Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay - 1105 Words

Pat Barkers Regeneration Pat Barkers Regeneration focuses on the troubled soldiers mental status during World War One. Barker introduces the feelings soldiers had about the war and militarys involvement with the war effort. While Regeneration mainly looks at the male perspective, Barker includes a small but important female presence. While Second Lieutenant Billy Prior breaks away from Craiglockhart War Hospital for an evening, he finds women at a cafe in the Edinburgh district (Barker 86). He comes to the understanding that the women are munitions workers. Womens involvement in war work in Regeneration shows the potential growth in womens independence, but at the expense of restrictions placed on men while they were on the†¦show more content†¦Even by supporting equal pay, women still earned less then their male counterparts, but found the pay much higher than the domestic jobs they left. Equal pay may not have been as equal as women hoped, but their experience and reason for working in the factori es allowed them to feel more distinguished than working in domesticated services. While men argued against women working in factories, the women were taking full strides to prove their strength and abilities while working under harsh and almost unbearable conditions. Women worked long hours exposed to chemicals and explosives that caused damaging health conditions. The most noticeable health problem came from TNT poisoning that caused jaundice (Robb 43). The symptoms women suffered were pains below the xiphisternum, loss of appetite, nausea, constipation, dermatitis, irritability, depression, and some change in menstruation (Thom 124). Under harsh conditions, women continued to prove their abilities though suffering with health ailments. Barker introduces Sarah Lumb, Lizzy, Madge, and Betty as munition-ettes in order to show the experiences of the home front effort in the plot (Barker 87). Barker uses Sarah to help Billy Prior and readers understand the monotonous, harsh conditions of the factories, and a womans desire to expand her economic status. In this scene, readers are presented with Sarahs background as a servant who finds munitions work more reliable forShow MoreRelated Pat Barkers Regeneration1667 Words   |  7 Pagesthat society began to see the emergence of contraception and its acceptance. Readers can also see its emergence in Regeneration on page 128, as Billy Prior propositions his new love interest by stating he always paddles with me boots on, a reference to the fact that he, as an army man, always wears contraception when having intercourse. With this background, we can now see how Pat Barker uses this brief cultural reference to remind readers of the history of contraception for both men and wome nRead More Heritage and Identity in Pat Barkers Regeneration1563 Words   |  7 PagesThe presence of Jews in England has been a source of controversy for many reasons. On page 35 of Pat Barkers historical novel Regeneration, Siegfried Sassoon reveals the nature of his relationship with his father, who left home when he was five, and gives an account of his Jewish history. Though he hadnt been raised Jewish and apparently had no association with his Jewish relatives, Sassoon was subjected to the discrimination that was often seen in England before and during WWI. Through SassoonsRead More Courage in Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay1763 Words   |  8 PagesCourage in Pat Barkers Regeneration During the Vietnam War, many Americans decided to choose conscientious objector status and serve the war effort in non-combative ways; others moved to Canada, leaving their families, their communities, and their nation because of strong political convictions. While some said these people were cowards and a disgrace to their families and their nation, others argued that those had just as much courage as the men on the front lines. Although moving to CanadaRead MorePortrayal of Role of Women in Society in Pat Barkers Regeneration1223 Words   |  5 PagesRegeneration focuses on troubled soldiers mental states during WW1. The Craiglockhart setting allows Barker to explore the psychological effects of warfare on men who went to fight and also their feelings about the war and the military s involvement in it. While the focus of the novel is firmly on the male perspective (indeed Barker claimed she had partly chosen this novel to prove she could do men as well as women ), there is a sma ll but important female presence. When WW1 began in 1914Read MorePat Barkers Regeneration, Wilfred Owens Poetry and Joseph Hellers Catch-223081 Words   |  13 PagesExplore the psychological and moral impact of war on soldiers and civilians in Pat Barkers Regeneration and Wilfred Owens poetry. In the course of your writing show how your ideas have been illuminated by your response to Joseph Hellers Catch-22 and other readings of both core texts. Pat Barkers Regeneration, Wilfred Owens poetry and Joseph Hellers Catch-22 can all be categorised as subjective war texts  as the main structural principle is not dominated by characters actions, but ratherRead More Comparing Irony of War in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front1165 Words   |  5 PagesIrony of War Exposed in Dulce et Decorum, Regeneration, and Quiet on the Western Front    Many of the young officers who fought in the Great War enlisted in the army with glowing enthusiasm, believing that war was played in fancy uniforms with shiny swords. They considered war as a noble task, an exuberant journey filled with honor and glory. Yet, after a short period on the front, they discovered that they had been disillusioned by the war: fighting earned them nothing but hopelessness, deathRead MoreComparing the Ways Michael Herr in Dispatches and Pat Barker in Regeneration Show the Effects of War2879 Words   |  12 PagesComparing the Ways Michael Herr in Dispatches and Pat Barker in Regeneration Show the Effects of War When comparing Michael Herrs Dispatches and Regeneration by Pat Barker the differences in format, style and setting are clear from the outset. However both books explore the horrifying effect of war on those directly and indirectly involved. The two authors attempt to take the reader away from objective, statistical impressions of war and closer to the real experiencesRead MoreRepresentations Of Gender And Masculinity1503 Words   |  7 PagesRepresentations of gender and masculinity in Pat Barker s Regeneration. One of the major themes in Pat barker’s ‘Regeneration’ is gender and masculinity, this is my chosen theme. The novel overall reflects the struggles of World War one soldiers and their attempts to overcome the trauma of war experience. In this essay, I will be exploring ways which Barker represents my chosen themes. By discussing in depth and focusing on homosexuality, parenthood, emasculation, and mutism as a symbol. A keyRead MoreAnalysis Of Pat Barker s Night 2568 Words   |  11 Pagesanalyzing speak about the idea of mental health or war trauma during World War I and World War II, instead of calling it PTSD the authors call is shell shock, which is close to the definition of PTSD. The two books that I am analyzing is Pat Barker s Regeneration, which is focused on a mental institution and how soldiers deal with shell shock and many other internal struggles. The second is Elie Wiesel’s book Night, which speaks about a family that is taken to a concentration camp and is dealingRead MoreEmasculation Essay882 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿How does Pat Barker use symbolism in the novel Regeneration to explore the theme of emasculation? The theme emasculation appears several times throughout the novel Regeneration in variety of forms. Barker’s exploration of emasculation in the novel challenges traditional notions of manliness, showing war as a possible â€Å"feminine† experience. Pat Barker is bringing to attention that the atrocities suffered at war are making the soldiers unmanly as they’re facing shell shock and trauma. There are many