Timothy Findley's novel The Wars shows the cruelty and perversity of the First World War. However, as the plural in the title suggests, it is more than just a story about the historical war. War also works on a metaphorical level. In fact, there are three wars in it that contain a pacifist message. The war of technology against nature is the most obvious. It shows that if people destroy nature, a livable environment is no longer provided. Another war, which is not that obvious at first, is the struggle of Robert Ross to become a natural person again and to cope with all the changes his career as a soldier has created within him. His inner struggle leads us directly to the third big war, the war against obedience that reappears constantly in the novel. Findley suggests that everybody should take more responsibility for his action and to question authority.
             Here we discuss how Findley portrays these struggles for humanity. Findley introduces us from the very first moment to the war of technology against nature. In the first line Findley represents a horse as a symbol of nature alienated by war-machinery: "She was standing in the middle of the railroad tracks. Her head was bowed and her right front foot was raised as if she rested. [...] Behind her, a warehouse with medical supplies had just caught fire" (9). This horse stands right in the middle of the scenery of war surrounded by chaos. Through this image Findley introduces us to nature's alienation from its natural way of being by human beings' war machinery. It establishes a pattern of cruelty that grows throughout the novel.
             Most cruelties against nature in this novel are committed without any stated reason given. The first barbarism that we hear of is the killing of the rabbits of Robert's sister Rowenna. For no particular reason the family hires a soldier to kill the rabbits: "Why do the rabbits have to be killed?" asks Robert. "Because they were hers," ...