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The Ordinary World John Findley Analysis

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Being enlisted in the war, Robert is compelled to see many things he was once blind to. After leaving “the ordinary world” he must toughen up to reality and embark on his journey to find purpose. According to Joseph Campbell, the “readers are experiencing the journey through the eyes of the hero; a hero’s primary purpose along his journey is to be separated from the ordinary world” and unravel many truths (Campbell, n.p.). Similarly, Robert is exposed to adult-like behaviour that frightens and forces him to mature faster. Findley introduces passages demonstrating war by using the literary device of irony to reveal his perception of the nature of the war by acknowledging war as something “logical”. As Robert progresses through his journey, he …show more content…

However, ultimately this act of kindness led to his death. When Robert fires at the German soldier, the idea of killing someone who has done nothing wrong beings to haunt him. Thus, the idealistic truth of war deceives his purpose in life, due to overcoming the harsh reality. At this point of his journey, his only purpose in war is to survive and return safely back to “the ordinary world”. In comparison to the journey of the hero, Robert “exhibits characteristics germane to the hero's journey, a quest for knowledge integral to a process of healing” (Rowlandson, 17). In correlation to the many truths, Robert must encounter throughout his journey, he comes across with the idea that in war, captains are the people who make the decisions and in the end soldiers are the ones left to die. “Every man is issued a mask! Robert shouted out loud. (It was like being told that none of the men had been issued boots)” (Findley, 123). During the time of the gas attack, Robert is notably questioning his surroundings at war. He begins to wonder why the soldiers do not have the specific protective equipment needed to fight their

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