Analysis Of Timothy Findley's The Wars

Throughout The Wars, Timothy Findley utilizes multiple points of view to emphasize that the concepts of the war and Robert’s character were both hard to grasp. Findley’s narrative techniques show that the war manipulated and affected those involved in different ways. Moreover, the novel challenges its readers to dissect who Robert Ross was through their own judgements. Most notably, this was done through the unbiased presentation of photographs and the archivist’s research, which focused on exhibiting details about the Ross family. Also, the account of Lady Juliet d’Orsey provided a perspective that developed the reader’s overall understanding of Robert and the effects of the war away from the battlefield. Comparatively, Marian Turner’s transcripts (at the beginning and end of the novel) play a major role in uncovering the reader’s final judgement of Robert Ross. Altogether, the first, second, and third person narrative styles in the book entail that the truth of Findley’s main character is elusive and meant to be scrutinized. In using multiple voices to tell his story, the author is able to illustrate how war can eclipse, confuse, and complicate already difficult matters. This is clearly seen with the circumstances of Rowena’s death at the beginning of the novel.

From the commencement of the book, the reader gets a clear understanding that it involves the arduous unmasking of the protagonist, Robert Ross, through the evidence collected from an archivist. All throughout his