War can only cause more mental and physical problems that can be traumatic for the soldier themselves just as Robert had experienced first-hand.
The Wars written by Timothy Findley shares a great relation to many of the ideas surrounding postmodern society, thus implementing many of the prominent ideas of the time around politics and societal norms into the plot of the story itself. Findley successfully depicts the plot of the novel taking place in the early 1900's; a time in which the western world was emerging from an industrial revolution, bringing radically foreign ideas on politics in the world, including the materialization of the Marxist political theory. The seemingly negative reception of the Marxist theory has denied it the right as a valid political view. One thing that cannot be denied is that a majority of the foundational ideas of the theory, describe basic human society and nature very accurately, which is something Findley explores in depth. The ideologies of power, class, and struggle are key factors in Marxism. These are the ideas that usually dictate; many of the actions that we make as people and in the journey's that we encounter in our lives. "Marxism attempts to reveal the ways in which our socioeconomic system is the ultimate source of our experience" (Tyson 277). The protagonist in The Wars ,Robert Ross, is an example of this experience. He is a young man from an elitist family that encounters these ideologies throughout his journey. The archetypal journey of Robert Ross in The Wars contains many elements of political theory from Marxism, showcased through the class system, the distinction between the oppressors and the oppressed, and the revolutionary actions that occur.
Robert Ross is the main character in the story and has horrible things done to him and has done things no man should desire to do, these actions have forced him down a path that leads to the wearing down of his love for humanity and his desire to be a soldier; he no longer wants to be a soldier because the actions of others have removed the romanticized idea of a death in sacrifice for king and country. The idea of becoming a soldier came when his
The title of this novel, “The Wars” is illusory. Upon first glance, it makes one expect a protagonist who goes to an actual war, uses physical strength to fight on the battlefield and becomes a war hero.While part of that is true, there are also other significances of the war associated with this title. This novel recounts the journey of the protagonist, Robert Ross as he starts out as a shy, introvert and an inexperienced person before he goes to war; he experiences a change in himself as a result of the people and the battle(s) that he fights with the factors in his surroundings. Therefore, “The Wars” doesn’t necessarily mean the war with the enemy but it includes the wars at home, wars against nature and wars of relationships. Which
Throughout the life of an individual most people would agree that dealing with tough conflict is an important part in growing as a person. In “The Cellist of Sarajevo” all the characters experience a brutal war that makes each of them struggle albeit in different ways. Each of them have their own anxieties and rage that eventually makes them grow as characters at the end of the book. Steven Galloway’s novel “The Cellist of Sarajevo” exemplifies that when an individual goes through a difficult circumstance they will often struggle because of the anger and fear they have manifested over time. The conflict that the individual faces will force them to reinforce and strengthen their identity in order to survive.
Many people say that the metal of a man is found in his ability to keep his ideals in spite of anything that life can through at you. If a man is found to have done these things he can be called a hero. Through a lifelong need to accept responsibility for all living things, Robert Ross defines his heroism by keeping faith with his ideals despite the betrayal, despair and tragedy he suffers throughout the course of The Wars by Timothy Findley.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that develops when an individual experiences or lives through a life-threatening event. (NIH 2010) These individuals react with intense fear, helplessness, or horror. On a daily basis, the Troops overseas live through life-threatening events. These events are why 12-30% of warfighters develop combat-related PTSD. Troops are prepared for duty but are unprepared for psychological effects of war. We can witness the effects of PTSD in American Literature. One unusual example of these impacts could be shown in the novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby is a symbol of combat-related PTSD, which he inquires during World War One(WWI) while stationed with the 17th Infantry. Throughout the novel, Gatsby is described to have many symptoms and risk factors of PTSD. Jay Gatsby’s
... horrors of war such as, his parents who still view war as glamorous and idealistic. War takes a heavy toll on soldiers who fight in it and in these dangerous moments anybody would have gone insane. It takes a very special type of soldier to be able to handle both the psychological and physical challenges that a soldier has to face in everyday battle. A soldier such as this must be capable of handling the sight of a mutilated comrade and not immediately chatter to pieces. The author conveys this message in his extreme use of words with negative connotation such as shells, typhus, dysentery, and trenches. In this portion of the novel a great deal of emphasis is placed on the word death which is repeated several times and standing on its own it holds a great deal of negative connotations. Therefore, due to the severity of the situation and the extensive use of words with negative connotations the overall tone of the novel appeared to be very depressing or serious. This selection also demonstrates just how mythical the character of war that many individuals who have not experienced the tragedy of battle believe to be true by illustrating just how appalling and grim war is in reality.
The Wars by Timothy Findley is a novel about the horrific tragedies of World War I and how tragedies and traumatic events can have an impact on a person’s life. In this specific case, the life of a Canadian soldier, Robert Ross.
War is an inevitable struggle that humanity constantly faces. It is best described by the words of Bertrand Russell, an English philosopher; “War does not determine who is right - only who is left.” There are many consequences of war, such as economic, developmental and security: however an important one is humanitarian, more specifically, the psychological effect that war and violence impacts on the population. In most literature, the protagonist in a war event is often depicted as an older individual, one who is in their adult years, and their journey through the event. Nevertheless in Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief both of the protagonists are both considerably younger than
War has corrupted societies and minds alike since the beginning of time. It has managed to instill the fear of death in the thoughts of those who have fought or those whose lands were fought upon. This causes PTSD, haunting the lives of the individual’s affected by the war. Post-traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] can be caused by isolationism, having disturbing experiences from their past, or by lasting trauma from incidents which imprint themselves upon the minds of those unlucky individuals. Ken Kesey discussed how the narrator, Chief Bromden, suffered not only because he fought in a war, but also because of uncommon traumatic experiences throughout his life that revolved around his father, and the lack of power he had. The lack of power his
Why the character is feeling what he is feeling in War is made very clear and is easier to follow. War’s character explains what the problem is and takes the reader on the journey with him. “I thought that maybe if i stayed hidden for long enough, then he wouldn’t join the army.”
War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sadly, some resort to suicide to escape their insecurities. Soldiers, however, are not the only ones affected by wars; family members also experience mental hardships when their loved ones are sent to war. Timothy Findley accurately portrays the detrimental effects wars have on individuals in his masterpiece The Wars.
Timothy Findley Creates a fictional world through his novels, where readers can relate to the situations and characters. The protagonists that Findley creates are often similar and connected to the hardships that they eventually encounter and defeat or that which they are defeated by. Findley takes his readers back in time to the First World War, displaying his knowledge of history and research, where the hardships of a young soldier’s battles internally and externally are brought to the reader’s attention in his historical-fiction novel The Wars. Findley writes about the reality and absurdity of the First World War, and takes the reader’s on a journey through the active reading process to find what is “sane” and “Insane” throughout the duration of the novel. Following the journey of the protagonist, Robert Ross as he enlists in the Canadian Army after the death of his sister Rowena, and undoubtedly is the turning point of the text and ideally where Findley initiates the active reading process, and where the contents placed in the story by Findley, are analyzed and opinionated based on the reader’s perception and subjectivity of truth. Essayist Anne Reynolds writes “ Findley manages, through technical prowess, to combine Hemingway-like choices of clear moment searing horror and truth at the battlefront with scenes depicting the effects of war on the families and lovers of the soldiers.” (Reynolds, 4) According to Reynolds Findley has been able to display the absurdity and affect that not only the First World War has caused but the ludicrousness war in general has caused the families of soldiers, and society as a whole. Using the literary theory of deconstruction many aspects and scenarios in The Wars can be analyzed, as Fin...
"A picture is worth a thousand words," we say. From the eyes and mind of the archivist studying the pictures of Robert Ross' experience with war, they are worth a lot more. The photographs in the epilogue of Timothy Findley's "The Wars" play an important role in Findley establishing both a trust with the reader, and a sense of realism to his war story. This satisfies the need for realism in his tale. The result of this image that is brought forth through the medium of the photograph, is that we are forced to see the "before" and "after" of Roberts "experience" and figure out our way through what is deposited in between: the cause and effect.
...ust deal with similar pains. Through the authors of these stories, we gain a better sense of what soldiers go through and the connection war has on the psyche of these men. While it is true, and known, that the Vietnam War was bloody and many soldiers died in vain, it is often forgotten what occurred to those who returned home. We overlook what became of those men and of the pain they, and their families, were left coping with. Some were left with physical scars, a constant reminder of a horrible time in their lives, while some were left with emotional, and mental, scarring. The universal fact found in all soldiers is the dramatic transformation they all undergo. No longer do any of these men have a chance to create their own identity, or continue with the aspirations they once held as young men. They become, and will forever be, soldiers of the Vietnam War.