History In The Making
...influence over our future. Everything we go through today involves some sort of history, whether it is a newspaper, journal, book, letter or maybe an older relative. Every time I speak to my grandparents, not a single conversation occurs without having a history lesson involved. As I was never good in history, my father always used to joke around with me saying “who cares about the past, it’s the future that counts”. History has been recorded in one way or another since the dawn of creation and those interested have been uncovering artefacts, remains and ancient writings, sometimes devoting their entire lives to the endeavour. I think it is impossible to record all aspects of history, which is why I think it is necessary to use our imagination to fill in the gaps. Findley’s writing demonstrates the justifiability of imagining history while Barker denounces it, through the use of narration, character and the inclusion of an author’s note.
Through the use of narration, Findley proclaims that he imagines certain parts of history, while Barker does not. In Findley’s novel The Wars, the narrator is quite visible as we know who it is, a historian who recounts the story while digging through archives. Findley lets us know this from the start of the novel, when he states “You begin at the archives with photographs […] Boxes and boxes of snapshots and portraits; maps and letters; cablegrams and clippings from the papers” (Findley 7). The reader can already get an idea that he will be improvising certain parts, as there is no way to recount a story
with photographs or letters. Unless the archivist finds a video of what exactly happened, it’s impossible to know the complete truth! Later on in the novel, when Robert Ross enters a whorehouse, he is taken upstairs by Ella, a prostitute. Robert was unable to control himself and ejaculates in his pants...
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