Map of WWI in 1918

Click on picture to View Larger

This is a map of the battles and conflicts in WWI, in which Robert is encountering. Robert is engaged in the Battle of Ypres, located in Belgium at the top of the red line on the map. The red line indicates where the trench warfare took place and the furthest advancement of the German Army. This is a nice visual of WWI that I thought was important to share to go even further into the setting of the novel and where the actual setting of WWI took place.

Stay tuned for another blog "Canada's Involvement in WWI" where I will further investigate into the battles of WWI to fully understand the hardships that Robert had to endure in this war.

Developing Themes

There are some major themes that are in the developing stages so far in the novel. A few that I noticed were Abandonment, Isolation, and Death. These three themes similarly coincide with another in the plot, in which they deal with the same outlook in The Wars. Abandonment and Isolation are developing in part 2 of the novel where the basis of war is starting to unfold against the Germans in France.

“The fog was full of noises. They were ill defined and had no perimeter. Distance had been swallowed whole” (Findley 73)

In this particular instance, Robert was in charge of his own convoy and had leaded them into the wrong direction, in which they were technically lost. They were in the centre of the hind end of the battlefield. The whole convoy had an urgency of scarcity of the unknown. As the fog filled in the setting, their whole perception of distance and space was lost. There was a tendency of isolation occurring in the fog, as to they have been left behind. Luckily it was only for a short while, since Robert navigated the convoy to the trenches. I will be watching this theme as I read along further into the novel because I have a prediction where along the line, isolation and abandonment may play a key role in Robert’s time in the war.

The use of Fog in this instance, really portrays the
theme of isolation in the quote above.

Another theme that is bluntly obvious in the novel is the theme of death. Death has surrounded a majority of the book and has created many tensions and decisions because of it. Death is evidently a key role in The Wars knowing that it is revolved much so around Robert. Many of Robert’s loved ones have died so far into the book and the war has barely commenced. Rowena, Harris, and the relationship with his mother are just naming a few. Death is greatly revolved around this book in the sense of insanity may play a role because of death later on in the novel. Rowena passed away early in the book, which thrived Robert to join the army. In the war, Robert’s best friend, Harris, contracted pneumonia and ended up dying in the hospital. He then was involved in the scattering of the ashes of Harris in the Greenwich River. Robert has been through so much death in the war so far with the death of his friends, family, and war colleagues, not to mention all of the animal slaughtering. Death plays a crucial role in the novel so far, basing that off the fact that so much death has occurred in such a short time span. My predictions are that the theme of death is going to be a part of the novel throughout the entire war, which is going to lead to many complications and other theme developments later on as I read further into the adventures of Robert Ross in WWI.

Part 2 Summary



Death plays a crutial role in The Wars,
whether it be a person or an animal. There
are already so many instances
of death in this book so far.

Middle of the war. France. During the battle of Ypres. Robert is now in charge of his own convoy whose objective is to reach the trench main front. Robert describes the war scene as mud, death, and horrible sights. On route to the front line, Robert finds himself almost drowning in mud (one of his biggest fears), after misleading his convoy out onto a dike of mud. After solely saving himself, his convoy eventually makes it to the dugout where Robert finds Devlin, Bonnycastle, and a visitor named Rodwell. Rodwell is a different type of man who has a collection of injured animals that he cares for. He has birds, toads, rabbits, and even a hedgehog. The animals agonizingly reminded Robert of Rowena and the rabbits who she once cared for. Robert began to share a respect for Rodwell for the fact of his care of animals.

This is a wooden cremation urn,
in which Robert recieved after the
death of Harris. Death plays an important
role in this book and an urn is a great
symbolic meaning for death.

During Robert’s time of leave from the war, he went to visit Harris everyday in the hospital. Harris contracted bronchitis and was deathly ill. Harris ended up passing away days before Robert was scheduled back to France. Robert insisted for a proper burial of his friend, but discovered there after that he was cremated. There was a transcript of Lady Juliet d’Orsey that explained how Robert, Taffler and d’Orsey spread Harris’ ashes into the Greenwich River. The next best place besides the sea, which actually meant something to Harris.

Part two ends with the second half of the battle beginning. A line of land mines were set off near Robert’s dugout, followed by infamous gun shots in the distance.

“This was the beginning of the second phase of a battle the Canadians had thought was already over. But it was to rage for five more days. In it 30 000 men would die and not an inch of ground would be won.” (Findley 106)

This was seriously how pointless this war was. Hundreds of thousands of men died in this war for almost no gain or purpose. Stay tuned for a later blog about Canada’s involvement in WWI, which will elaborate on one of most senseless wars in history, WWI.

Part 1 Summary

The first part of this novel introduces the background of Robert and his family. Character development is key in this part of the storyline. After the death of Robert’s sister, Rowena, Robert felt guilty that he could not have stopped the tragic event from happening. He enlisted into the Canadian Armed Forces after Mrs. Ross and he mauled over a feud over the death in their family. Robert had a great relationship with Rowena, acting like her guardian. When she died, Robert felt remorsefully guilty because he was not there to stop her from falling out of her wheelchair. Instead, Robert was confined to his room where he was making love to his pillows. Rowena cared for over 10 rabbits before she passed away, and since no one else was responsible for them Mrs. Ross wanted Robert to kill the defenseless animals, in which he refused to do. Robert’s mother then resulted in calling Teddy Budge, a man with no remorse, to proceed with the assassination of the rabbits. In an attempt to save the rabbits, Robert was beaten by Teddy Budge and the slaughter was completed.

Robert joined the army. In training camp, Robert met a war hero, Eugene Taffler, while searching for lost horses. Taffler was a very large, strong man who was shattering bottles with rocks, while his dog sat alongside him.

A 6-shooter gun. Similar to the one Robert
owns and used to put the horse out of its misery

The book then describes Robert’s life on a boat, the S.S. Massanabie, on route to England. Illness and disease was airbourne throughout the voyage. Privacy and space was hard to come by in this boat. Robert was assigned to care for horses in the infirmary during the trip. On the voyage, Robert made his closest friend that he would ever in the army. His name was Harris and he contracted a bad case of pneumonia, which later got him reassigned to the hospital in England. One night, during a storm, one of the horses broke their leg and Robert was commanded to put it out of its misery. Robert had to go against his morals and love of animals to put the horse out of its pain. He struggled. It took Robert six shots to finally put the beast to rest, which scarred him mentally and emotionally and the war hasn’t even begun for Robert.

Characters in The Wars

Robert Ross:  Robert is the protagonist of the novel. He is currently 19 years of age when he enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1916 in WWI. He is a very honourable and passionate man, who most say is also handsome. Early in the novel, Robert lost his dear older sister, Rowena, which resulted in Robert feeling guilty and pushed him forward to join the army. Robert shows traits of weakness when he could not slaughter Rowena’s rabbits and also when Robert could barely kill an injured horse. Robert just wasn’t a killer and had a respect for animals of all kinds. Robert has a good personality filled with trust, care, and determination.

Rowena Ross: Rowena was Robert’s older sister. She died at the age of 25 when she fell out of her wheelchair in their barn. She was suffering with a condition of hydrocephalic, water in the brain at birth. Rowena was an adult but because of her condition acted as more of a child than anything. Robert treated himself as he was a guardian of Rowena and when she died, he felt guilt and remorse for not being there to prevent her death. She cared for over ten rabbits that were slaughtered thereafter her death, under no consent of Robert.

Mr. Ross: Thomas Ross is the father of Robert and his siblings. He was the more loving parent in the family and was less strict on his children that Mrs Ross was. He tried to help out Robert as much as he could when he enrolled in the army, sending him clothing, boots, and even a COLT 6-shooter.

Mrs. Ross: Margaret Ross is the mother to Robert and his siblings. She has problems with relationships with the people in her family. As stated in an earlier blog, she and Robert have a broken relationship that really seizes to exist. The reasoning to this relationship is stated in an earlier post called “Mother/Son Relationships”. Mrs Ross is an alcoholic and it really shoed after the death of Rowena. She has a hard time sustain relationships and is a very strict, unloving parent.

Stuart Ross: Brother of Robert. Stuart was held responsible for the death of Rowena because he was not watching her when she fell out of her wheelchair.

Peggy Ross: Robert’s little sister, at a young age.

Teddy Budge: A man with no remorse, hired to slaughter Rowena’s rabbits.

Marian Turner: Marian was a nurse during WWI. She is introduced through transcripts and interviews throughout the book, talking about Robert Ross and the war.

Eugene Taffler: A war hero in the novel. He is introduced in the beginning of the book of having perfect accuracy and strength of a soldier, displaying it by exploding bottles with rocks. He had a relationship with Barbara d’Orsey.

Harris: Harris was one of Robert’s closest companions in the war, meeting in the ship’s barn. Harris was contracted with pneumonia and Robert cared for him in the hospital until his death. After his death, Robert spread his ashes in the Greenwich River.

Lady Juliet d’Orsey: Juliet is introduced in the novel when she gives a transcript of the early years and that she adored Robert at a young age.

Barbara d’Orsey: She is Juliet’s older sister. She went through many men and easily gained and lost love. She seems to have a liking to Robert in the novel so far, because she would always stare at him when she and Taffler went to visit their war friend, Jamie.

Critical Article #3

In this article, Barbara Gabriel accuses Timothy Findley of being fascist and using intertextuality in many of his novels based on history. This article has a  very critical view on Findley’s work and how Findley is trying to prove his nation right though the use of his books. She accuses Findley of using fascism in his novels in the 20^th century and how he links this with a whole structure of domination and masculinity in our culture. She finds that Findley uses the themes of war and history in his novels and through those themes he portrays fascism to the North American society. Gabriel goes on to talk about how Findley has many references throughout his pieces of works that he uses for his own narrations. Gabriel faults him of using intertextual references in his works of which he uses other writings and texts for reference for his own novels. She critiques Findley very much so in this article about being fascist in his works and using other texts for his personal references. It is noted that Findley is credited for his successive fiction novels and that Findley can portray his obsessive concerns within his books without awareness of this from his readers.

Gabriel, Barbara. "Situated history and the novels of Timothy Findley." Essays on Canadian Writing. 01 Apr. 1999: 122. eLibrary. Web. 07 Oct. 2011.

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_canada&resultid=1&edition=&ts=5395D1296480ED5749E365362F4003EE_1318626787684&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn%3Abigchalk%3AUS%3BBCLib%3Bdocument%3B29526329

Critical Article #2

Timothy Findley structured his novel The Wars with a photographic technique which is a very complex style of writing to accomplish for an author. The style of his photo-narration seems as if the reader is within these moments of history through his visual structure and imagery of the novel and setting. Findley does an outstanding job of telling the novel in such a way that the reader feels a part of the events. He describes the setting and the atmosphere as you were the narrator looking down on these events that occurred. As touched on by Hulcoop, photography is what revolves the storyline around in the book. Hulcoop mentioned this type of style of writing, but didn’t really grasp the full concept of photography as the centerpiece of which this article will go in depth about.

Findley's style of writing symbolizes this picture,
showing that his words are so intensely descriptive,
it's like you are looking at a photograph.
(In this case a window into his story)

The photographic style and the use of a narrator that Findley uses in this book has the most impact on the reader and their focus on not only the events and setting of the novel, but on Robert Ross himself and his personality traits and the essence of his mind. David Williams then elaborates on Findley’s styles of writings and how the images display history throughout time. He uses photographic images to display and to create this setting in the book. Photographic imagery set up a very good establishment of distance and time throughout the book in Robert’s abandonment and the tension between the distances from the public to his isolation in the war. Williams then discusses how photography compares to the themes of the book and how they aid the development of these themes. Findley’s imagery really puts an emphasis on the themes of abandonment, death, and danger of war throughout the novel. The imagery of being alone and of the possibility of death and portraying death in the war sticks out because of this technique.

“Although film has likely done more than still-photography to produce shock in its "techniques of rapid cutting, multiple camera angles, [and] instantaneous shifts in time and place," Benjamin argues in On Some Motifs in Baudelaire," "the 'snapping' of the photographer has had the greatest consequences. A touch of the finger now sufficed to fix an event for an unlimited period of time.” (Williams)

This quote sums up the whole argument of this article. Through the use of photographic imagery in Findley’s works, he can speak out to the reader and really take their focus into the writing and into the setting of the story. He creates a sort of relationship with his words of imagery to get a feel for being in the book and witnessing the events first hand. Because Findley is so great at what he can do with these different styles, this is why he is noted for being one of the best in the business.

Williams, David. "A Force of Interruption: The Photography of History in Timothy Findle'ys The Wars."Issue 194 Autumn 2007. pp.54. eLibrary. Database. 6 Oct 2011.

http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/document?set=literature&groupid=3&requestid=literature&resultid=1&urn=urn%3Aproquest%3AUS%3BCH%3Bpqllit_crit_lib%3Bcriticism%3B1412128791%3B

Critical Article #1

This article discusses Timothy Findley’s many works and examines the text of his many book titles. I will solely be focusing on The Wars, because the other information is irrelevant to the subject.

Hulcoop refers to The Wars, as a very intimate book where Findley addresses the reader directly and making it seem as though the reader plays the role equivalent to the narrator. The book compels the reader’s attention to the aspect of the narrator. Through the use of this technique, Findley uses great imagery throughout the book to get the aspect of the reader being able to be in the narrator’s perspective. There is a great deal of imagery in this book of fiery images as well as the four elements, water, earth, fire, and air. Hulcoop refers Findley’s imagery to an “imaginary photograph” which really goes to show the great deal of imagery throughout the novel. There are many references to photographs talking about the many events that occurred and how the reader can portray the images through photographs. Photographs of Robert in the army, ones of war, the battle of Ypres, death, ones of Robert and Rowena, etc. The novel is portrayed through photographs meaning the imagery is so intense in the book; it seems like the reader in looking at photographs.

Many themes are associated with this novel and of war in general in this storyline such as abandonment, the elements, and death. The aspect of fire comes up again in all of these themes in different ways, but it seems “fire” is the whole of what all the themes revolve around. Hulcoop goes on about the use of Findley’s imagination in all his pieces of writing and how it enhances the presence of the narrator in this piece. He contrasts his perspective of this novel through the narrator, allowing him to do so by his technique of imagination as if the reader is actually in the narrator’s position, seeing the plot in their own eyes. This technique allows Findley to have a relationship with the reader through the narrator, telling of the plot.

Although Findley does an amazing job of the telling of The Wars, many historians critique Findley for disguising his fiction stories as actual historical documents. Findley did use specific examples of WWI in this novel, but he portrays this storyline as an actual account of a person telling of their story in the war. There are many critical reviews of the such as above, but it is arguable that Findley does show that his novels are fiction through the narrator and the point of view the book has established. There are many mixed feelings about the historical aspect of The Wars, but Findley pushed his style of writing to the limit with this book. The way he draws the attention of the reader to the events of the book through the use of the narrator is astounding while still achieving the intensity of moods, emotions and the mind. Hulcoop’s main message of this archive is that despite all the criticism of early fiction in society, styles of writing like those of Timothy Findley should not be forgotten and should be paid more attention to because these classic  styles would not resemble modern literature as we see it today.

John F. Hulcoop, "'LOOK! LISTEN! MARK MY WORDS!': Paying Attention to Timothy Findley's Fictions," in Canadian Literature, No. 91, Winter, 1981, pp. 22-47. Reproduced by permission

<http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&h=CLC0184DOC01690&c=1&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Timothy+Findley

Survey of Authors & Secondary Sources

Author: Timothy Findley

Title: The Wars

I found myself interested in Timothy Findley as soon as I picked up The Wars.  This author is different in the way of how he writes his novels and what he writes about. I typically only read books that connect to me in some way and this novel has with the aspect of war and mental illness. I heard many good reviews about this author and after some research, found myself even more interested in him. According to this research, Findley has a very unique style of writing that I have noticed after reading Part 1 of his novel. I was interested in Findley since day one of reading The Wars and hopefully won’t be disappointed by the buildup of the achievements of this author so far. 

Timothy Findley
1930-2002

Timothy Findley was born in Toronto, Ontario and was always intrigued by literature and the arts. At a young age Findley was surrounded by distress and sorrow after a sibling past away and his father abandoning him at a time of need to join the Canadian Armed Forces. This memory at such a young age may account for the styles of writing that Findley has pursued in as a career. Findley never finished high school, but instead pursued his dream in acting. Years after Findley started acting; he began to write short stories that progressed to his writing career today. In addition to his novel writing, he also wrote scripts, plays, and the occasional fiction novel. Findley has received many awards over the span of his career in writing such as the Governor General’s Award for the novel The Wars. Findley is a well renowned author in North America and in Europe and has touched many people lives with his exceptionally written books.

Findley has produced dozens of novels and scripts over his career with many different genres and themes of interest. The types of genres that Findley writes consist of novels, fiction, screenplays, short stories, nonfiction, etc. Findley has a wide variety of published works starting from 1967 to 1995. Findley’s major works are The Wars, which I am currently reading, Famous Last Words, The Butterfly Plague, etc. Most of his stories follow the same concept of themes of war and insanity of the mind.

Findley has a very unique style of writing in his novels in where a major influence of this style is portrayed through his childhood. As stated above, Findley’s childhood was filled with despair and sorrow in the passing of his sibling and the abandonment of his father at a time of need. His father joined the Canadian Armed Forces, which also could have influence on why he wrote so many books about war and mental illness of war on the mind. I believe that Findley’s childhood was the foundation of the style of writing that he chose to portray to the North American audience. Findley chose a good time period to write many of these war books because WWI and WWII had just ended and people were intrigued in that time period about the unknowns of war and also the effects of it and history fanatics now-a-days as well. There is a large audience that deals with these styles of books I believe Findley captured that outlook of war with his many writings.

Trench Warfare

There are many reoccurring themes that come up in Timothy Findley’s novels. Findley’s works naturally centers out on the past of history, isolation, war, madness, and authority. The Wars really focuses on, of course, war and history. Through some research I found that other themes in this novel later on in the story are isolation, murder, and the authority of one’s place in a war like situation. Findley tends to focus on historical events throughout history and the significance of animals to portray symbolism of the point of view the novel is based on.  He also uses the effect of conflicts in society and mental illness cases throughout his writing to feel for not only the story line of history, but also the whole picture of what it was like in those times and what tension of society brings to the storyline.

Timothy Findley is a well known author in North America and in Europe and has a hefty reputation for his novels. Many independent writers and the society appreciate Findley’s writing and compare him to works of those of Margaret Atwood. It is argued that Findley’s international reputation is second in Canadian authors, next to Atwood. Findley has such a distinctive style of writing that he really cannot be compared to other authors. No author has captured, in essence, what Findley has contributed to the world of literature.

Source for Literary Biography

"Timothy Findley." Gale Databases n. pag. Gale Literary Databases. Database. 6 Oct 2011. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&h=CLC0184BIO0184&c=1&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Timothy Findley.

Critical Authors, Secondary Sources

John F. Hulcoop, "'LOOK! LISTEN! MARK MY WORDS!': Paying Attention to Timothy Findley's Fictions," in Canadian Literature, No. 91, Winter, 1981, pp. 22-47. Reproduced by permission. <http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/GLD/hits?r=d&origSearch=true&o=DataType&n=10&l=d&h=CLC0184DOC01690&c=1&locID=stc23378&secondary=false&u=CLC&t=KW&s=3&NA=Timothy+Findley

Williams, David. "A Force of Interruption: The Photography of History in Timothy Findle'ys The Wars."Issue 194 Autumn 2007. pp.54. eLibrary. Database. 6 Oct 2011. <http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/document?set=literature&groupid=3&requestid=literature&resultid=1&urn=urn:proquest:US;CH;pqllit_crit_lib;criticism;1412128791;

 Gabriel, Barbara. "Situated history and the novels of Timothy Findley." Essays on Canadian Writing. 01 Apr. 1999: 122. eLibrary. Web. 07 Oct. 2011. <http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/document?set=search&dictionaryClick=&secondaryNav=&groupid=1&requestid=lib_canada&resultid=18&edition=&ts=7EA6E2C7B223EF723DA17A2685DC76BB_1317998743836&start=1&publicationId=&urn=urn:bigchalk:US;BCLib;document;29526329>.

Significance of Rabbits

Rowena had a love and passion for her dozen or so rabbits. She cared for them every day; Robert and she would take them out to the grass every day after Robert’s exercises and let them graze on the grass. Before Rowena passed away, Robert and her had a conversation as follows:

‘Robert?’

‘Yes, Rowena?’

‘Will you stay with me forever?’

‘Yes, Rowena?’

‘Can the rabbits stay forever, too?’

‘Yes, Rowena?’ (Findley 18)

This was a crucial conversation between Robert and Rowena before she passed because of the events that occurred afterwards. Robert promised that nothing would happen to her rabbits and more specifically herself.  The rabbits were the only thing Robert had left of Rowena. Robert’s life was revolved around Rowena, caring for her and always being there for her. The rabbits symbolized what was left of Rowena for Robert and the events that happened really separated that bond between them.

The fact that Mrs. Ross wanted Robert to kill the rabbits only days after her death really set his emotions apart from his family. Since Robert refused to kill the only thing left of Rowena, in which he promised nothing would happen to them, they hired a man with no remorse named Teddy Budge to assassinate the rabbits. I believe Robert’s mother proceeded with this deed too early after the death and this is why Robert snapped and joined the army without goodbyes the next day.

A good point is brought up by a former student of this project by the name of Brett Perry. His reflections on this incident was that Robert’s mother was trying to prepare him for the Canadian Forces and killing rabbits would be a stepping stone for his transformation to becoming a soldier. Instead of trying to make him a cold blooded killer prepared for warfare, she just made a mess out of a big hearted, passionate young man. (Perry) I didn’t even think of this perspective in my mind. I thought his mother was just doing this to show authority over Robert along with her mental illness of alcoholism. She seems as the person who would discourage a relationship that has been buried already and thinks it’s hopeless to keep someone alive in your memories after their death. It puts a new thought into my mind of the storyline and definitely benefits me in reading this selection of his blog.

Mother/Son Relationships

           In a typical household in Canada, there is a definite bond between mother and son. Although, sometimes this bond may slowly drift apart with age, there is always some kind of connection between mother and son under any circumstance. In The Wars, this typical mother/son relationship seizes to exist. Throughout the first quarter of the novel, you get a good feel for Robert’s family and how one another is bonded to him. Robert’s mother seems to be an alcoholic and that factor really separates her from her children. It seems that at a younger age, Robert did have a close relationship with his mother, but as he grew older and many new factors come into play, he drifted from her companionship. There is a love/hate relationship floating amongst Robert and his mother. The catalyst of the turning point in their relationship was when Rowena died. Rowena was closest to Robert, almost like a father to her. He was always by her side and when she died, Robert was a mess. Robert was mourning Rowena's death and at the same time, his mother was very hard on him and pushed Robert away and to his limits where he couldn’t handle her anymore. Their relationship kind of ended at this point of the novel. His mother was harsh on him at his time of mourning and tried to make him kill Rowena’s rabbits. Of course, Robert did not proceed with the deed, and his mother hired a man to kill them, which even made Robert more angry and frustrated. Mrs. Ross took it to the final level where she made critical remarks of the death in their family by saying such things like,

“Funny, she said, how most people fall down and nothing happens. Some people bruise like apples. But most people – nothing! Yes. While others die “(Findley 23)

This remark reminded Robert of how Rowena died and how soon it was too. She had died only days prior and his mother said such remarks of distaste and ignorance. Robert’s mother pushed him to the last straw and the next day, before everyone woke, Robert left and enrolled in the army without even saying goodbye. What was left of the little relationship Robert did have with his mother, is now shattered and left behind in memories. My predictions for later on in the book are that Robert will rejoice with his mother after the war and hopefully will forgive each other for the sake of the family. Robert probably had a fair relationship with his mother, but because of her alcohol problem and these circumstances, crushed whatever was left of it.  

This picture above me shows the Mother throwing the relationship in the garbage, which in this case it's true. It depends on how you look at it. Robert could be throwing the relation out because he left for the army without settling the problem. On the other hand, it could easily be Mrs. Ross' fault for pushing and being hurtful to Robert. Just something to ponder on.

So Far... Main Events

There are many key events that have occurred so far in the first 18 chapters. I thought they were pretty important to share by which they have drastically changed the novel and the outlook of Robert Ross in his home life and in the war. Here is an update of main concepts in the novel so far:

·       There is defined character development of Robert Ross and his ties with his family. Robert is portrayed as a gentle, loving, caring person in these first dozen chapters. He is very loving for his disabled sister Rowena, who has hydrocephalics as well as for the rest of his family. I will touch on later in a blog about Roberts’s relationship with his mother.

·        “She died on the Monday, never regaining consciousness” (Findley 17) This quote refers to the death of Rowena. She was ten at the time and playing with her beloved rabbits on the concrete floor of the barn. Robert’s little brother, Stuart, was supposed to be watching her when she fell out of her wheelchair and later on died. Robert felt guilty of the whole thing and blamed himself for not being there to catch her in her final minutes. Robert was crushed and couldn’t get over the death in their family for a long time.

·        Robert ended up joining the army on April 2^nd, 1915. The main reasons why he joined were because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his family in the army, as well as because of the death of Rowena. The major reason why he admitted to the army was to escape from his mother and show his dominance and significance of that point. Again, I will touch on this later on in another blog in more depth about the relationships of Robert and his mother and how Mrs. Ross basically thrived Robert to join the army without even saying goodbye.



Keep in touch for more posts on the way
 of the intriguing book “The Wars”

·        While in the army so far, Robert has not done anything too significant in the portrayal of “war” but has connected with animals throughout the entire novel so far. There are many incidences that deal with animals and Robert in the book and foreshadows that there is going to be many more times where animals come into play in this novel. There are at least 5 times where I can give you examples of animals bonding to Robert so far and I think there will only be more examples on the way.

The novel is turning out to be a great read so far. I would have thought it would be more about war, but realistically, so far I have only learned about Robert and his family and his admittance into the army. I’m sure there will be more about war later on it the next couple parts of the book, and I can not wait.

Book Choice: The Wars

The Wars

By: Timothy Findley

The Wars was originally published in 1977 by The Penguin Group. The edition of the book that I selected was published in 2005. The Wars has around 198 pages, give or take a few because of publications.

I chose this book because it not only deals with the history and brutality of WWI in Canada, but also the psychological  aspect of war and how it effects one’s mind after being through the ordeals of war. I have also heard many good remarks of Timothy Findley and his writing which also urged me to choose this book.

After reading the prologue and a few chapters of this novel, I really enjoyed the beginning to the story line. During the first few chapters, the book goes through an overview of life in 1915 and how it radically changed when the First World War was in the creating through the use of flipping through photographs to get a sense of the setting and mood of Canada at this time. The beginning of the book also touches on the protagonist of the story of Robert Ross, a Canadian boy who ends up leaving for war.

As touched on before, the book really introduced the setting of Canada at the breakout of WWI and the mood drastically changing from a jolly setting to a strict and tenser situation through the use of photographs.  It seems the first chapter of the book is a flashback of Robert Ross’ memory of a horrible incident of a fire. Also in this flashback it tells of how Robert united with a horse and a dog to save livestock and over 130 horses from an abandoned train wreck. The character of Robert Ross is starting to develop more and more through the progression of the book and the telling of his family is also coming together.

Some themes that are starting to develop throughout the book are heroism and manhood. This is predicted to be two main themes in this story because of Robert Ross and the encounters that may come up in war where these themes must be used for survival. Other themes that came up in the book so far are the themes of fire and animal relationships from the flashback in the prologue to the story. Robert Ross shows relationships to a horse and dog in the prologue and the theme of fire comes up in this flashback of a house burning in front of him and unable to do anything about it.

I haven’t yet found an actual secondary source from a scholar based website, but from the research I did accomplish on the book, I was able to find interesting facts. This book deals very much so with the aspect of life or death and the relationship between Ross and animals throughout the story. I didn’t want to spoil the book, so I really didn’t research in depth too much about the storyline of the book. I didn’t want to ruin the story for myself that many people have said to be a very well written book. There is a website that deals with all this information that I have found that talks about Timothy Findley as an author and his accomplishments. The website is posted below. Click Here: 

“See what I mean? You have to be awfully careful how you define the extraordinary. Especially nowadays. Robert Ross was no Hitler. That was his problem.” (Findley 13)

This quotation really stood out to me as a reader of the book. This line is so powerful to the overview of the storyline. It foreshadows a huge part of the novel is its simplicity. This line speaks out to me that at one point of the book or even throughout it, many conflicts may come up in a life or death situation where Robert Ross won’t have the same mentality as a leader of such like Hitler, although it does say he is a hero. This line could be foreshadowing a large portion of the book or maybe not. I’m just glad I’ll be able to read to find out.

The Wars is only about 200 pages long. So I expect myself to read about 50-75 pages a week to finish the book within three weeks or so, depending on how much I enjoy reading this book and how I get involved into the storyline.