Symbolism In The Wars By Timothy Findley

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Animals are seen as a person's best friend. However, in the novel The Wars by Timothy Findley, the protagonist, Robert, shares a closer relationship with animals than most people. Throughout the novel, there is a great amount of symbolism, one being the different animals. Robert has a strong connection to the natural world and animals that demonstrate his personality and the situations that he faces. The coyote, horse, and bird all have different characteristics that are reflected in Robert. This relationship between Robert and the various animals show how strong the connection between human nature is to animal nature.

A coyote is symbolized as a wanderer, outlaw, and survivor. In the novel, the coyote represents a symbolic meaning of the relationship between man and …show more content…
It symbolizes loyalty and companionship, as the coyote willing ran with Robert. “Robert had never seen an animal so thin. He wondered why it wasn't hunting and he thought there must be a place it went hunting” (Findley 30). For Robert to become a soldier, it is important from him to see the point of view of a hunter, the hunter being the coyote; Robert learns that in order to survive, you must kill. Robert follows the coyote and watches as it passes two gophers sitting upright, he notices that the coyote did not “pause to scuffle the burrows or even sniff at them. It just went right on trotting towards its goal” (30). The coyote teaches Robert to only focus on what’s important, expressing that the two gophers are insignificant. As the coyote moves forward, it stops at a valley with drinking water “ it stood on the opposite bank, threw its head back and howled. Then looked directly at him- and
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