Animal Imagery In Timothy Findley's The Wars

1811 Words4 Pages

Animal Imagery In Timothy Findley's The Wars

Works Cited Missing

The abundant animal imagery in Timothy Findley's book The Wars is used to develop characterization and theme. The protagonist, Robert Ross, has a deep connection with animals that reflects his personality and the situations that he faces. This link between Robert and the animals shows the reader that human nature is not much different than animal nature.

The animals in this story are closely related to the characters, especially the character of Robert. Rodwell acknowledges Robert's close union with animals when he draws Robert in his sketchbook as "the only human form" among sketches of animals (155). When Robert sees the drawing, he notices that "the shading [is] not quite human"; it is a combination of animal and human qualities, like Robert's own personality (155). "Modified and mutated, he [is] one with the others" (155). Rodwell's sketchbook reveals the melding of Robert with the animal world.

Robert's encounter with the coyote is a significant step in his understanding of animals and, in turn, this leads to a greater understanding of himself. For Robert to be a soldier, it is important for him to see the point of view of a hunter. He learns from the coyote that a hunter must be generous and kill only in order to survive ("Animals and Their Significance" 1). Robert follows the coyote and watches as it passes two gophers and does not even "pause to scuffle the burrows or even sniff at them. It just [goes] right on trotting--forward towards its goal" (26). The coyote seems to sense Robert's connection with animals and realizes that he is not a threat. This is why the coyote continues to let Robert follow behind when it knows he is there. They drink together at the river, enjoying a "special communion" (Pirie 73). Then the animal tries to communicate with Robert by barking at him, "telling Robert the valley [is] vacant: safe" and then barks another three times to announce its departure (28). When Robert returns to the base, he pays the price for his time with the coyote and is confined to the barracks, but the experience has a profound impact on him. In his confinement, he feels as if the coyote has become a part of him, and he wishes "that someone would howl" (28).

Robert also has a special relationship with horses. When he is on the ship, it is the horses that are "his tr...

... middle of paper ...

...aks of the sea. According to Harris, the sea is the element that bonds humans and animals together. He explains:

Everyone who's born has come from the sea. Your mother's womb is just a sea in small. And birds come of seas in eggs. Horses lie in the sea before they're born. The placenta is the sea. And your blood is the sea continued in your veins. We are the ocean--walking on the land. (117)

Robert does not agree with Harris' idea that humans evolved from animals, "he believe[s] that everything [is] as it [is]" and that "we were always men" (116). It is somewhat of a paradox that he takes this point of view considering that his link with animals is unusually strong. The notion that all living creatures are connected by the sea explains the close relationship between humans and animals in this novel.

Findley uses animal imagery in The Wars as a powerful method of revealing important aspects of personality in the protagonist and other characters. He weaves the characteristics of Robert and those of the animals he encounters in the story. This animal imagery and the character development of Robert is used to express the story's theme of humanity's similarity to animals.

Open Document