Psychoanalysis Of The Wars By Timothy Findley

A Psychoanalysis on The Wars
In human history, war has greatly affected the lives of people in an extremely detrimental way which can be understood in Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars through a psychoanalytic approach in character development and their deterioration; the readers are able to identify the loss of innocence intertwined between characters, the search for self-identity in the symbolic and metaphorical aspect, as well as the essence of life. Those that are not able to overcome these mental challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Rape trauma Syndrome, and sadly, some resort to suicide as the last option to escape their insecurities. However, soldiers are not the only ones affected by war; family members also face

Robert Ross’s journey throughout the novel leaves him unable to recognize his reflection, expecting to see the image of a god, he sees the image of a scarecrow. Findley writes, “He’d thought he would stand and see himself like a god in the glass—and there he was: a scarecrow” (Findley169). Findley portrays Robert’s moment of blindness as a connection to the changes he undergoes throughout the novel. Robert at this point in unable to recognize himself as the young boy he started off as or the hero he wanted to become. Instead, the war strips his character and left him feeling as if he has no connection to who he used to be, truthfully, he isn’t and in this scene Robert understands this. Findley uses the scarecrow as a totem of death and fear. The readers are aware of Robert dying at the end of the novel, and Robert is coming closer to the idea of his death being due to the war. The many challenges he faced in the battle has left him with the feeling of hopelessness and cut off from the rest of the world—alone. As Robert comes to conclude with this, he has felt alone throughout the entire novel. He was not like the other soldiers, always carrying the feeling of loneliness. Similarly, Robert’s momentary blindness is an aspect of foreshadowing to Mrs. Ross’s blindness later in the novel. Though Robert shows signs

Robert Ross portrays symptoms of PTSD through his anger and violence. Findley writes through the eyes of twelve year old Juliet, “His temper, you know, was terrible. Once when he thought he was alone and unobserved I saw him firing his gun in the woods at a young tree. Other times he would throw things down and break them on the ground, he had a great deal of violence inside and sometimes it emerged this way with a gesture and other times it showed in his expression when you found him sitting alone on the terrace or staring out a window” (Findley 152). This quote shows how war is having a great toll on him; the fragile state Robert is in can be explained by his exposure to violence. The behavior he is showing can be interpreted as him increasing in violence while his mental health decreases. But also, Robert’s lack of sleep may add to his declining mental health. He says, “Sleep was dangerous. No matter what your mind said, your body didn't listen. Part of you always stayed awake. Nobody dreams on a battle field. There isn't any sleep that long” (Findley 93). This quote can be taken metaphorically as seen in paragraph two or literally. Robert is constantly subjected to the sounds of war and as well as the danger it brings. Similarly, when the dugout collapses by artillery fire, Levitt seams to become slightly mad. Robert