Mrs. Ross downfall

          The day after Robert sets sail to go fight in what’s left of the horrific mud wastelands of  western Europe. The rest of the country is paying visits to the church to go root on there boys and pray for them. To put the power of God on the Canadian side. While the rest of the country is all proud of there young men Mrs. Ross feels very differently on the matter. There isn’t any hope left in her mind. She is still very depressed about  her first child’s death. Now that Robert is taking off to Europe to fight Nazi’s, she believes he is as good as dead. “ shaking one another’s hands as if to congratulate themselves that all their sons had gone away to die” (Findley, page 53) This shows how pathetic she thinks everyone is being, getting excited and proud of their country for fighting a pointless war. One of the biggest themes forming within the novel as I read is innocence. Through animals and Robert but the innocence here is all the young men going off to fight in a battle that they did not engage or even need to be a part of. Canada was still just a starting out country during world war 1 and we were just becoming established as our own. In a way World War 1 took away Canada’s innocence which many believe is a good thing but Mrs. Ross believes this war is idiotic. “ What does it mean- to kill your children? Kill them and then … go in there and sing about it!” (Findley page 54) This is a foreshadowing moment to me. She is so set on Roberts death that I can almost guarantee that he dies by the end of the novel. I will be very surprised if it turns out ok for especially since so many people were slaughtered in the early wars. Another theme coming up in the novel is how war can destroy you mentally. Mrs Ross has had a traumatic experience with her Daughter dieing before her which no parent ever wants. Now that Robert has left for war she has become a little strange in the head. This is most likely why she is saying the things she is about all the people in the church.