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Self-Identity In The Wars And Regeneration

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The boundless pursuit of self-realization in The Wars and Regeneration
The establishment of one’s identity is dependent on both interpersonal and intrapersonal influences. Timothy Findley’s The Wars and Pat Barker’s Regeneration are two World War I novels that focalize on the theme of self-identity. Robert Ross, the protagonist in The Wars, is a young soldier who witnesses the incapacitating impacts of the war on his country and humanity. William Rivers, the protagonist in Regeneration, is a psychiatrist at Craiglockhart War Hospital who treats soldiers for their war-induced mental disorders. Despite their distinct roles in the war, Robert and Rivers have similar experiences that direct them to constantly reflect on their identity and place …show more content…

When Poole passes by Robert’s room to drop off his belongings at Asile Desole, Robert begs him to stay for a moment. As Poole is about to leave, Robert internalizes his misery in seeing him go: “Robert wished with all his heart that men could embrace. But he knew now they couldn’t…He wished that Poole would wave–but he didn’t” (Findley 179). Robert develops a special relationship with Poole and finds comfort in his presence. Moreover, he has the urge to express his feelings but is restricted by the societal expectation that men are supposed to suppress their emotions. Nonetheless, his plea for Poole to stay a while longer shows his progression in his journey to self-discovery, as he uncovers an irreplaceable …show more content…

In a conversation with Henry Head, Rivers recounts his encounter with a group of Islanders on his trip to the Solomon Islands. When he recalls that he felt a sense of freedom in their presence, Head asks, “Sexual freedom?” (Barker 242). Although Rivers does not provide a definite answer to this question, he remarks, “You know you’re walking around with a mask on, and you desperately want to take it off and you can’t because everybody else thinks it’s your face” (Barker 242). Head’s question and Rivers’s statement both point to the possibility that Rivers is gay. Furthermore, his fixation on the idea of hiding behind a mask signifies that he may be hiding his sexual identity to avoid societal rejection and disapproval. Regardless, Rivers develops an elevated sense of self-actualization as he becomes aware that he has been obscuring his

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(Findley, 195). When Robert says “Not Yet”, it signifies his continuation of life by having an embodiment of hope. This act exhibits his journey to prevail even though he is not physically able to make a change in his journey, the words he uses enables a sense of meaning for Robert to make a change in “the ordinary world”, having to take from what he’s learned from “the special world”. Therefore, this desire manifest Robert’s journey of embracing life. Lastly, upon the ending of the novel, the archivist is seen with a photograph of Robert and Juliet, taken a year before Roberts

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He describes the anguish and pain of being separated from family members, such as when he is taken away from his mother as a young child. For instance, he writes, "I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more than four or five times in my life; and each of these times was very short in duration, and at night" (Chapter 1). This emotional appeal is particularly effective in eliciting sympathy and anger from readers.

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But we must never ignore them as they are the one that are crazy enough to change the world for better or worse. Through different memories in battle, we see how war can change a person, as one is labeled a villain while the other a hero. Both “The Wars” by Timothy Findley and “The War Horse” by Lee Hall, and Richard Curtis show that people change when they are at war as people perception of each other

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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

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Regeneration by Pat Barker takes place in the year 1917 close to the end of World War I, in a mental hospital for soldiers of war called Craiglockhart, in Scotland. Many of the soldiers struggle to come to terms with the traumas of war, and are permanently damaged or disabled physically and or mentally. Dr. Rivers is the doctor in charge of over seeing these patients to rehabilitate them from their shell shock conditions, and get them ready to get back to the trenches to begin fighting again. Although many of these men will never be the same again, their goal is to get them in and out and back to war; this becomes a main issue within the novel. Many individuals believe that this is an anti-war novel, which for the most part it is; however, there are many underlying concerns that the war brings up other than just its mission.

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The novel focuses on coping with the death and horror of war. It also speaks volumes about the true nature of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the never-ending struggle of dealing with it. In the

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Findley shows how war can adversely affect a man’s deportment through his characters. Robert Ross, the protagonist of the novel The Wars, indicates manifestations of a mental health condition that is known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As the novel progresses, Robert is faced with many challenges, which in the essence, transforms him from who he once was to a soldier loaded with madness. “His temper, you know, was terrible. Once when he though he was alone and unobserved I saw him firing his gun in the woods at a young tree…

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In Timothy Findley’s novel, The Wars, the character of Robert Ross undergoes a psychological downfall through the trauma of the war. Through the lives of the novels characters, Timothy Findley highlights the negative psychological progression, which is a direct result of the chaos in the war. In the novel The Wars, Timothy Findley demonstrates the psychological effect through the character of Robert Ross.

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The Wars is a symbolic masterpiece that illustrates the great impact war brings on the microcosm of society and how individuals juxtaposed to the war are affected. The novel itself requires active reading; because without it, the novel would seem very simplistic; however, after further examination, readers can evidently recognize the complexity of Robert’s character with the aid of many heteroglossic components, techniques, devices, and the reworking of literary conventions. Robert’s physical, mental and emotional journey he endeavours, followed by the constant re-evaluations of his truths and becoming a more proficient soldier, can be seen through a formalist perspective with the use of foreshadowing to signify Robert’s transition from a sane to insane soldier; the utilization of animal imagery highlighting Robert’s development through the horrific experiences of war; and the several themes in the text to illustrate Robert’s evolution as a soldier through his inner

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The inevitability of change is an important theme in The Wars. War itself is an agent of change. It violently and aggressively pushes into people 's private lives, intermingling the private with public life. Robert sees this change in the physical landscape of his hometown. Gone is the idyllic small town he once knew, replaced by factories working tirelessly for the war effort.

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