Regeneration by Pat Barker Essay -- Regeneration Pat Barker Essays

Regeneration by Pat doggieThe war in Regeneration is explored back home. Rather thanportraying the war in terms of contend on the frontline in thebattlefields of France, Barker demonstrates the effects on thesoldiers back home, both physically and mentally. The soldiers arethose who have been injured, shell-shocked, or had a breakdown and arebeing treated with the intention of sending those who are able, backto France or at least resuming roughly kind of war duties.The war is explored, essentially in terms of the psychological effectsof those who fought it. The physical traumas and horrific injuriessuffered are widely known. However the mental traumas are probablyless known and not fully understand. It is from this perspectiveBarker writes. The book poses as an alternative to the novels writtenfrom the perspective and experiences of the soldier who is fighting onthe frontline. I Regeneration we learn of these experiences from thosewho were there but learn them in such a way that we are allowed tounderstand the real and devastating effects they can have onindividuals.Barker patchages to provoke the vivid and torturesome pain of the FirstWorld War through her characters and portrayals of how their lives andthey themselves have come to change as people as a result of theirinvolvement in the war. This is seen most clearly in patients such asSassoon, Burns and Prior as well as Dr. Rivers. Through thesecharacters she challenges the assumptions just about the relationshipbetween doctors and their patients - some patients describe Rivers asa father figure, between men and women - Prior finds comfort in awoman who learns nothing about his devastating experiences, and to that degreethere are sub... ...become a rickety sack of skin and bones. There is an episode inRegeneration of his suicide attempt and we learn more about Burnstrough his actions rather than his words and emotions. Burns wasalmost certainly never going to be able to everywherecome his condition andsuffered badly from marvelous nightmares. Burns portrays then men whocame back but already had lost their lives. Burns would never be ableto return even slightly to the man he once was because his ordeal wastoo overwhelming and incredibly hard for him to forget and overcome.He is compelled with his thoughts and reminded of his experience inevery nightmare and every clipping he eats. He would rather die and thisis what Barker tries to communicate with us - that there were somewhose experiences were so devastating that they will never get overthem and therefore have already lost their lives.