The Wars

In a society in the midst of war, when faced with an issue related to the battlefields, people often need to decide whether they should pursue their own personal desires or choose to conform. The difficult decisions of whether or not a loved one should be sent off to join the war is an issue that the majority of civilians came across during WWI. Perhaps joining the army is something that some people were proud of but yet again many others wanted to keep family members away from the life threatening danger. The journey of pursuing a desire should bring people joy and happiness but that is not the case for Mrs. Ross. In the novel, The Wars, Timothy Findley uses Mrs. Ross to show that pursuing her personal desires has a negative impact on both herself and her family.

During times such as war, it is hard to push a loved one onto battle grounds but there are more feelings than the own that needs to be taken into consideration. Mrs. Ross is a mother that focuses on pursing her personal desires even though they have a negative impact on her. Mrs. Ross’s biggest personal desire is to have Robert by her side; her selfishness is what caused her to push others away. As stated in the novel, Mrs. Ross once had a brother that she loved dearly, but lost him in a trolley accident. From then on, she came to the conclusion that no matter whom they are and what relation she has with them, it is impossible for her to keep them alive. She doesn't have the power that it takes to keep anyone from encountering death. Because of her conclusion, she distances herself away from people that she loves in fear that she will get too close and then they will end up leaving like her brother did. She’s too frightened of loosing Robert so she doesn’t dare get too close with him. Such examples can be seen when she doesn’t hold Robert back when she realizes he wanted to go be a soldier, and when she had the final chance to tell Robert farewell, she decided to stay behind and watch from afar