Although fire ultimately brings about his death, it can also be said that it makes a hero out of him. "The world of fire can be a destructive world of malignant demons.but it can also be a cleansing purgatorial fire." Although in the novel there are many scenes that depict this destructive nature, in the end Robert's ordeal with fire brings about a somewhat peaceful end to his life. It is as though Robert Ross, having overcome the elements can truly rest in peace. .
By: John Sedgwick .
The Theme of Fire in The Wars.
In The Wars, fire represents many things, both good and evil. For many of soldiers of the Great War, the element of fire made life a living hell, and we see this as the story evolves. The invention of the flame thrower, as mentioned in the book, brings a great deal of fear to the soldiers. A fear which they cannot escape no matter how much they want to. None of them know what this new invention is or what it is capable of doing, therefore they fear it. Many soldiers doubted that man would even think of creating such a monstrous machine, let alone being technologically advanced enough to make it a reality. "A: Men would not do such things and, B: they could not. Then they did." The fear of the fire that these men, including Robert Ross, experience is that of helplessness. Having to stand their ground shooting aimlessly as their friends "were blown apart where they stood - blown apart by the combustion." The fire transformed the young men mentally and emotionally from the young men they already were into helpless children. .
The fear is not only in the weapons of war, but also in the war itself. After fighting the same war for years and many are now mentally scarred and physically battered. The soldiers become forced to fight another war, not a physical war with guns and bombs, but rather a war within themselves. The mental pain caused by years of witnessing disgusting sights and actions.
