The Representation of Violence in Timothy Findley’s Novel The Wars

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Kamguem
Ines Kamguem
3348784
Assignment 3
ENGL 211, Version 6
[e-mail]
Professor Bernard Bloom
The representation of violence in Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars
Timothy Findley’s The Wars that was published in 1977 provides us with quite intriguing
insights into the course of the First World War. It has to be remembered that The Wars, as one
might expect of novels on historical wars, is not a work that conforms to the realist tradition that
replicates the approaches of history writing in order to provide readers with an apparently
“convincing or honest” depictions of truth. Rather, the author takes a lot of liberties with the
form, leaving us with a more intimate experience of the trauma and violence of war in contrast to
the impersonal vein often adopted by realist fiction. The violence in the novel operates on several
levels apart from the most obvious war-related violence in which soldiers from opposing camps
kill one another. In this essay, I argue that Findley depicts violence more as a way of life of
human civilization than as an aberration from human nature that is usually peaceful. Such a
conception of violence indeed shakes the very assumption of human beings’ civilised nature. It
implies that violence is intrinsic to human character, and wars, therefore, are natural outcomes
of history.
The novel repetitively depicts scenes of violence against animals. From what can be
inferred from the entire plot, one can surely understand that human beings, on account of their
own priorities and needs, have relegated that of animals to a completely secondary position. To
humans, the only purpose for animals is to serve their human masters, and failure to do so

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Kamguem
implies death as can be seen from several instances in the novel. These acts of violence are not
only important in the sense that they affect the development of Robert’s consciousness amidst
the war but also hold enormous symbolic value. Beginning from the rabbit killing episode at
home, Robert’s journey has been a relentless encounter with violence and trauma until he is
injured heavily in the end of the novel. The narrative traces his loss of innocence and the
phenomenon is signified by the burning of the picture of Rowena after he is raped by the
soldiers. That episode takes away the last dredges of his faith in humanity. If it is read as a kind
of symbolic death for Robert himself, his last action to save the horses from the Germans seems
quite similar to Antigone’s last effort to provide her brother with a proper burial despite the
King’s warnings. Antigone knew that if she attempted to bury her dead brother she would be
killed. Much like Robert, knowing the outcome full well, she proceeded with her action.
Antigone’s action arise out of her sense of righteousness as, by refusing a dead man a proper
burial, the King has violated the divine law. In The Wars, Robert’s action too can be viewed as a
reaction to the violation of a higher principle of peaceful co-existence.
The novel from the very beginning describes acts of killing animals by humans.
Apparently, not of much consequence it, on a deeper level, demonstrates the cruelty of human
nature. The animals which are victimized, through the actions of humans, bear striking
resemblance to the young soldiers like Robert himself who join the war effort unaware of the
horrors of the wars. The soldiers themselves who are sent by their governments to participate in
needless killings echo the fate that animals are subjected to by humans. It can be observed that
violence operates on two fronts, including one against animal and the other among humans
themselves. The violence inherent in human nature also signifies a breakdown of the old bonds
of trust and the loss of innocence. For example, the incident in which Robert inadvertently shoots