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

This essay analyzes Timothy Findley’s The Wars and argues that the author depicts violence more as a way of life of human civilization than as an aberration from human nature that is usually peaceful. 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. The novel repetitively depicts scenes of violence against animals. The final episode signifies Findley’s pessimistic vision of the human predicament. By gradually growing apart from nature, human beings are losing touch of their natural spirits and the modern world, which necessitates human beings to cultivate an unnatural set of values in order to sustain themselves.

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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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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

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the German soldier when he was about to take out the binoculars indicates that the war has
changed him. Robert the romantic, after witnessing the war, has lost his faith in his illusions of
kindness and purity. In this context, Robert’s transformation reflects a deeper malaise existing
within human society. Human life is becoming increasingly artificial. The twentieth century
ushered in the age of rapid industrialization and technological development. In Europe, there
were many figures who were wary of technological advancement, fearing that it would gradually
deprive human beings of their natural faculties like kindness and compassion. The French
philosopher Rousseau and also the English poet Wordsworth believed that civilization had a
detrimental influence on human beings’ sense of morality (BBC). In his preface to the Lyrical
Ballads, he specifies the importance of nature in the development of the human consciousness as
it gives rise to “elementary feelings” in the human consciousness. (Wordsworth, p.2)
However, in the war as seen from the novel, nature has attained a secondary position. The
overbearingly destructive activities of man have destroyed the harmony of the natural world and
violence can be seen primarily to a consequence of the artificiality that makes harmonious
coexistence impossible. Not only can human beings share the Earth with other animals but also,
they have started fighting amongst each other. Findley, through the character of Robert seems to
suggest that a departure to the past where human beings were at harmony at nature and at the
same time he seems to be thoroughly convinced of the utter impossibility of such a vision. The
final episode signifies Findley’s pessimistic vision of the human predicament. In a last desperate
attempt to rid the horses of their misery, Robert kills the captain but fails when the barn is set on
fire and he is badly burnt (Findley).
We would like to highlight two instances from the final part of the novel in order to
explain our perspective. First of all, the killing of the captain by Robert in order to save the

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horses seems to point out that human beings by losing their primal innocence have given rise to
an unending chain of violence where the only way to prevent violence is through violence itself.
However, there is also another aspect to this assumption that one act of violence sparks off others
and thereby triggers an eternal cycle out of which there is no escape. The novel ends on a highly
pessimistic note and provides one with a prophetic vision of the eventual disintegration of human
civilization. By gradually growing apart from nature, human beings are losing touch of their
natural spirits and the modern world, which necessitates human beings to cultivate an unnatural
set of values in order to sustain themselves. Such values which are mostly antithetical to the
spirit of nature is bound to breed violence and other abominations on the face of the Earth.
Therefore, journey through the course of the novel can be read as the disillusionment of the
romantic. The romantic, with his faith in ideals gets out into the world only to find out that the
ideals have been long lost and what remains bears no semblance to what he had anticipated.

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Works Cited
Findley, Timothy. “The Wars”. Penguin Modern Classics Edition, 1997. Print.
BBC. “The Romantics”. Youtube. Commentary by Peter Ackroyd. 2006,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLwRXlSgiSQ.
Wordsworth, William. "Preface to the lyrical ballads." Arts Education Policy Review 105.2
(2003): 33-36.