The Wars

Chapter Questions

PART ONE
Prologue, Chapters 1 - 3, pages 5 - 13

1. Describe how Robert is first introduced? What ideas are foreshadowed?

2. What fragments about Robert does Marion Turner include in her

transcript?

3. How do the townspeople/old folks view Robert Ross? Use evidence to

support your claim.

4. Identify and describe the members of the Ross family.

5. Who was the first person Robert Ross remembers seeing when he was an
infant? What expression did this person have on his/her face?

6. What connotations are suggested by the novels title?

7. What does Marion Turners comment about Robert Ross suggest when she
says to the archivist Robert Ross was no Hitler. That was his problem (13).

CHAPTERS 4-9 (pages 13 - 21)

1. How does Robert feel about girls?

2. Describe Heather Lawson's character.

3. Why does Robert spend so much time on the platform?

4. What type of writing style does Findley use in Chapter 5? Why does he
choose to write this way?

5. Describe Robert and Rowena's relationship. Provide examples from the

text.

6. Why does Mrs. Ross want the rabbits killed? What do the rabbits

represent?

7. What does Chapter 8 reveal? Why do you think Findley chose to make it
so brief?

8. What (subconsciously) made Robert want to join the army?

9. What does Robert mean when he yells at Teddy Budge, saying, "you
bastard! Bastard! What are soldiers for?"(20).

10. What is significant about the saying A chair fell over (19)?

11. What is revealed about Robert's character in Chapter 9?

CHAPTERS 10-13 (pages 21 - 31)

1. Identify a simile used to describe the ashes in chapter 10? Why do you
think Findley chose such a dramatic simile for such a mundane event?

2. What is Mrs. Ross trying to achieve through her conversation with Robert
in the bathroom?

3. Why does Mrs. Ross say to Robert: I cant keep anyone alive. Not any
more (23).

4. When Robert first entered the army, what was the first thing he wanted?

Why?

5. What aspect of the coyote's behaviour did Robert find surprising?

6. Write a character sketch of Eugene Taffler.

7. Define Juxtaposition.

8. How does Findley juxtapose the coyote scene with the Taffler scene?

9. Describe the biblical allusion in chapter 13.

10.To Robert, what does distance and space symbolize?

CHAPTERS 14 - 21 (pages 31 - 47)

1. In Lousetown, AB, why was Robert hesitant about entering Wet Goods?

2. Once in the Wet Goods whorehouse, how does Robert react to his
surroundings? What does this reveal about him?

3. What is Roberts reaction to the scene he witnesses between Taffler and

the Swede? What are some of the reasons for Roberts reaction(s)? How
does this scene illustrate the theme of the corruption of war and/or the loss of
innocence?

4. What does the duality within Tafflers character illustrate about the nature of
war?

5. Who is Longboat and why does Robert admire him?

6. While viewing a photograph of Robert Ross - Second Lieutenant, C.F.S,

Marion Turner, in her transcript, says:

"Death is romantic-got from silent images. I lived - was young - and died. But
not real death, of course, because Im standing here alive . . . "(44).

What is the significance of this quotation?

CHAPTERS 22-30 (pages 47 - 65)

1. Findley uses effective vocabulary (49) to show Mrs. Ross' growing
impatience with the hypocrisy of the church. Provide examples of some
effective words or phrases used.

2. Explain how the snowball symbolizes Mrs. Ross changing temperament.

3. How are Captain Ord and Clifford Purchase's view of war contrasted?

4. When tending to the horses, what kind of support does Robert get from his
superiors?

5. What does the event with the injured horse reveal about Roberts
character? Explain how it serves as part of his transformation.

6. After Robert shoots the horse, the narrator says, A chair fell over in his
[Roberts] mind (60). What event does this parallel and why are these two
events connected? (See page 19).

7. How did Monty Miles Raymond die? How might this help us understand
Mrs. Ross?

PART TWO

CHAPTERS 1 - 7 (pages 69 - 87)

1. How is the mud described in Chapter one? Why is its colour significant?

2. When Robert hears the sound of the birds, what does he think of? Does
this seem like an odd or a natural connection to make? Explain.

3. What do the crows symbolize?

4. The rhetorical style (short sentences, few adjectives, use of dash, and
sentence fragments) suits the content of the MUD DROWNING scene.
Explain why.

5. Briefly describe the characters of Poole, Levitt, Bonnycastle, Devlin and

Rodwell. What do these soldiers have in common?

6. How did Robert first misinterpret the singing of the bird? How does this
compare to his first misinterpretation of the crows? What does this show
about Robert's changing character?

CHAPTERS 8 - 13
1. Levitt is a big fan of the war author Clausewitz. What is Clausewitz'
philosophy of war? (87)

2. Describe what sleep is like for Robert (91).

3. Why do you think Robert is so dedicated to Harris?

4. In point form, use evidence from the novel to describe the character of
Barbara D'Orsey.

5. What piece of information does Juliet D'Orsey provide about Stuart Ross
(98).

6. Juliet expresses her anger at the way the modern day population
misconceives the war's effects on the people at that time. She feels the same
way as the war poet Sassoon. Summarize the story Juliet tells about
Sassoon (101-102).

PART THREE

Monday, 28 February (pages 109 - 131)

1. Levitt, Rodwell, Poole, and Robert all react differently to the bombing at
the start of this section. Describe how each responds.

2. We are told that Levitt "was suffering from shock" (111). What are the
signs of this?

3. In the midst of war's madness. Robert sets a rat free. Why? What is
significant about this act?

4. At the Battalion Signals Office, we are introduced to Captain Leather.

What does Findleys use of repetition serve in illustrating the
characterization of Captain Leather?

5. Again, like the previous question, look at how Findley uses the repetition
of He wanted (116) when describing Roberts reaction to Captain
Leathers orders. How does Findleys use of repetition illustrate Roberts
feelings?

6. Who is Corporal Bates?

7. How does Robert show that, even at 19, he is coming into his own officer?

8. How does Robert react to shooting the German and what does this reveal
about his journey from innocence to adulthood? (Or the effect war is
having on him?)

9. What symbolic about the bird and its singing in the scene involving Robert
and the German Soldier?

10. What role does fire play from the bottom of page 131 - 133? Consider its
effects.

11. What comment does Findley make about leaders in the military through
Captain Leather (133)? How does this relate to what Clausewitzs book,
On War, teaches? Remember that he believes that much of military
intelligence is questionable at best and that it is frequently wrong.

12. Why does Rodwell commit suicide? How is his character summed up in
the letter to his daughter, the toad, and his artwork?

13. What do we learn about Mrs. Ross in this section? How does her
behaviour echo what Robert is going through?

14. Findley continues to emphasize Robert's connection with nature and the
world of animals. How does he do this at the end of the section? From
what is he distancing Robert?

PART FOUR

1. What had Lady Juliets house, St. Aubyn, been turned into during the war?
2. What does Robert bring to St. Aubyns and why do you think he does this?
3. Why was Taffler in the hospital?
4. What is the story behind Lady Sorrels ghost?
5. What does she (Lady Sorrel) always carry?
6. With whom did Barbara visit Taffler in the hospital?
7. How does Robert react to Barbaras intimate gestures and what does this reveal
about him?
8. Lady Juliet walked in on Taffler. What was he trying to accomplish?

9. At what did Robert fire his gun and destroy absolutely? Of what is this symbolic?
10. What did Lady Juliet see accidentally when she was impersonating Lady Sorrels
ghost?
11. What scene does this parallel and what does it reveal about Roberts character?

PART FIVE

1. What is the significance of Robert giving the sketchbooks to Juliet?

2. Which personal property of Roberts got lost temporarily? What does the Webley
represent?
3. When Robert looked at himself in the mirror, what did he expect to see? Compare
this to how Robert is described at the beginning of the novel.
4. What happened to Robert when he went to go have a bath?
5. Who was responsible for the incident and how did Robert know who was
responsible?
6. What does this event tell us about the nature of war and the impact of its setting
on people?
7. How did Robert react when he returned to his room? Why do you think he reacts
in this manner?
8. Robert burned one of his possessions. What was it and what is significant about
this act?
9. What has likely happened if an officer is found shot in the back?
10. What request did Robert make of Captain Leather?
11. What did Captain Leather decide would be the right course of action?
12. As it turned out, whose opinion was correct? Explain?
13. How did Captain Leather die?
14. What did Robert tear off of his uniform and what is significant about this action?
15. What happened to Mrs. Ross after she heard that Robert was missing in action?
16. What/who did Robert rescue from the railcars?
17. Where was he attempting to go once he left the rail yard?
18. In what type of building did the soldiers trap Robert?
19. Why did they believe Robert had at least one accomplice with him?
20. What did they do to try to force him to come out?

21. Who/what saved Roberts life?

22. What did the nurse, Marian Turner, offer Robert in the hospital?
23. What was his answer and what does it reveal about his view of life?
24.

Describe one detail of the photograph taken of Robert one year before his death?
(Described on the second last page of the novel.)