Book By: Pat Barker
Blog By: Corey Trinetti
Comment on what worked well in the novel. Provide direct support.
The novel Regeneration by Pat Barker had many aspects that were appealing. For example, its use of themes and, in particular, the theme of madness, worked quite well in the novel. The theme of madness was a recurring theme in the novel Regeneration. An example of this in the novel is that madness was the problem affecting the ‘patients’, i.e., Sassoon and Prior. It was the duty of the psychiatrists at Craiglockhart War Hospital to try and correct the madness that was affecting their patients.
Rivers, a psychiatrist at the hospital, encouraged his patients to try and express their memories and feelings through verbal communication with him. His methods seemed to ‘cure the madness’ because both Prior and Sassoon were eventually released from Craiglockhart; the former going home, and the latter returning to the war.
The use of symbolism in Regeneration also worked quite well, giving the author’s writing more depth and meaning. Trenches are used as symbols, representing graves. Although many patients seemed to have horrible memories of trenches, Prior’s memories of the trenches seemed to stand out. Prior remembered waking up in a trench, and finding two of his men dead as a result of an exploded shell. Prior mixed their remains with lyme in order to use their bodies as reinforcement for the walls of the trench. In effect, the trench was their grave.
Comment on what disappointed you and explain why you were disappointed. Provide specific examples to support your opinion.
Although the novel was quite interesting and meaningful, it did have some elements to it that were somewhat disappointing. One of these elements was the complexity of the writing that the author used. Since the author is from England, and since the book is from more of an English perspective, it often caused some issues in clarity for me. To add to this, the book used many references to the war and society that I was unfamiliar with, having never lived in the time period the book was set in.
The portrayal of more minor characters in the novel, such as Anderson and Burns, also disappointed me. I would like to have read more about these characters and their time at Craiglockhart. Although the novel did tell some stories of these men, I believe that the author could have gone into more detail about them, explaining how the theme of regeneration tied into their lives, as well. While these men did play a significant role in the novel, it would have been less disappointing if they had played an even larger role.
Copy 2 short passages of especially good descriptive writing and explain why each appealed to you.
“‘So, you agree with his views but not his actions? Isn't that rather an artificial distinction?'
'No, I don't think it is. The way I see it, when you put the uniform on, in effect you sign a contract. And you don't back out of a contract merely because you've changed your mind.' “
This conversation between Rivers and Graves appealed to me because of its cleverness. This passage occurs in Part One of the novel, when Rivers questions Graves about his views of the war and about Sassoon’s protest. This quotation appeals to me because, although Graves does not disagree with Sassoon’s views, he must give an answer that follows that traditional English way of thinking. This was a way of thinking that was taught in the English school system of that era.
The passage also appeals to me because Graves is able to answer Rivers’ difficult question while using a good analogy to help back it up. Graves’ quick thinking and sharp intellect allow him to formulate this response without hesitation.
“A horse's bit. Not an electrode, not a teaspoon. A bit. An instrument of control. Obviously he and Yealland were both in the business of controlling people. Each of them fitted young men back into the role of warrior, a role they had—however unconsciously—rejected. He found himself wondering once or twice recently what possible meaning the restoration of mental health could have in relation to his work.”
The passage above describes the thoughts of Rivers after witnessing Yealland's treatment of his patients with electro-shock therapy. The passage is appealing because it is very graphic; it describes Rivers realizing that his nightmare was him trying to shove a horse's bit into the mouth of his patient, Sassoon, who was resisting this treatment.
The author’s use of short and incomplete sentences also appeals to me in this passage because it helps to mimic how Rivers is thinking. Rivers is in almost a panicked state of mind and the short sentences help to depict how is brain is working and how he keeps jumping from idea to idea. These concise sentences also tend to draw the reader’s attention away from the entire passage and move it more toward thinking about the smaller passages, such as the one about the ‘bit’.
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