Historiographic Metafiction in \

Timothy Findley's The Wars describes the history of Robert Ross, a Second Lieutenant in the Canadian Army, during World War 1. The story of Robert Ross is a candid recollection of a young man coming of age in the midst of horror and confusion associated with the "war to end all wars". Presented in the form of an archivist trying to piece together the past from pictures and letters, the narrative account is full of rich imagery and deep meaning. The abundant animal imagery in the novel is used to parallel and reveal the character of Robert Ross, foreshadow the situations he finds himself in, and symbolize hope amidst war.

Robert Ross, the protagonist of Timothy Findley’s novel The Wars undergoes a disturbing violation when his fellow soldiers rape him; this is a significant turning point for Robert’s character and a section of the book Findley uses to address many themes. Throughout the book we witness Robert maturing and experiencing many hardships that will help create the man he becomes. The most significant of these trials is the scene at the insane asylum because it is where Robert looses the last connection to his innocence and his faith in humanity’s virtuousness. Findley also uses this scene to address the topic of homophobia in that era, and

O’Brien’s unification of fact and fiction is to illustrate the idea in which the real accuracy of a war story is less significant than storytelling. The subjective truth about what the war meant and what it did to change the soldiers is more meaningful than the technical details of the

In the study of military history, historians at times use what is known as the “fog of war” technique with expectations of keeping away from the historians’ fallacy. In this approach, the actions and choices of the historical subject are assessed primarily on the premise of what that individual knew at that time and not on future developments that the individual could not have known. Fischer’s approach is a scientific-like “what and how” only approach and rarely fields the question of “why.” Fischer states that the “why” deals with the metaphysical issues that bring no definitive results. Fischer’s work shows that historiography can only be taken seriously if it is practiced according to strictly empirical procedures and can only be done by asking the correct questions and answering them according to the strict methodology of “historical logic.” The historian’s task is to solve problems, to ask appropriate questions and to seek answers by researching the information based on archival and other methods of research. Interpretation is inevitable, but the interpretation should conform to the

As with any genre, all novels termed ‘war stories’ share certain elements in common. The place and time settings of the novels, obviously, take in at least some aspect of at least one war or conflict. The characters tend to either be soldiers or are at least immediately affected by the military. An ever present sense of doom with punctuated moments of peace is almost a standard of the war novel. Beyond the basic similarities, however, each of these battle books stands apart as an individual. Charles Yale Harrison’s World War I novel, Generals Die in Bed is, in essence, quite different than Colin McDougall’s Execution. Coming years earlier,

"His assailants, who he'd thought were crazies, had been his fellow soldiers. Maybe even his brother officers. He'd never know. He never saw their faces." (Findley, P 193) This is just one of the many examples which make the reader feel sorry for Robert Ross. Because the reader feels sorrow, there is more chance that the reader believes everything that is being said by or about him, although there is more that one perspective to the whole of World War I.

The aggressive brush strokes coupled with the raised texture of the painting shows the intensity of taking a life and the experience of loss. During his voyage to England, Robert is forced to kill an injured horse; his first time taking a life, “He fired. A chair fell over in his mind. He closed his eyes and opened them” (Findley 62). This is Robert’s realization that there is no place for mercy in war. This quote shows a loss of innocence inside of Robert’s mind as he is forced to take the life of another animal. Robert equates the life of humans to that of the animals which is why the killing of the horse is significant moment in his development. The reader is shown a rebirth inside the mind of Robert Ross; a gentle soul turned jagged. A journal entry from John M. Connor, provided by Joanna Bourke, depicts the theme of loss and death during World War I: “...seeing your pals blown into bits, it makes a new man fellow in spirit, moral [and] character… it will make many changed man…[all sic]”( Burke 11). The black acts a visual representation of the feelings of loss, regret, and death in its entirety for a better understanding of war.

Robert was once a timid individual who valued his privacy. And as noted with the encounter with Heather Lawson, we see that Robert is awkward around women. However, after thrusting himself into war he can no longer hide himself or his capacity for sexuality and violence. With the experience with Ella at the brothel he feels ashamed and now has been exposed, at such a young age, to a morally corrupting way of life. He has leaped so far, from ‘making love to his pillows’ to encounters with a prostitute. His morals are disintegrating; his childlike innocence is fading. His character is altering dramatically. When he sees his ‘role –model’ Taffler engaging in homosexual actions he is shocked, enticed and disturbed. This reaction gives way to anger and violence. The world as he knew it, one in which he could hide, no longer exists.

“ How To Tell a True War Story” By O’Brien is a complex story that scrutinizes the complex correlation that exist between war experience and the way stories are being told. Through anecdotes, O’Brien substantiates that a writer contains the ability to form its readers beliefs and viewpoint. Finding a meaning for O’Brien’s story was practically easy because through his anecdotes I was able to openly examine what O’Brien was

Robert Ross is a sensitive, private boy; last person you would expect to sign up to fight in World War One. In The Wars by Timothy Findley, symbols are used in conjunction with Ross’ story to cause readers to reflect on symbols in their own lives, and to allow then to dive deeper into the world of an innocent boy who is placed into a cruel war. The various symbols in The Wars provide for a graphic and reflective reading experience by emphasizing Robert’s connection with nature, his past, and his experiences during the war.

First, the main character, Robert Ross, was an innocent child at the beginning of the novel. He loved his sister, Rowena, and felt guilty not being able to save her. He then decided to enlist the army because he wanted to protect innocents in order to redeem himself to the death of Rowena. He got beaten up the night before he enlisted the army, “That night, Robert was lying in the bathtub, smoothing his aches and bruises with water…”(23). If he was in the army, he would have to fight people much stronger than Teddy Budge. Robert would not be able to fight them since the fight between him and Teddy was one sided already. However, Robert was only thinking about how he could redeem himself, but not his own capability to be a soldier. This showed how naive Robert was, he didn’t see the danger he was stepping into. Also, when Mrs Ross told

As for this book investigation, the novel for this assignment is called, When Books Went to War, by Molly Guptill Manning. The purpose of this novel is to demonstrate how books helped soldiers in World War II. Throughout this book, it explains how American troops read textbooks to help escape the world around them. Soldiers turn to books to release the tension they have from the war. Most of the time veterans feel lonely or depressed and by reading novels, it helps them to manage their emotions. This novel is written because it indicates how powerful books are towards people. These books have the power to “... soothed troubled minds and hearts...” (Manning 110). As the author claims, books helped win World War II.

Robert Ross’ whole life he grew up in a household where they did what was expected of them, rather than what was right. The type of people that Findley place in Robert’s life is what molds him into the type of character he becomes. Timothy Findley manipulates what a hero is supposed to be, by making Robert Ross a distorted kind of hero. Robert Ross exemplifies anti-heroism throughout the text because of his need to be a savior but inability to do so, his morals and his connection with animals.

As long as there has been war, those involved have managed to get their story out. This can be a method of coping with choices made or a way to deal with atrocities that have been witnessed. It can also be a means of telling the story of war for those that may have a keen interest in it. Regardless of the reason, a few themes have been a reoccurrence throughout. In ‘A Long Way Gone,’ ‘Slaughterhouse-Five,’ and ‘Novel without a Name,’ three narrators take the readers through their memories of war and destruction ending in survival and revelation. The common revelation of these stories is one of regret. Each of these books begins with the main character as an innocent, patriotic soldier or civilian and ends in either the loss of innocence and regret of choices only to be compensated with as a dire warning to those that may read it. These books are in fact antiwar stories meant not to detest patriotism or pride for one’s country or way of life, but to detest the conditions that lead to one being so simpleminded to kill another for it. The firebombing of Dresden, the mass execution of innocent civilians in Sierra Leone and a generation of people lost to the gruesome and outlandish way of life of communism and Marxism should be enough to convince anyone. These stories serve as another perspective for the not-so-easily convinced.

In "Historical Text as Literary Artifact," Hayden White compares historiography with literature. Historians must rely on a "historical imagination," such as filling in the blanks or making assumptions about events. History is a "constructive" enterprise, and historians are trained to perceive patterns that may or may not have actually existed. If historians rely on the "historical imagination," as they must to complete their task, then historiography and historical literature are qualitatively similar. White admits that the "conflation of mythic and historical consciousness will offend some historians and disturb"¦literary theorists," (1713). Yet these two seemingly distinct disciplines have more points of convergence than is often assumed. The sensitivity surrounding White's claim stems from a common presumption that historiography equals absolute fact, whereas literature equals absolute fiction.