In the novels, The Wars and Famous Last Words Timothy Findlay has used facts from history to write fictions which convey a message about life and war. The Wars is a story of World War I, but it actually depicts the life of a young sensitive man who has fought the battle not only in the fields but also in his domestic life and a battle against himself. Famous Last Words almost picks up after the World War I, and leads to the World War II. Timothy Findley describes Famous Last Words as "a book that is written on the walls of a hotel by a novelist under threat of death" (Inside Memory 193). These two characters' actions and testaments stages trials that forces the readers and the people around them to be the judges. Robert Ross in The Wars is judged by his last desperate act to declare his commitment to life (The Wars title review) which some people saw as betrayal. Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, who is looked at as a traitor by many, too attempts to affirm himself and live on among the people through his writings. Both the characters suffer from guilt, grief and abandonment but they each act on it differently. Robert Ross in The Wars has been considered a hero or a madman in contrast to H.S.Mauberley in Famous Last Words who can be perceived as a traitor or a compulsive witness. Amongst the confusion, the deaths, the assassinations and betrayals, we are focused to reveal the truths of these two characters and decide of right and wrong.
Robert Ross had been fighting in a domestic war even before the World War I had begun; his mother had no interest in any of her children's lives and secluded herself to drinking. Robert always took care of his handicapped sister Rowena who was also his best friend. Rowena dies an accidental death in the absence of Ross, who he was supposed to be watching. This, along with his mother's ignorance, further disturbs Robert that drives him to go and fight in the war. After Rowena's death her animals are killed despite Robert's attempt to...