The Wars Timothy Findley Loss Of Innocence

ichael Zovak

Mrs. Fox-Comery

ENG 4U1

June 5, 2015

A Battle for Innocence in Timothy Findley’s The Wars

The Wars by Timothy Findley is an anti-war novel set during the First World War. The novel follows Robert Ross, a Canadian military officer, as he suffers through the horrors of the war both on and off the battlefield. As the novel progresses, Robert evolves from an innocent young man to a deeply troubled and broken individual. This loss of innocence plays a great role in Robert’s development as a character and is highlighted by his experiences with sex and death, experiences that eventually leads to his downfall.

In the beginning of the novel, Robert Ross is revealed to be a virgin, virginity being a timeless

symbol of purity and innocence. Despite this, Findley quickly links sexual experiences to Robert’s loss of innocence. At the moment his sister Rowena dies, Findley writes that Robert “was locked in his bedroom. Making love to his pillows” (16). The first time Robert experiences sex in the novel, his beloved sister dies from a fall which Robert believes he could have prevented. This event forces Robert to confront various family issues and sets a precedent for his future sexual experiences. His first true experience with sex comes when he visits a brothel with his fellow officers. Robert is approached by a prostitute named Ella and is extremely intimidated due to his lack of experience with women. When the two enter a private room and begin to undress, Ella discovers that “Robert had ejaculated coming up the stairs. His body hadn’t waited for his mind. It did things on its own” (38). This incident makes Robert appear much more innocent than his friends as he is unable to control himself when faced with concept of sex. Lack of self-control is a classic trait of the immature, so Robert is made to seem immature and innocent. However, this image dissipates very quickly as Ella shows Robert a hole where he can see into another room. Robert is confused when he sees a man “standing in the middle of the floor hitting whoever else was there” (39). Robert is shocked by this violent act and becomes confused, more so when he understands what is happening. He sees two figures having sex and realizes “The man being ridden was Taffler. The rider was the Swede” (41). This is Robert’s first experience with homosexuality and his reaction was one of confusion and violence as he “threw [his] boot across the room and shattered a mirror” (40).

Robert lashes out because his mind “was challenged by something it could not accept” (40), a reaction Robert has later in the novel as well. In the early twentieth century, homosexuals were looked down upon by society and the thought of gay sex was appalling to most people, so Robert’s reaction when initially exposed to it is understandable. In this event, Robert is exposed to new ideas and feelings and realizes that with his profession he can no longer live the sheltered life he is accustomed to. Much later in the story, Robert is far more mature and is finally comfortable around women. Having already witnessed the horrors of the war, Robert is a different man. One of the final steps towards his maturity is his successful sexual encounter with Barbara d’Orsey. The encounter is described by the young Juliet d’Orsey who, like Robert had once thought, believes the two are hurting one another. Juliet believes “that Robert must be trying to kill her” (160). While Robert has lost most of his childhood innocence and become a man, Juliet is affected in the same way Robert was upon seeing Taffler in the brothel. Despite his successful encounter, Robert has one final sexual experience that ultimately pushes him to the edge of his sanity.

While taking a shower in a French bath house, Robert is raped by an unknown number of fellow soldiers, an event that finally breaks him. Afterwards Robert lashes out again, destroys his room and desperately looks for his gun. In his search, he finds a picture of his beloved sister Rowena, which he burns “not [as] an act of anger – but an act of charity” (179). By burning the picture of Rowena, Robert removes the last thing linking him to his childhood, believing his sister is too innocent to remain in this world gone mad. From this point on, Robert is nothing more than a shell of his former self, having lost everything he cares about. Through this, Findley points out that war does not make boys into men, but rather forces them to abandon everything they hold dear, stripping away their individuality and hope. Robert’s experiences with sex change him throughout the novel, transforming him from a boy who cannot muster the courage to speak to girls into a depressed and broken man.

While Robert Ross’ experiences with sex force him to view the world differently, his experiences with death also play a fundamental role in his development and his eventual downfall.

Very early in the novel, Robert’s sister Rowena dies from a fall. Robert takes this accident personally, believing “It was Robert’s fault. Robert was her guardian” (16). Although Robert could have done nothing to prevent Rowena’s death, he takes it very personally and isolates himself from his family. The situation is made worse when his mother demands Robert kill his sister’s pet rabbits simply “Because a girl had died – and her rabbits had outlived her” (21). Although Robert does not kill the rabbits personally, they are killed regardless. Rowena’s rabbits rely on Robert to protect them, much like she relied on him, enhancing Robert’s sense of failure. This initial experience with death causes Robert to escape his previous life by joining the war, an unwise decision considering his initial reaction to death and violence. A similar event occurs while Robert is travelling across the Atlantic Ocean when he is told “one of them horses of yours has gone and broke its leg” (57). Robert is told that he must shoot the horse because “an officer had to do it. They were the only ones with guns” (57). Unlike the killing of the rabbits, Robert is required to kill the horse by himself. Robert displays a strong connection with animals throughout the novel and is appalled at the thought of killing

an innocent horse. Findley describes the shooting by stating “He took his aim. His arm wavered. His eyes burned with sweat. Why didn’t someone come and jump on his back and make him stop? He fired” (60). After firing several more shots the horse finally dies and Robert is speechless, shocked with the violence of his own actions. By killing an innocent animal, Robert has destroyed part of his own innocence, proving to himself he is capable of the same ruthlessness of his mother that he fled home to escape. The suffering of innocent animals forces Robert to lash out at the human construct of war, a response that will inevitably consume him. Robert’s next brush with death is the most significant experience he has and will haunt Robert until the end of the novel. After a German gas attack, Robert rises from a crater to see “a German soldier with a pair of binoculars staring right at him” (128). When Robert’s men begin to move, the German “saw that Bates had moved and then looked back at Robert. He nodded” (129). The German appeared to be allowing Robert and his men to leave unharmed, but after Robert’s men had left the crater, the German made a quick move and Robert shot him. Only after the soldier was dead does Robert realize that he was only reaching for his binoculars and not his weapon, knowing the soldier “could have killed them all” (131). Worse, Robert notices the bird the German had intended to look at and Findley writes “The sound of it would haunt him to the day he died” (131). Robert has killed a man who is much like him, not interested in the violence war brings and with a passion for animals. Again, Robert has destroyed a part of his own innocence by taking the life of one of the few men he can relate to. This event pushes Robert over the edge, turning him into one of the cold hearted killers he has despised from the beginning of the novel. Through the violence at home and the death brought about by the war, Robert loses both his innocence and his sanity, growing from a happy young man into a violent killer.

In The Wars, Timothy Findley paints a picture of an ideal young man, and then proceeds to tear that image apart. By describing Robert Ross’ experiences with sex and death, Findley is able to show the effects they have on Robert and his mental condition. As Robert slowly loses his sanity and becomes consumed by the war, his innocence becomes the ultimate casualty. As the title suggests, Robert must fight many wars, but through the bullets and poison gas it is his loss of innocence that kills him in the end.

Works Cited

Findley, Timothy. The Wars. London: Penguin, 1978. Print.