Analysis Of The Novel The Wars By Timothy Findley
Plot Elements
Up until page 60 in the book, we have witnessed introduction, inciting incident, and part of rising action. The introduction is page 10, where we learn about Robert Ross, and pages 11-12, where we learn about his family. Inciting incident happened on pages 18-19, when Robert’s sister Rowena died, resulting in her mother insisting on euthanizing the rabbits, which Robert was strongly against. The family called Teddy Budge to put rabbits down, Robert tried to fight Teddy, ultimately losing, forcing him to join military.
Point of View
The story is being told by a reporter, who reads archives about Robert Ross, trying to piece together his journey. The story is being told from 3rd person, occasionally alternating between the present and past, the point of view. The choice of point of view is effective because if the story was told from the first person perspective, imagery in the novel would not be as vivid.
Symbolism
In the book, there have been multiple reappearing symbols, that possibly represent something. For instance, the animals. In the prologue, Robert Ross frees the horses from the locked cart. Rowena owned multiple rabbits, and when she died, Robert was asked to put them down. He refuses, causing the family to call a “specialist”, ultimately upsetting Robert. While Robert is in the army, he chases after a coyote, making him feel free in a certain way. Robert was forced to kill the horse that broke its leg, which made Robert remember Rowena and the guilt that came with that incident. There is freedom in the natural world that Robert doesn’t find in human society.
Character Development
We get introduced to multiple characters, such as Robert Ross, Mr. and Mrs. Ross, and his sister Rowena (presumably Ross). The death of Rowena causes Robert to think it was his fault, with a series of events leading him to sign up for the military. In the military, he doesn’t want to establish any attachments to anyone. After a while, Robert sails to France. The journey was relatively unpleasant.
Novel Structure
The novel is organized by Order of Time. Everything that we learn from the book is happening in chronological order. That is an effective method of organization since the events that happened in the story would be best to be told in the order.
Themes
There are multiple themes present in the story, such as Loss of Innocence, for instance when Rowena dies and Robert blames everything on himself, Violence, for obvious reasons such as the war, and Animals, when Robert cares for animals and feels angry, threatened and guilty when he was supposed to kill the horse.
Stylistic Devices
Timothy Findley uses a variety of stylistic devices throughout the novel, most notable being imagery on multiple pages. The imagery used in the book is required to achieve the effect of the sincere tone of the novel.
Investigative Reporter
Timothy Findley was Born in 1930, implying that he wasn’t fighting in the Great War, therefore, some information could be inaccurate. Raised by upper-class parents. In the novel, Findley tried to describe the life of a soldier, who came from a middle/ upper-class family, implying some of the information could potentially be correct.
The author dedicated the novel to his uncle, who fought in World War 1 and survived. He used letters from the uncle, as well as verbal accounts of his life, to draw the image of the war. Used Southern Ontario Gothic writing style Passage Master: “He fired. A chair fell over in his mind. He closed his eyes and opened them. ” Evokes the memory of his sister, and the guilt of her death. A good example of animal symbolism. Shooting the horse goes against his beliefs as if he is killing his sister over again(a reminder of his guilt) “How could he move. Rowena was buried the day before. ”
An important part of the overall story, contributing by the fact that is the event that started a series of events that caused Robert to join the military and repeated guilt trips throughout the novel. Inciting incident of the story.
