Symbols and Imageries in The Wars by Timothy Findley

Running head: ENGLISH
English
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

ENGLISH1
The Wars is a novel which was written in the year 1977 by the author Timothy
Findley. The novel tells the readers about the story of the protagonist Robert Ross, a
nineteen-year-old kid who joins the army during the World War I after the death of his older
sister. The story also gives the readers the idea about the madness of the war as encountered
by Robert, which forces him to commit an act in the novel itself. The novel is also a good
description of the various symbols and imageries which the author has used in the novel
itself.
The purpose of this essay is to describe the various imageries which the author
had used to describe the protagonist and the various experiences in the war which he
had faced in the novel.
In the novel named The Wars by the author Timothy Findley, the author talks to the
readers about the character of the protagonist of the story and the various experiences which
he had faced during the war through the use of the imageries and the symbolisms in the novel
itself. In the introduction of the novel itself, the readers find that a number of symbols and
imageries have been used by the author to describe to the readers about the character of
Robert Ross (Chinnery:597). The readers get to know the fact that Robert is of nineteen years
of age and he is show to the readers of the story to be a sensitive boy who would not under
normal circumstances join the World War I (Baranch-Kallas:287). However, it is the crisis in
his life, in the form of the death of his elder sister, which causes him to join World War I.
The symbols and the imageries which have been used by the author to explain to the readers
about how an innocent boy such as Robert Ross gets replaced into the cruelty of the World
War I (Grace:38).
“You will live when you live. No one else can ever live your life and no one else will ever
know what you know...”