How did Pat Barker present the effects of war on men in Regeneration?
How does Barker present the effects of war on men?
In the novel Regeneration, Pat Barker examines how the war altered and affected the men involved. Throughout the book, she explores how the horrific experiences of the war caused breakdown and mental illness for many soldiers by including characters that display a number of different neuroses. As well as this she closely looks at relationships and how they were altered over the course of the war.
The most prominent way Barker presents the effects that war had on men is through both the psychological and physical damage it inflicted upon them. Barker uses the fictional characters Prior, Burns, and Willard to explore different aspects of the effect of war; that being mutism, starvation, and paralysis respectively. Through the character of Prior, Barker explores the way mutism can stem from the conflict of a soldier ‘wanting to say something and knowing if they do, the consequences will be disastrous’. Barker uses this to show how many men were psychologically damaged due to the war and their wanting to speak out against it due to the horror, but knowing they can’t due to the repercussions. Barker writes Prior as an officer, meaning he has authority, but in spite of this, he still has higher powers to answer to and is therefore restricted from what he can say, ultimately resulting in him becoming mute.
Barker includes the character of Willard to show a different psychological damage the war has on men, in that his paralysis is psychosomatic and therefore insinuating that his subconscious has been so horrifically damaged as a result of what he has experienced, it ultimately has prevented him from walking. As well as this, Willard is used as an example of how men, especially those who could not return to war after being injured, became emasculated due to their injuries and their inability to function regularly in daily life. Barker emphasises Willard’s ‘fury at being stranded’ and the feeling of ‘impotence’ that
In the novel Regeneration, Pat Barker examines how the war altered and affected the men involved. Throughout the book, she explores how the horrific experiences of the war caused breakdown and mental illness for many soldiers by including characters that display a number of different neuroses. As well as this she closely looks at relationships and how they were altered over the course of the war.
The most prominent way Barker presents the effects that war had on men is through both the psychological and physical damage it inflicted upon them. Barker uses the fictional characters Prior, Burns, and Willard to explore different aspects of the effect of war; that being mutism, starvation, and paralysis respectively. Through the character of Prior, Barker explores the way mutism can stem from the conflict of a soldier ‘wanting to say something and knowing if they do, the consequences will be disastrous’. Barker uses this to show how many men were psychologically damaged due to the war and their wanting to speak out against it due to the horror, but knowing they can’t due to the repercussions. Barker writes Prior as an officer, meaning he has authority, but in spite of this, he still has higher powers to answer to and is therefore restricted from what he can say, ultimately resulting in him becoming mute.
Barker includes the character of Willard to show a different psychological damage the war has on men, in that his paralysis is psychosomatic and therefore insinuating that his subconscious has been so horrifically damaged as a result of what he has experienced, it ultimately has prevented him from walking. As well as this, Willard is used as an example of how men, especially those who could not return to war after being injured, became emasculated due to their injuries and their inability to function regularly in daily life. Barker emphasises Willard’s ‘fury at being stranded’ and the feeling of ‘impotence’ that