What makes a hero strong but the foundation of fear he stands upon

I grew up reading fantastic tales of the charming prince out to save his kingdom and win the love of his princess.

Not much has changed (except maybe the number of pages). 

To this day I still find myself curled up on the couch reading fantasies. Of course the hero has changed. No longer do I find myself cheering for prince. Instead the adventures of the modern day hero takes my imagination hostage. An ordinary person thrown face first into extraordinary circumstances where only a will of steel and superhuman feats of heroism could even hope to overcome such incredible odds, all the while never having to cross the line and betray their morals. Of course the ordinary man rises to the challenge, and of course he prevails, and becomes the hero we all cheer for. Forever leaving a mark in history.

Even in a zombie apocalypse
Rick Grimes is still as
moral as they come. 

Robert Ross is no such hero. Robert Ross was tossed into a war where moral was crushed by the weight of duty. Where ones survival depended on who pulled the trigger first and where most were driven to insanity by their own actions. 

Timothy Findley did not set out to write a novel about a traditional hero. Instead, what he wrote was a novel based on characters so flawed that we all are able to connect and understand their actions. 

That has to be one of the most unsettling things about this book. Not the fact that it tells a tale where the motto is kill or be killed, oh no. At least we could separate ourselves from those actions and put the book down knowing that you are above that. No. The most unsettling thing about this story is the fact that you are not reading a book, you are looking at a mirror that points out each and every one one of your flaws. 

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that we are all Robert Ross, but you'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't feel slightly off from reading Findley's book. We all have flaws, whether you accept that fact or not and Robert Ross just happens to highlight them.

Now you may be asking yourself, what in the world brought this on? Well. I'll tell you.

Flip open your copy of "The Wars". Go on. Now you should see, right before the story begins, an almost blank page staring back at you, with the words “Never that which is shall die.” EURIPIDES written in the centre.

What does this have to do with heroism and who is this Euripides fellow? If you are anything like me, you probably just shrugged at those questions and flipped the page. But the damn thing wouldn't leave me alone. So I did a little research and as it turns out, Euripides has more to do with the book and this blog entry then you would first think.

Now my good friend Euripides lived something like 2400 years ago in Greece and he wrote tragedies but what is of interest to us is his take on a 'hero'. You see, Euripides created characters with the makings of a hero, but he riddled them with problems, fears and weaknesses. He made them real. Sound familiar?

Euripides and his view of a hero was the backbone of Findley's novel, and together they work to expose heroes for what they really are, “Ordinary people like you and me” (11). “One little David against another.”(31). They turn the idea of a hero upside down, not just in Robert Ross, but in all the characters, after all, what is a hero but an ordinary person? 

Robert Ross failed his sister, he broke command, he killed two men, he died, and he had fears.

Robert Ross loved his sister, he saved the horses, he fought for his country, and all his fears served only as a foundation for a strength that allowed him to save men under his command,

Robert Ross was not the hero I read about when I was a little girl but he is more human and more relatable and more worthy of a hero title then any prince charming before him because unlike prince charming, Robert's strength was built upon a foundation of fear, weakness and fault, not good looks. 

Sometimes they say ignorance is bliss

So you have returned have you? It is time to get down to business.

When you pick up a novel, what is the first thing you see? The title of course.

"The Wars".

2 words and yet it is packed with meaning. Findley sets the novel in a time where young men were being sent to fight a war that would be written about and studied for years after. It was "the war to end all wars." But the title means more then that, the novel is more then that, and each character is more then just a man or women fighting to survive a war that doesn't just take place on a battle feild or in trenches.

Each character is fighting an inner battle, trying to figure out who they are, what their motivations are. Robert Ross in particular seems to be at war with himself and his morals. He is constantly battling with what others tell him to do and what he believes to be right; what he has to do and what he wants to do. His visit to the whorehouse is a good example of this. Does he want to be there? Does he think it's morally right? No, he'd much rather be off running, and yet for the sake of his reputation, he must go.
These inner wars are what makes the characters so relatable, Robert Ross in particular. He is no hero, but he does fight his wars, as we all do.

"The Wars" is more then just a novel about a solider's struggles in war. It is about the wars that rage in each and every person, whether they are a soldier or not, and in my opinion, this title, whether we realize it or not, draws the reader in. It catches our attention, makes us wonder, question, think. Sometimes they say ignorance is bliss. But sometimes you read a novel that shoves the truth in your face. We all have our own wars to fight, whether you acknowledge those wars or not. Timothy Findley's novel makes us aware of our battles and that self reflection is what I believe to be the most rattling aspects of this story.


Well folks. That is all I have to say about the title. Maybe it gave some insight (probably not) into yourself and the war that you face; that we all face.

Until next time :)

We all have our inner wars.

Here we go! Blog number 1: The beginning.

Well hello there. You have stumbled across my wonderful blog.

Seeing as this is my first blog, I really don't know what to write, but I guess I should make some sort of attempt.

Isn't it pretty?

This blog will focus solely on my notes and thoughts on the various books that are being forced upon me in the name of education (not that the books are bad, in fact they are really interesting. But I really do miss the days when I read for fun, not for an exam). Lucky me, I'm starting with "The Wars" by Timothy Findley.

Seeing as I read the book already, my posts are going to be jumping from page to page, referencing later parts of the novel while blabbering on about a specific part of the book, but more importanly, I aim to answer some of my original thoughts and questions that went unanswered through my first read through of the novel. 

So sit back, relax and enjoy my painful attempts at writing a blog about books.

Here we go!