The Wars
One of the main questions that I had in regards to Timothy Findley’s work with this novel was “why did he include the rape scene?” I know that is an important scene in the novel, but I decided to research the question further on my own.
I found out that the reason that he included the rape scene in the book was because it was a metaphor for how world war one had “raped” a generation in different ways. When you think about it this is very true. A generation that at the time was my age lost so many young men in world war one. They wanted to be brave and fight for your country. To go to war and to fight for your country was considered to be a real man. These young men lost their innocence, sanity; friends, family, and worst of all many lost their lives. That is the price their generation had to pay for war.
Timothy Findley does a marvellous job in proving his point, and regardless of any speculation of how the rape scene would affect the success of his novel he proceeded. Although very graphic I think the rape scene was one of the most important scenes’ in the novel. It was this scene that allows the readers to understand the effects of the First World War on the young generation of men that had to endure the battle.
When reading this novel I began to think about what it would have been like if I had lived during that time period. What it would have been like to be a woman at home who lost her son or husband, or a man in the war who was staring death in the face. What could these men have become if their lives had been spared, and how would it affect my life today if the same thing we’re to happen?
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