Effect of Extraordinary Times on Establishing and Maintaining Identity - Essay Example

OF INSTITUTE EFFECT OF EXTRAORDINARY TIMES ON ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING IDENTITY A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF “THE WARS” BY TIMOTHY FINDLEY OF AUTHOR [Pick the date] In this novel, the characters in the face of life threatening conditions rise up to the occasion, overshadowing petty needs and caring for the greater good. They choose to be remembered for their deeds and therefore take the most challenging of paths to work for the greater good. Robert Ross a soldier, though opposed to the concept of war, was eventually led to take that path after the demise of his sister Rowena. In this narrative novel written by Timothy Findley we find that the characters are confronted with the most dire situations and extremely challenging circumstances. The books talk charts into the increasing madness of Rpbert and his mother Mrs Ross. There are several other characters that reveal important feelings and messages like Rowena (Robert’s sister) and Rodwell (the animal lover). Every character is essential to the evidence of the effect of extreme times on establishing and/or maintaining an identity. Robert, soft at heart and a kind natured man, was forced to enlist in defense services choosing the path to serve the nation by participating in the war. Robert was an ordinary man with ordinary achievements. He was shy and an introvert. In the matters of the heart he was confused and came across as naive and impatient while dealing with girls. As described in the book Robert in Marian Turner’s (the person who cared for Robert in the hospital after his arrest opinion was made of glass. He was a person with a gifted physique and one who immensely cared about his body. His was a person of a very gentle frame of mind, easily hurt, emotional and increasingly soft natured. He is also shown to be having a bond of love and affection towards animals. In this novel Mrs Ross, Robert Ross, Rowena, Rodwell depict different shades of human emotions and essentially represent different reactions of the national and global crisis – the War. The effect of extraordinary times like this one of an ongoing global crisis and the prevailing war-time circumstances has a deep impact on the interactions of the characters in the novel with the outside world. Robert himself is torn between two counteracting forces in his mind. One force stopping him from adjusting to the new environment, new people and his new duties while the other force calling on him to perform his tasks and rise above the occasion. These two forces have a significant influence on Robert’s actions and his thoughts as depicted in the novel. The war has a great psychological impact on both the men sent to the battle fields and front lines, as well as the people and families left behind. The emotional turmoil that the families stricken by war time crisis and impending crisis is vividly described in this novel through the growing psychological stress on the minds of Mrs Ross (Robert’s mother) and Robert’s father. It leaves a huge void in their lives when Robert finally gets the call from the army to join the troops out in the battle field. Robert’s unprecedented journey starts and the times of crisis have an impact on his perception of himself and the world around him. His fragile frame of mind and difficulty to come to terms with the world he finds himself in s representative of his inner turmoil. Robert’s mother, Mrs Ross represents a character of great weightage in this novel, shaping its course, aiding a perception of herself and her relationship with her son in the reader’s mind. Mrs. Ross is seen to be mirroring his son’s life and actions in his absence, while he is away at the battlefield in the thick of the war. She is seen to be walking in the mud which brings to her mind her son’s tough ordeal in the trenches. Both Robert and his mother expose themselves to the rain. Robert’s temporary blindness overshadows his mother’s eventual blindness when she realises that she would not be able to see her son again should any harm come upon him. Robert and his mother have their characteristics transformed through the emotional turmoil they undergo, changing under the effect of the extraordinary war times. Robert’s mother becomes a hardened person. She refuses to grieve for Rowena’s death. Robert and his mother’s close relationship and similarities are also represented in the novel. Bothe Robert and her mother are seen to be very well guarded in revealing their emotions and feelings. Robert watches over his emotions, not expressing his feelings on Rowena’s death and his mother’s hardened attitude. Robert’s mother on the other hand is stoic and almost impenetrable to the emotional upheaval Robert is having. She has been shown to lash out at Robert on the mention of Rowena’s death saying that she can give birth but not life. She says that in life no one belongs to one another. Every person is cut off from the womb right at the stage of a baby and thereafter the long and lonely walk of life starts. Mrs Ross is seen not able to contain her emotional outburst and lashing out in a way that only alienates those she loves. (Queneville 4) Rowena’s death comes as a great shock to Robert. Mild natured, emotionally fragile and soft hearted as he was he blamed himself for Rowena’s untimely death. He thought his negligence was the cause of Rowena’s death. That he could not be with her, stand by her side through the times made him feel guilty and he felt as if he couldn’t deliver on his promise. His inner resentment with himself and with the situation coupled with the growing unacceptability of the new things in his life pave the path for him to find his identity eventually transforming himself. Quite beautifully juxtaposed, the inner torments within Roberts mind, in his life and the outer larger torment affecting the world in the form of a war are deeply inter-related. Robert’s difficulty in adjusting the new life in the army, missing his sister, Rowena whom he loved a lot is intricately related to his inner disquiet. He used to liken her to the small pet rabbits that she used to keep. The rabbits represented the temperament and nature of Rowena, delicate, timid, gentle and adorable. Rowena’ death left a huge emotional chasm in Robert’s heart. Gradually as Robert started adjusting to the extraordinary times of the war, his mother Mrs Ross started showing increased signs of insanity and mental imbalance. She would seek out storms and take pleasure in rain and snow. Meanwhile Robert’s exposure to the war makes him increasingly violent. He is perceived a private man and having a terrible temper. One day, he was observed shooting a young tree and destroying it completely. His anger used to show up in different forms, at times in violent acts and at other times sitting at the terrace and staring or sitting by the window and looking outside. He becomes increasingly fragile being subject to the alien environment, separated from his mother and in bereavement of his little sister. Meanwhile in the later sections of the novel, Robert’s privacy gets trespassed. He burns the pictures of his little sister Rowena, not in an act of rage or with anger in his mind, but as an act of charity, letting Rowena’s memories escape his mind and unburdening him. Meanwhile Robert’s mother goes blind in reality, which was perhaps the reality taking shape from the figments of her imagination. Her madness had reached new peaks, having not seen her son for a long time. As the war continued, there came more and more bodies of brutally injured people. The nurse at the hospital, Marian Turner felt deeply agonised at the sight of what was happening. She resented her life and the concept of life itself having seen such immeasurable wrath of mankind and total devastation. She however saw the cat (the mascot); sparkling white and clean, licking her paws sitting perched on the wall. It was a sign of serenity and poise in the times of destruction and unrest. Robert is eventually seen holding the hand of Juliet and smiling. Maybe he had found what he was looking for: happiness and understanding. References: 1. Timothy Findley, “The Wars”. 2001. Web.15 Mar. 2012. 2. Guy Quenneville,”The Wars by Timothy Findley: Pre Writing Notes”. 17 Jan. 2003. Web. 15 Mar 2012 Read More