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.