Afterthoughts of The Wars

All in all, I found The Wars to be one of the most interesting war books I have ever read. In all honesty, I don’t normally read much literature unless I am forced to for an assignment, for say, like this one, but seriously this book is intriguing to the audience in so many ways. At first I thought this novel was going to be about blood and war, hence why I chose the book. But when you actually get down to the core of the novel, you really see much a more spectacular message sent within the novel. Findley not only shows the physical aspect to war, but also the mental aspect and what the war does to a person psychologically. As you read further into the book, you begin to learn about the main character Robert Ross and his morals and values he abides by. As his character develops further into the war, the reader can analyze the changes that Robert has gone through because of the war. This novel portrays that fact that war changes a soldier in many ways to the point of insanity through its many different conditions and difficulties. There are many themes that come up throughout this book. A few themes that I would consider mentioning are insanity, corruption of power, isolation, abandonment, and manliness. The major theme that is focused on primarily throughout the novel is insanity of a soldier, which is the reasoning why I drew into the depths of insanity in this blog.

The main message I found from the novel was that war in unethical. War is a very serious subject that is argued to be a leading cause of insanity in a soldier’s mind. All of the factors of war and the conditions a soldier must endure throughout WWI take a toll on a soldier’s mentality to the point of madness. Through the use of many literary devices (Stated in earlier blogs), Timothy Findley is able to convey the theme of insanity portrayed through the effects the war has on the mentality of a soldier’s mind. Timothy Findley does an outstanding job of not only portraying the physical aspects of war on a soldier, but as well the mental aspects. War is perceived as a bloody battle of guns and command, but the reality is that the true aspect of war is shadowed by these outer assumptions. The truth of war is displayed in this novel, winning Findley many awards for such that, showing that war is not only a physical battle, but also a battle of the mind to survive. Findley’s message about war is clear to the point where the outer battle of warfare is at equilibrium to the inner battle of warfare, dealing with the affects that war has on the mind of many conditions and factors the war has brought upon a soldier. War is not a game, and Findley made it clear that war has extreme affects on a soldier to the point of insanity, not only during battle, but after the fact as well. “The Wars is a great book, rich in its images, its language, its construction, and, ultimately, its conception.” –Guy Vanderhaeghe

Over the Edge

Here is a collaboration of the many events that pushed Robert Ross over the edge to the point of insanity, war being the culprit.

Ø  Death of Robert’s sister, Rowena

Ø  Broken Relationship of Robert and his Mother

Ø  Witnessing the killing of Rowena’s Rabbits

Ø  Killing the Horse in the Boat to England

Ø  The death of Robert’s friend, Harris

Ø  The suicide of Robert’s war colleague, Rodwell

Ø  The overall conditions of the war taking effect on Robert

Ø  The death of thousands of soldiers that Robert had to witness

Ø  Robert’s morals vs. insanity of the mind

Ø  The stressful bombing of shells

Ø  The sound of silence

Ø  The feeling of abandonment and loneliness

Ø  The final bombing where Robert tried to save 130 horses, and disobeyed Captain Leathers orders, ending up killing Leather and Private Cassles to run to safety

Ø  Witnessing Leather shooting Devlin

Ø  Overall every event that took place in the war that Robert was part of in general.

These are just a broad spectrum of what actually did it in for Robert. There were many other instances that added to the total effect that brought Robert over the edge to insanity that were not stated. The war changed Robert’s state of mind for the worse and Robert ended up going insane because of it. Because of the war, Robert went mentally mad which ended up resulted in his death.

The Essence of Living

Robert, being a soldier, fought for his life and freedom every single day of combat. Robert cherished his life, even in the hardest of times. He has been through so much in his time of enrollment in the war, experiencing conditions fit for the dead, death of many of his friends and family, and images embedded within his mind that no person should ever witness. And through all this pain and suffering, Robert struggled, but managed to survive to see a better day. Life, the essentials of life, and all things living became a delicacy to Robert, much so that he saved a carnivorous rat in the trenches explained in the next quote.

“In another hole there was a rat that was alive but trapped because of the waterlogged condition of earth that kept collapsing every time it tried to ascend the wall. Robert struck a match and caught the rat by the tail. It squealed as he lifted it over the edge and set it free. Robert wondered afterwards if setting the rat free had been a favour- but in the moment that he did it he was thinking: here is someone still alive. And the word alive was amazing.” (Findley 114)

Robert was so amazed to see life in such a dreadful place in the trenches that he felt that he had to save this existence of life. Since he was surrounded by so much death, this little bit of life thrived him forward to survive. This act of life thrust him to live through the war and cherish all the time that he was alive. Robert’s will to live shone at a time where he was offered a way out of life because he was badly injured at a hospital explained in this next quote.

“But that night- surrounded by all that dark- and all those men in pain- and the trains kept bringing us more and more and more- and the war was never, never, never going to end-that night, I thought: I am ashamed to be alive. I am ashamed of life. And I wanted to offer some way out of life- I wanted grace for Robert Ross. (…) –and I said: ‘I will help you, if you want me to.’ And I knew he understood-because he said: ‘Not yet.’ Not yet. Do you see? He might have said “No.” He might’ve said ‘never.’ He might have said “Yes.” But he said “not yet.” There, in those two words, in a nutshell- you have the essence of Robert Ross. And perhaps the essence of what it is to be alive.(Findley 194-195)

This quote proves to the reader that Robert had what it takes to live from all the suffering the war put upon him. as the last sentence of the quote said, this is what it means to be alive. After all the things Robert had been through, he still wanted to fight for his life. This shows that the war changes people, but it also shows that the war teaches one about the essence of life and to cherish what you can live for. In that, it shows the essence of life.

Imagery (Mind)

Moving on to final piece of evidence, this next quote deals with the mental aspect of imagery with the question, what if? Robert deals with many deaths in the war and it shows that it affects him mentally. To have the thought that at any time a soldier in the war could be killed is an awful scenario to think about. As awful as it may seem, soldiers must be prepared for death, and just the thought that each day could be ones last, is enough to make a person go insane.

“The back of his neck was like a board- waiting for the shot that would kill him. Everyone said you didn’t hear that shot. They said if it got you it was silent. How the hell did anyone alive know that?” (Findley 120)

To have that thought that at any moment a bullet could end your life, is a scenario Robert endured day after day, not knowing if it was going to be his last. To picture the situation and the circumstances behind that one stray bullet in one’s mind, day after day, reenactment after another of the last day of one’s life. All of these conditions swirling in a soldiers mind are enough for anyone to go mad. This quotes context is not so much of imagery within the text, but imagery that is developed in the mind from the thought of it happening. Findley used the best method of imagery in this passage, which is making the reader analyze the text and picturing the affects of what the text is conveying. This is the most powerful use of imagery without even using imagery within the passage. The imagery developed in a soldier’s mind of this situation is partially the reason for insanity of a soldier and it is not just thinking of it once because it is placed in a novel like the reader, but because soldiers deal with this unknown scarcity of death each and every day the war thrives. That is why this quote is so powerful to the imagery aspect of the novel.

Findley’s intense use of imagery helps the reader understand what soldiers in the war had to deal with and had to put up with on a daily basis. These war ridden scenes and the mental aspect of imagery within one’s mind, has an effect on the mind of soldiers to the point of insanity.

Imagery (Exterior)

Another example of imagery in the novel is on another occasion of chaos in the war. Soldiers in this war had to face this obscure battlefield each and every day along with the chaos that led towards this broken land, which took its toll on the mentality of these young soldiers. This chaotic description is used, circling around Roberts endeavors in the war, and is faced with many similar dilemmas throughout his time in the war. Robert had been engaged in many of these muddled predicaments throughout his time of war, and after time, this imagery of the scene laid upon him took effect on his mind.

“Fire storms raged along the front. Men were exploded where they stood- blown apart by combustion. Winds with the velocity of cyclones tore the guns from their emplacements and flung them about like toys. Horses fell with their bones on fire. Men went blind in the heat. Blood ran out of noses, ears, and mouths. (…) Levitt had gone quite mad and sat with his books piled up on his knees until they touched his chin.” (Findley 132-133)

The Germans had just introduced flamethrowers, a technology new to WWI, which burned soldiers alive. This passage has great imagery of soldiers literally getting blown away in the wind from the combustion of the flamethrowers. This imagery of soldiers turning to dust imbeds itself within a soldiers mind and if they were lucky to survive, scarred them of this picture in their minds. These soldiers had to endeavor the most excruciating events, which if they were even lucky to survive, had to struggle with these images no young man should ever have to encounter. These pictures of other men dying, like in this instance, stuck with each and every soldier and scarred them mentally to the point of insanity in many cases. Also, this quote has context to how this war ridden chaos affected one of the characters within this event. The quote conveys that Levitt, one of Robert’s colleagues, had gone mad because of this situation and it fundamentally got to his head with a mixture of madness and scarcity. Findley shows these devastating scenes through the use of his words and has a very powerful effect on the reader. Imagine being a soldier in these elements being faced with this every day; no wonder why so many soldiers went mad.

Imagery (Landscape)

Imagery is a very powerful asset in The Wars. Timothy Findley has a talent with his intense usage of imagery throughout the novel. His powerful imagery is able to show the chaos of war and how it affects a soldier’s mind. With his gift, Findley is able to make it seem as though the reader is looking at a photograph through his description of words. It is because of this talent that makes his novel world renowned in comparison to other history novels.

The first instant of imagery in the novel is when Robert has travelled to Magadalene Wood, where he notices the landscape of the area portrayed as,

“The country he passed through now was beautiful and utterly peaceful. The guns had not yet started their pounding, but even when they did they were so far away they seemed to be in another world. The trees were just in the process of shedding their blossoms and the roadside was littered with white and pink petals. The air was filled with the sweet, sad smell of pollen and the bees had begun to buzz. (…) The only signs of war were the ruts in the road. (…) he passed a number of deserted buildings. It was suddenly an empty landscape. Where had all the people gone? Robert felt abandoned. He had lost his pistol.” (Findley 167)

War ridden Landscape

This landscape that Robert once knew has changed a war ridden town of abandonment and emptiness. From a town of such beauty and happiness to a town of sorrow and destruction. The war changes many things throughout its time, to the landscape, to soldiers, to the whole world in most cases. For the most part I have been discussing how the war affects a soldier, but the war affects many other things like the landscape in this case. The whole area of which the war is taking place suffers greatly. It affects the citizens that live here and more importantly the soldiers that have to put up with this tolerance. Soldiers have seen these towns before and what they used to look like, compared to what has happened to them after war has taken its toll there. This greatly affects the mentality of a soldier to see this happen and the destruction that occurs. Although it affects the towns that war has taken over, it affects the soldiers as well to see this happening everywhere they go. Seeing devastating occurrences like these on a day to day basis affects the soldiers much so that many of them go into a state of depression or insanity.

Use of Foreshadowing (3)

The final use of foreshadowing that Findley used in the novel is right at the developing stages of the story. The reader is just starting to get to know Robert, and Findley throws a curve ball into the picture, when he embeds the possibility that Robert did something mad through a transcript of another person’s point of view describing Robert’s life.

“There are enmities in families that have to be foreborne. But oh… when it turns to hate. I gather he refuses to speak to you. ‘That’s right.’ ‘I don’t understand. It’s as if Robert did something evil.’ ‘Some say he did.’ ‘Some maniacs. Oh yes- I’ve heard that too.’” (Findley 98)

Through the use of another’s point of view in the novel, Findley is able to foreshadow that Robert went mentally insane throughout the war. As said in the quote, many people heard that Robert did something evil, something of that a maniac would perform. In the simplicity of this dialogue, it foreshadows a major plot structure that Robert is challenged with in the final chapters of the novel. In the end of the novel Robert does indeed go insane which leads to his death. Findley used this technique in the beginning of the book to try to get the reader thinking and to get the reader to develop parts of the novel where Robert went insane. Findley did an amazing job with this literary device, capturing the reader’s interest right at the beginning of the novel.

Through all the death and rumours laid upon Robert throughout the war, Findley foreshadowed that Robert would end up going mentally insane, in which he did and led to his death. Findley was able to show that Robert was developing insanity even at the early stages of war with hints every so often, that the reader may have picked up that led to the final actions of Robert going mad, leading to his death.

Use of Foreshadowing (2)

Another use of foreshadowing in the novel is when Robert’s war colleague dies from suicide of insanity of the mind. Robert’s war colleagues died, but this time of a different reason. This man’s name is Rodwell. He is an unthinkable man that shared a love of animals with Robert. He and Robert began to have a liking of each other which made it even worse on Robert’s mental health when he committed suicide. Robert and Rodwell became friends throughout the novel, sharing the same interests of animals and what not. When Rodwell died, it took a great effect on Robert, seeing one of his best friends committing suicide from what they have both endured over the war when the novel explains,

“Word reached Robert Saturday that Rodwell had shot himself. Apparently he’d gone ‘down the line’ and been assigned to a company who’d been in the trenches all through the fire storms without being relieved. Some of them were madmen. (…) Half an hour later, Rodwell wandered into No Man’s Land and put a bullet through his ears.” (Findley 134-135)

Robert had always showed a liking to Rodwell and when he heard the news that he had gone mad and committed suicide, he himself almost went mad. This incident foreshadows the fact that as war becomes crueler on the mind of soldiers, insanity makes its move and starts pouring into the already defenseless heads of these soldiers. This event of insanity foreshadows the emotional climax of Robert and shows emphasis of how a person that is so similar to the protagonist went mad and killed himself. There were many resemblances of Robert and Rodwell, and when Findley conveyed that a person with the same nurture went mentally insane, it gives the effect of foreshadowing that Robert will resemble the same path took by Rodwell.

Use of Foreshadowing (1)

Findley use foreshadowing in the novel to convey the theme of insanity by using events in the book to foreshadow insanity of Robert’s mind. This type of foreshadowing is mainly focused on the deaths of loved ones or war colleagues in Robert’s life. Through this literary device, Findley blames war as being the culprit of insanity in a soldiers mind. These next few posts are mainly focused on this literary device and how it portrays the theme of insanity.

 Robert is faced with many deaths throughout his duration of war right from is early teenage years. At Robert’s deployment since the war, he deals with death after and death and traumatic scene after another. These deaths take a toll on Robert’s mind and the war is only half over at this point of time. It is shown how many deaths have occurred in the war so far when the novel conveys,

“So far, you have read of the deaths of 557, 017 people—one of whom was killed by a streetcar, one of whom died of bronchitis and one of whom died in a barn with her rabbits.” (Findley 162)

All of the people in this quote symbolize someone Robert has lost in the war. The person who died of bronchitis was Robert’s war friend, Harris. Harris was admitted to the war at approximately the same time Robert was. They met in the boat to France when Harris contracted pneumonia. As it worsened, Harris succumbed bronchitis on top of his illness and was admitted to the hospital when they docked in France. Harris was Robert’s best war colleague he ever had and was with him when he passed away. This mentally trampled Robert, having his best friend die before the war even commenced. The girl in the barn with her rabbits was of course, Rowena. As said before, Rowena was Robert’s beloved sister and when she passed, edged him forward to join the army. All of the 557, 017 people who have died so far from the war, died serving their country. All these people in Robert’s life have died and it has taken a toll on him mentally, creating serious side effects that are foreshadowed on later in the novel. The words “So far” have the greatest emphasis in this quote, meaning anyone could be added to the death toll at any given time. These two words, as simple as they may seem, foreshadow significance that in the future Robert could be the next one in the crosshairs and be added to the death toll of the war. Having the feeling that at any time, someone you love could be next could be enough to make a person go insane. This is why this passage foreshadows so much in its simplicity. This quote stresses many things having to deal with death of war and how it leads to insanity.

Character Development (End of War)

Close to the end of war, the reader sees the true chaos of war in bloom and the insanity of a soldiers mind revealed. Until now, Robert has been faced with many deaths, war related and not, and has just recently been introduced to the full potential of a battle in progress. The battle that sent Robert into full fletched insanity was one of Britain’s last pushes against the Germans. A do or die operation for the Allies. Robert was in charge of delivering convoys to the front lines when they were ambushed with aerial attacks. Robert had recently been deployed with a fresh supply of horses and mules, which were becoming bomb shell fodder. Robert decided that the crucial objective would be to save the horses; mostly importantly because they would need them half an hour later after the bombing ebbed. Robert’s upper rank, Captain Leather, forbid him to flee to safety with the horses for the reason of looking cowardly in battle. Robert disputed with his Captain and ultimately chose to go against his captain’s words to save the horses. It ended up not working as planned because at the split second of freeing the horses, a bomb blew up on cue as the horses ran to safety, which ended up killing or injuring the animals explained in the next passage. Robert emitted his true insanity through his actions as,

“Captain Leather rose to his knees and began to struggle to his feet. Robert shot him between the eyes. It took him half-an-hour to kill the mules and horses. Then he tore the lapels from his uniform and left the battlefield.” (Findley 184)

Apologies for such a horrific scene,
but this is the act of what Robert
had to deal with at end of novel,
which made him snap.

Robert went against his Captains words to try to get the horses to safety and was so narrow-minded in this objective that he was uncontrollable with his actions. He ended up killing his Captain in the process of saving the animals in which they actually ended up dying anyways. He accomplished nothing and showed his true colours of insanity. War does many things to soldiers, not only physically, but more importantly, mentally. In this incident, there is controversy over the fact that Robert was displaying his love for animals by trying to save all these horses and mules. The fact that Robert was trying to save the animals shows his sign of morals being displayed, but the fact is that Robert went against his Captains words, and followed through with trying to save these creatures. His Captain bluntly said for Robert to stop from any further progression with the animals, but Robert went against his word and proceeded anyways. That disobedience shows that Robert went mentally insane.

Using Robert’s experience throughout the war, it shows that the war can change a person from being such a sensitive and passionate man, to an overpowering maniac. Using Robert’s love of animals and how he has changed from the war and killed hundreds of animals in the end of the book, compared to not even being able to kill a few rabbits before he enrolled, shows that the war had an ultimate effect on Robert’s state of mind. Many soldiers in the war end up going insane in their lifetime as Robert did and made poor decisions based on their insanity. Showing how Robert’s state of mind progressively altered from the beginning of the book, to during the war is a prime example of how the chaos of war affects the mentality of a soldier’s state of mind. By showing the character development of Robert Ross in the novel, Findley is able to convey the theme of insanity through a soldier’s mind that is influenced by the chaos of war.

Character Development (During)

During the war, Robert had to endure many experiences he had never thought of before. His life was now filled with death and conditions not fit for living. As a soldier, Robert endured many vigorous training camp exercises to ready him for overseas action. When Robert completed his training, they sent him over to France in a boat to fight in WWI. On the cargo ship Robert had the responsibly for caring for the horses along the voyage. Robert encountered another bump in the road, when he was informed a horse had broken its leg in the stable, and it was his duties to put the horse out of its misery. He was ordered from his Sergeant to go against his morals and values to kill the injured horse. Robert struggled.

“He had the gun in both hands. He pressed it hard behind the horse’s ear and swore at the horse ‘God damn it, damn it, damn it, - stop.’ His knees were wet and he drew himself into a ball and pushed with all his strength. He began to squeeze the trigger and he squeezed it again and again and again- so many times then when Sergeant- Major pulled him away the gun went right on clicking in his hands.” (Findley 60-61)

Robert had to fight against his morals and self will to put the horse out of its misery. He struggled with the task, putting him out of his comfort zone, taking him 6 shots to finally drop the horse dead. Although he struggled with the task, he obeyed his orders and fulfilled them. As Robert’s character is developing more and more, it shows that the war is starting to take its effects on Robert. Although he struggled, he actually killed a living animal; something he would have never done before joining the army. Through this incident, Findley is starting to portray the influence that the war is having on Robert by using Robert’s love of animals to show how Robert’s mentality is changing.

Character Development (Before)

These next few posts are solely based on the character development of Robert Ross before, during, and the end of war to track how the war has changed Robert mentally. The next few examples are based on the love Robert had for animals and how through the war, has changed Robert mentally. Throughout the novel, Findley focuses a great deal of effort on how the affects of war can greatly cause insanity of the mind, seen through the character development of the protagonist, Robert Ross. As the character of Robert develops throughout the novel, there are signs that show Robert’s mind is slowly taking effect to the chaos of war surrounding him, leading to the potential of insanity expressed in the end stages of the war.

Before the war, Robert grew up where he adopted many good morals and values in his childhood. He had always had a passion for animals, being surrounded by them since a small child. Everything living had a certain value of innocence to Robert and cherished living things as long as he lived. After the passing of his beloved sister Rowena, Robert felt crushed and guilty that he could not save his sister from death. He was like a guardian to her before she passed, looking after her, amusing her by playing and caring for her rabbits every afternoon. After she passed away, all that Robert had left of her was her 10 or so rabbits that they connected with. Robert’s mother insisted that the rabbits be destroyed on the same day of Rowena’s funeral. She made it clear that the deed had to be completed by Robert in her discussion with Mr. Ross.

 “The rabbits had to die- and Robert had to do it. Mister Ross was inclined to be more lenient. Surely the rabbits could be killed somewhere else, he said. Maybe the butcher would want them. No, Robert’s mother said. It must be here and he must do it. ‘Why?’ ‘BECAUSE HE LOVED HER.’” (Findley 19)

Robert, being the sensitive young man he is, refused to kill the rabbits. He would never hurt an innocent animal and more importantly kill the last of the symbolic relationship left of Rowena. This is why Mrs. Ross hired a man by the name of Teddy Bulge, a man with no remorse, to assassinate the rabbits. Robert tried to stop the proceeding, but ended up getting beaten. This quote shows Robert before the war and how passionate he was toward all living things. On the other hand, it also shows a sign of weakness in Robert, not being able to withstand his morals and kill some rabbits. Findley portrays Robert as a sensitive, passionate young man in the beginning of the novel, which as the novel progresses shows signs that the war has changed Robert’s mentality in many ways pertaining to the lives of animals.

Insanity Strikes

War, it changes people. When one thinks of war, images of battle, blood, and death appear as the main focus in one’s mind, but the aspect of what war does to a person psychologically is sheltered by these outer pigments. Although war is based on these gory images of conflict, The Wars, by Timothy Findley shows the aspect that the chaos of war really affects the mentality of a soldier’s state of mind. War has a definite effect on the mentality of a soldier, much so that many soldiers result in insanity during, or after leave of combat. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is the term where after a traumatic event, such as war, soldiers are still thriving a battle inside of them which leads to insanity of the mind. Insanity by definition is the mental illness or derangement of one’s mind caused from an incident of stress and anxiety. Timothy Findley does not only portray the physical aspects of war on a soldier, but as well the mental aspects in the novel. Findley, through the use of the character Robert Ross, portrays the effects on the mind from the chaos of war, from which Robert has a change in mindset from his time of enrollment to his act of leave and comes back a different man. Throughout the book Robert is faced with many difficult times, which in the essence, changes him from who he once was to a soldier filled with insanity. The implements of war have changed Roberts’s state of mind and are focused on primarily throughout the novel. Timothy Findley portrays the effects on the mentality of a soldier’s state of mind to the point of insanity through the chaos of war in his bestselling novel, The Wars. Findley conveys this theme through the use of character development, foreshadowing, and imagery which will be focused on in this next segment of blogs through quotes and analysis of Robert and his employment in the war.

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Controversy

In Part 5 of The Wars, there is controversy over the topic of the freeing of the horses in Chapter 8, and if Robert freed these horses out of good morals for the love of animals or from pure insanity of disobeying his Captains orders. This is a long argued discussion topic throughout this book that leads to Robert’s death because of this poor decision.

In one hand, many readers believe that Robert saved the horses out of good morals and his overall love of animals. Reading the novel, the reader gets to know Robert Ross and sees his character develop throughout the many events that take place. Robert grows up with good morals and always had a love of all things living. It is argued that Robert freed the horses out of good will and love for these defenseless animals. Many people agree with this statement, as do I, but the overall thought of did the war end up making Robert go mad, which would thrive him to do this action?

On the other hand, seeing Robert’s character develop before, during and after the war shows the reasoning to why people believe that Robert went insane and led him to this disobedience of his Captain. Before the war, Robert wouldn’t have killed anything living. Compare this to during the war and to what took place in Part 5, shows that the war changed Robert mentally to the point of insanity. Robert would have never killed an animal, and now after Robert has been through the war, he ended up killing over 150 horses and his Captain. He disobeyed his Captains orders and ended up killing him because of this. The fact that Robert has changed because of the war, shows that he went mad from the war, and leads to the overall argument that Robert went insane and led to his death.

Many readers believe that Robert killed the animals out of an act of mercy because they were suffering, but to say this was the reasoning for killing Captain Leather and Private Cassles, that excuse doesn’t seem to work. As much as the reader may like to think that Robert didn’t go mad, you have to realize that Robert wouldn’t have done these actions if it wasn’t for the war changing him mentally. Although this argument may be discussed throughout generations if Robert actually went insane, the facts lead to one answer that Robert did in fact go mad because of the war, that later led to his death.

Inner/Outer Battles

Throughout the novel, Robert is faced with many difficulties that war brings upon him. Many of these battles are inner and outer battles that are waged throughout the book. Also known as mental and physical battles, these inner and outer battles that Robert is faced with take its toll on his body, and more importantly his mentality.

Dealing with outer battles first, Robert has endeavored many physical clashes throughout the novel. Whether it is sleep deprivation or lack of nourishment, these physical factors add up and take its toll on Robert.

“Robert had only taken eight hours’ sleep in the last three. He was living on chocolate bars and tea and generous portions of rum which he took from the supply wagons. His body was completely numb and his mind had shrunk to a small, protective shell in which he hoarded the barest essentials for reason.” (Findley 182)

Robert had only slept eight hours in the last three days and was surviving on alcohol. At this point of the war, times were very stressful with the German aerial attacks taking place. With Robert’s lack of sleep and food, his body was, in the essence, deteriorating. The fact that at this point of the war, Robert is being faced with these conditions is bad enough to think of, but to think that this is how many soldiers had to survive throughout the entire war is inhumane. Robert had to not only survive the German attacks, he had to survive and fight for the bare essentials to sustain life. These conditions that Robert is being faced with now are what he has been faced with throughout the entire war of about three years. These conditions definitely took its toll on Robert and it showed in this example by his whole outlook of the war and what it has done to him mentally.

Looking at the other aspect of war and how it affected Robert mentally, war changes people. For Robert, he had to deal with so much extreme tragedies throughout his time in the war. Dealing with death, harsh conditions, etc. all these factors add up over time and changed Robert mentally in the aspect of losing his sanity. In the quote above, it states that Robert’s mind had shrunk into a small protective shell for bare essentials. This is an excellent example of how Robert’s state of mind was at this time of war. It shows how over this war time period, Robert’s mind slowing was demolishing into nothing but the need for survival. Robert has dealt with so many inner battles throughout the war, it has taken effect and is finally seeping through to reality that war has indefinitely changed Robert’s mind set to the point of insanity, which led to his death in the overall outcome of the situation.

Part 5 Summary

Robert left St. Aubyn’s hospital, leaving Barbara behind to head back out to battle by train. A misunderstanding took place and Robert and his luggage were lost. Robert found himself ending up in Magdalene Wood in a mental institution until he got his pack back. Robert arrived at a bath house shortly after settling in, and got brutally raped by several other men in a dark cell while retrieving his clothes. At that time, Poole found Robert in the cell and returned his kit bag to him and broke the bad news that Bonnycastle has passed away. In the cell, Robert took his only picture of Rowena and burned it into ash as an act of charity, not anger.

Robert was then moved to the front lines, where he was in charge of the movement of convoys to the trenches. The Germans were attacking full strength now with plane bombers, creating casualties left, right, and centre. The Germans were hitting their mark, firing shells and setting everything ablaze. Robert had just received a fresh shipment of 30 horses and 30 mules and Robert went to speak with Captain Leather to request that the horses be let out of the stables for safety precautions. Leather refused Robert’s request, saying it would look cowardly, but that would not stop Robert from freeing the horses. Robert persuaded Devlin to help him with the horses, and got him to run and open the gates, going against his Captains orders. At that moment, Leather got up from hiding and saw Devlin releasing the horses. Leather ran out screaming at Devlin to stop, calling him a traitor. Leather then pulled out his gun and shot Devlin dead. Leather then went after Robert, taking a few shots and missing. At the precise moment, three shells land on the barn and set it on fire, killing any horses still trapped inside. The whole yard started to set ablaze, killing everything in its path besides Robert and Leather. Robert saw Leather struggle to his feet and Robert walked over and shot him between the eyes.

Running of the horses

Robert, looking at what had happened, knew he would be arrested for treason and started to run away with a horse and a black dog along an abandoned railway. Along the way, Robert spots a train with over one hundred and thirty horses inside, and sets them free. As Robert and the horses ran to freedom, it was said a man named Private Cassles tried to stop Robert. Robert then took out his Webley and shot him dead. Robert fled to an old barn where he stayed until Major Mickle and his forces found him. Mickle gave Robert an opportunity to surrender voluntarily, but Robert refused and shot in his direction. Mickle then advised his troops to set fire to the barn, and the roof collapsed on top of Robert and the horses. All of the horses and the dog died, while Robert was saved but badly burned.

The novel ends with another transcript of Mariam Turner explaining Robert spending two months in Magdeline hospital under arrest until he was reinstated to St. Aubyn’s. Turner offered Robert a way out and to die, but Robert replied “Not Yet”. Robert spent the rest of his life in St. Aubyn’s hospital until he died in 1922. Only his father came to his funeral. He was almost 26 years old.  

Scarcity of War

“After that we sat a long, long while- Clive on the floor and me in the chair and Amanda on my lap. Then I said: why are Robert and Barbara so afraid? And Clive said: everyone they’ve loved has died. And I said: everybody dies. And Clive said: yes- but everybody isn’t killed. Then I said: that’s why Lady Sorrel lights her candles, isn’t it. So the Earl of Bath won’t perish. And Clive said: Yes. He said that in a way being loved is like being told you never have to die. And I said: Yes- but it doesn’t save you, does it. And he said: No- but it saves your sanity. Then I said: Are you afraid? And he said: Yes. And then I didn’t cry any more. Because he smiled.” (Findley 161)

This dialogue of Juliet and Clive was acquired from Juliet d’Orseys diary many years back. Clive is about to depart to war with Robert and this conversation took place before hand. Juliet was wondering why Robert was so afraid, and the answer to that is that everyone around Robert has either died or something about them has died. Juliet, since she is just a little girl, didn’t fully understand this interpretation of death, and didn’t get the meaning of why he is so afraid. Scarcity in the war is a normal emotion. The thought of death is always on a soldiers mind in the battlefield, never knowing which day will be your last. Robert has endeavored a great amount of death so far in the war with many of his war colleagues to family members passing away before his eyes. This takes a definite toll on soldiers, watching your friends die in front of you like that. This is why insanity strikes in many soldiers throughout the war. Many soldiers feel afraid about death and the constant fear that these soldiers live with really affects the mentality of these soldiers to the point of insanity in most cases.

Many people do not understand the psychological aspect of war and what war does to a soldier because to know what soldiers have to deal with, you would have to be put in that same condition. Soldiers have to put up with many devastating events throughout their term, and no wonder these men go insane. Just imagine the state of mind a soldier must have to survive in the war, first of all a soldier has to deal with death surrounding one another, and lack of sleep, lack of nourishment, etc. All of these factors and more, day after day, and I’m not just talking about a small period of time. These soldiers had to put up these conditions for years on end. Scarcity of death is just one attribute that affects a soldiers mind, so no wonder many of these men lose their sanity because of war.

Part 4 Summary



Diary of Juliet d'Orsey

The majority of this section is told through the perspective of Juliet d’Orsey as a child through a transcript recovered from the time Robert was invited to stay at Barbara d’Orseys hospital. Much of the transcript is spread through her diaries of the time Robert rested in her home. The beginning of this section converses on Juliet’s home life and her family working at the St. Aubyn’s hospital where Taffler and Robert have been invited to. After Robert’s knees were fully recuperated, Juliet brought Robert to see Taffler. Juliet didn’t manage to tell Robert ahead of time that Taffler lost both arms in war, and Robert was devastated.

Juliet was known for snooping around the hospital, which led to her getting inn mischievous trouble that she did not want to encounter. Juliet picked flowers for Taffler one day and brought them to him. She walked in on him attempting suicide. Taffler was rubbing his raw limbs on the walls so that he could bleed to death. Because of Juliet, she saved his life when she screamed and the nurses took notice. Also one night, Juliet walked into Robert’s room, where she found Robert and Barbara making love, which she first thought they were hurting each other. These are just a few examples of Juliet snooping and seeing things she shouldn’t have seen at such a young age.

Roberts’s legs never healed properly and had to have surgery on his knees, which gave him an extra 2 weeks leave from war. Throughout this time, Juliet and Robert made quite a good friendship, sharing stories of home and what not. Prior to Robert leaving for war, Juliet gave Robert a candle and matches’, symbolizing the ghost stories of the room Robert was staying in at the hospital. Robert held onto this candle for the rest of his time in war and comes up later in the novel as a symbolic meaning.

Part 3 Summary

The layout of Part 3 of the novel is quite unique. Instead of breaking this part of the book up into chapters, Findley used a time segment to separate events in this part to show chaotic events that took place to Robert at this time. Most of Part 3 is focused on February 28^th, one of the most hectic days of trench warfare Robert had encountered at the time. Robert has started to encounter the brink of warfare in the trenches following mines blowing up beside him one after another. This was enough to make Robert’s colleague Levitt go mad, with Robert on the brink of insanity. Robert was again in charge of another convoy heading to the main front lines for relief of other soldiers. He finds himself in the middle of a German gas attack with his convoy in the centre of a mortar hole. Robert was instructed to place guns in this crater for a strategic attack, but as war is portrayed, it didn’t go as planned. As the gas was protruding closer and closer, the minutes were getting eaten away as Robert’s convoy was struggling for their lives. After injuring himself, Robert climbed down the crater into the centre with his convoy following him. With an urgency to save them, Robert instructed the men to put on their gas masks. The rest of his crew were not issued masks when they were deployed and Robert had to take matters in his own hands and forcefully instruct the men, with his gun at hand, to urinate into clothes and hold them over their faces. After pretending to be dead for over three hours in the freezing temperatures of the winter, silence pierced each and every man in the convoy.

“Still, they waited. The gas had begun to dissipate. More breeze had sprung up. More and more clouds were leaving the sky. It became very cold. But Robert and the men dared not move. At any moment the Germans would appear, for surely the gas had been the prelude to their attack. And if the Germans came, their only hope was to play dead and pray. The sun- at its zenith- died. The crows began to call to one another. It also began to snow.” (Findley 126)

Robert and the men realized that it was their time of dying if any such luck wouldn’t come to help them. The symbolism in this quote shows many different symbols of death and the mentality of the convoy at the time. The zenith of the sun had died which symbolizes the end of the life for the day. The animal symbolism portrays death as crows are considered the animal of death in literature and are assembling near the crater where the convoy is acting dead. It also began to snow in the end of the quote which shows meaning of winter, and in literature, winter means death again. So all the symbolism within this quote lead to death in one way or another, which is what the convoy thought was going to happen. It happened that as Robert was playing dead, he noticed that he was being watched by a German the entire time. Rather than shooting the soldiers, the German soldier allows the men to leave without harm. The German though, made a swift movement as Robert began his departure and Robert quickly turned and shot the soldier. It turns out that the German was just looking at a bird flying across the horizon, which led to his death. Beside the soldier was a fully loaded sniper, meaning that at any time the German could have easily killed each and every one of them, had he wanted to. Leaving the war scene, Robert was haunted with the sounds of a bird chirping, symbolizing more animal imagery. Robert later on found out that Rodwell was transferred up the line and had killed himself from his own insanity. Robert took the rest of Rodwell’s animals up to “Blighty” where he was transferred to and set them free.