He is not yet twenty as we follow him from his cloistered home in Toronto across the Atlantic to Ypres and the horrors of the battlefield. Robert Ross, a young Canadian, enlists as an officer. 8vo 8' - 9' tall 226 pages A reprint of the 1977 edition.

A bright, solid book, dust jacket in Mylar jacket protector. The four elements ultimately symbolize the ongoing struggle for life and the destructive alterations of mind, body, and spirit that Robert and the other soldiers experience at war.Hardcover. These natural forces-water, air, earth, and fire-are powerful in their ability to disrupt lives and bring about change, serving as a parallel to the all-encompassing societal disruption that World War I brings about. This fascination seemingly occurs because coming into contact with the four elements bridges the gap between what soldiers are experiencing on the battlefront and what she and other civilians are experiencing on the home front. Ross forces herself out into the harsh Canadian elements (rain, snow, wind, and mud) and is captivated by the news of a fire that destroys the Ottawa Parliament Building. While these harrowing events are taking place in Europe, Robert’s mother, Mrs. Fire is what finally destroys Robert’s life at the end of the novel, as the incident with the horses in the burning barn disfigures his body and brands him as a traitor. Many soldiers die torturous deaths in infernos caused by flamethrowers and bombs. Similar to earth, fire represents the all-consuming pain and destruction of war. Earth reflects the dehumanization and gruesome death inherent to trench warfare, as thousands of soldiers die unceremoniously by drowning in the muddy trenches.

Air represents the men’s lack of control and fleeting optimism amidst the ongoing fight for their lives, as chlorine and mustard gas attacks often disrupt otherwise peaceful moments, filling the air with suffocating fog and depriving them of oxygen. For example, he soaks in the bathtub before he enlists in the army, crosses the ocean on his journey to Europe, and bathes at Asile Desolé before he is raped by fellow soldiers. Water signifies the life-altering changes that war brings about, as Robert either bathes or comes into contact with this element just before many of his major transitions as a soldier. As the men experience the violence of World War I, these four elements come to represent their ongoing struggle between life and death. Throughout the novel, Robert Ross and his fellow soldiers continually encounter water, air, earth, and fire in various forms.

The wars findley