The Horrors of World War I are unimaginable Compare and contrast the ways in which Pat Barker and R.C Sheriff present the horrors of the first World War

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“The Horrors of World War I are unimaginable” Compare and contrast the ways in which Pat Barker and R.C Sheriff present the horrors of the first World War

"Regeneration" was written by Pat Barker, a university-trained historian and this is confirmed by the presence of very reliable sources in the "Author's Notes", at the end of the novel. It was written in the 1990's which has enabled her to gather a lot of information about the war. Pat's grandfather had been bayoneted during the war, and Pat would see his scars when he went to the sink to wash and thus would have gathered a personal account of some horrors. His experiences in the war made influenced Barker's understanding of the period, making the effect of the war more immediate and personal. She attributes her immediate inspiration for "Regeneration" to her husband, a neurologist, who was familiar with Dr. Rivers's experiments on nerve "Regeneration" in the early twentieth century, yet she chooses not to use the correct technicality when explaining the variety of mental states, so that her readers do not divert the focus from the painful experiences of both a patient and their therapist. However, "Journey's End" was written by R.C Sheriff who had first-hand experience in the war. His play is based upon real life experiences, mirroring the way he and his comrades lived and fought; it relives some of its horrors. Due to the fact that R.C Sheriff was an Officer in the war, and was injured at the battle of Passchendaele (1917), the play is made even more intimate and gives a completely different perspective than the novel "Regeneration".

The choice of setting of the novel and play are crucial in the way that the horrors of the war are revealed to readers and audiences of the texts.

"Regeneration" is set in Craig Lockhart mental hospital in Scotland. Although this is hundreds of miles away from the frontline, Barker is still able to show the trauma and both physical and mostly mental suffering that the war has caused to soldiers. Having such a setting has allowed the author to isolate the theme of mental breakdown, aswell as highlighting the fact that the mental illnesses that these soldiers possess, somewhat are kept in circulation by the fact that they are locked behind the walls, and forced to face their fears.  "Journey's End" however is set in the danger zone, just behind the frontline. Faint sound and lighting effects would be used to show shelling and grenade attacks, coming through the doorway that leads to the trench outside, reminding the audience of the reality of war. This would lead the audience to feel as if they were stuck right in the middle of the war with the soldiers.

Secondly, is the fact that the very foundations of a character could be altered due to the horrors that they have experienced or witnessed during the war.

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Rivers is both the protagonist and the hero. As the main protagonist, he is the centre of the novel, everything revolves around him. There are only 3 chapters when Rivers is not here. The novel closes on him. Other characters are like satellites around him. In the final chapter, they say goodbye to Rivers but they stay in his mind. Rivers is the hero, he is presented as an outstanding person, a terribly hard-worker. What is remarkable is the way he deals with his patients: his capacity for empathy.

        Another secondary character, which shows how good Rivers is Yealland. ...

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