An example of this is when Prior tells Rivers in detail what it is like to attack from a trench. He says.
“You wait; you try to calm down anybody who’s obviously shitting himself or on the verge of throwing up. You hope that you won’t do either of those things yourself. Then you start the count: ten, nine, eight… so on. You blow the whistle. You climb the ladder. Then you double through a gap in the wire, lie flat, wait for everybody else to get out- those that are left, there’s already quite a heavy toll, and then you stand up, start walking, at normal walking speed into a line of machine guns”
Prior’s description highlights the horrors of trench life and the awful risks the men have to take such as that of passing through a line of machine guns at “walking speed”. The language used by Barker adds to the reality of the horrors of war. Barker uses small sentences with many pauses, this creates tension and makes Prior’s description seem more horrific. Also, the use of the countdown, "ten, nine, eight…” adds to the dramas. Barker uses direct language such as “shitting” and “vomiting” to again add to the horror of Prior’s description. This sort of portrayal is hard to convey on the stage and so a novel has a better effect on the reader. Barker also uses real characters that existed during the war, such as Rivers, Sassoon and Owen and also the use of factual texts such as Sassoon’s declaration in opening of the novel helps make the horrors of war seem more realistic.
Regeneration is told from the experiences of the patients and provides a disturbing insight into the effects of war on the soldiers. An example of this is Sassoon whose hallucinations are discussed in the beginning of the play. He says that he saw,
“Corpses, men with half their faces shot off, crawling across the floor”
Sassoon also mentions that once when he “nodded off on a bench” and,
“When I woke up, the pavement was covered in corpses. Old ones, new ones, black, green”.
Theses disturbing references show the suffering of men, in their rest, sleep, or even when they are awake and how they often could not escape the horror as it was embedded in their minds. The description of the corpses used by Barker, such as, “old”, “new”, “black” and “green” helps to create ghastly images in the readers mind. Sassoon has visions of men who have died in battle and this suggests his subconscious worry about the deaths of soldiers and the deaths of men whom he knew and liked. We also know this is related to his fear of abandoning them and becoming one of the callous complacent civilians.
This can be compared to Journeys End where Sherriff also highlights this concept of the constant worry and guilt soldiers often felt towards soldiers who have died. This is mainly done through the relationship between Stanhope and Osbourne. Both characters shared a close friendship. Stanhope says,
“I love that fellow. I’d go to hell with him”.
This emphasises the tragedy when Osbourne dies towards the end of the play, and Sherriff suggests the weakness and insecurity Stanhope suffers after Osbourne’s death when he
“Stands towards the wall, his shoulders heaving as he fights for breath”
Sheriff uses words such as “heaving” and “fight” to emphasis Stanhope’s suffering.
Both Journeys End and Regeneration use young innocent characters to emphasize the effect of the horrors of war on such characters and how it terminates lives abruptly and destroys youth.
An example of this is in Journeys End, where Sheriff uses Raleigh as embodiment of youth and innocence but also to represent all the young men who fought and died in the trenches. Sheriff uses Raleigh to show the audience the reality of the horrors of war, and the horror of the trenches. Raleigh is new to the war and is unaware of the reality of the trench life and that of war. Sheriff uses Raleigh to represent the audience as the audience, just like Raleigh, are new to the reality of trench life and that of war. This makes the audience become more attached to the character of Raleigh. When Raleigh arrives at the trench for the first time he says that he is,
“Frightfully keen to get into Dennis’s regiment”
Raleigh also thinks that the attack he is going to lead with Osbourne is,
“Most frightfully exciting”
Here Sherriff shows Raleigh’s innocence, enthusiasm and the way in which he is unaware of the horror of death in the trenches. This helps create sympathy within the audience. Raleigh is described, walking back from the raid and his first encounter with death as
“Walking as though he were asleep”
This makes the audience aware of the profound effect the horrors has had on him.
Similarly in Regeneration, this concept is seen trough Burns. Barker shows how Burns has been aged by war and in effect lost his youth as he was pressurised into becoming a captain at the age of 21.
“His collar bones and ribs were clearly visible beneath the yellowish skin”
“From every nightmare he awoke vomiting”
Through these descriptions of Burns, Baker provides us with a horrific yet realistic look into the way in which war and death have affected young soldiers.
A clear contrast can be seen between Journeys End and Regeneration through the language used and the way in which the characters view and describe the war. In Journeys End the characters attempt to think more positively about the war and to a certain extent use romantic imagery to escape from the true reality of the horrors of war. An example of this is when Stanhope and Osbourne discuss the sunrise. They use positive language such as “gorgeous” and “splendid” which provides a pleasant, yet unrealistic picture of war. Also Osbourne refers to the battlefield as being,
“The breadth of a rugger field”.
Here Osbourne refers to the battles as a form of sport and Osbourne’s association with sport is described as a romantic view, as it moves away from the reality of the situation. Sheriff shows us here how soldiers coped emotionally by trivialising aspects concerning war.
However in Regeneration, Barker uses realistic and graphic language to portray a more genuine picture of the war.
“He had time to realise that what filled his nose and mouth was decomposing human flesh”
“When I woke up the pavement was covered in corpses…people were treading on their faces”
Barker uses more direct language to provide the reader with an accurate insight into the trauma experienced by many soldiers. However the concept of characters using romantic language to escape from the reality of war in Journeys End is also evident in Regeneration. Owen tells Sassoon on their first meeting that,
“I’ve always thought of p-poetry as the opposite of all that. The ugliness…s-something to take refuge in”
Interestingly, Owen changes under the guidance of Sassoon, and his poems become more graphic and portrays the “ugliness” of war rather than taking “refuge” from it.
Another issue that both writers discuss is how people in charge or those that have been given power are somewhat involved and responsible for such horrors and atrocities. We see this in Journeys End where characters such as the brigadier who is an important character but is never seen, only talked about by the other characters. Also characters such as the Sergeant Major, whom the audience only see giving orders. This realistically portrays to the audience what it is like for the soldiers in the trenches, they were given orders and sent to their deaths by the brigadier and high ranked officers but these characters after that are well behind the front line just monitoring them.
Likewise in Regeneration, Barker uses Yealland, a senior psychiatrist, to portray this message. Barker makes us witness the horrors the soldiers have to go through while in the hands of Yealland. Barker makes everything about Yealland sinister especially when Rivers comes to visit. Barker describes how Rivers,
“Pushed through the swing doors on to a long empty, shining corridor which, as he began to walk down, seemed to elongate”
This miserable description by Barker of the hospital corridor outlines the fact that for the soldiers at the hospital there was no way out and that they could not escape the horrors they have to face whilst in the hand of Yealland. Yealland says to Rivers,
“The patient has to know when he enters the electrical room that there’s no way out except by full recovery”
He also says,
“The last thing these patients need is a sympathetic audience”
This highlights the role senior people play of the suffering and horrors the soldiers of war have to endure and how as a society we do not acknowledge this. The changes forced upon Rivers i.e. his Regeneration is a results of the horrors of war.
I believe both texts are successful in portraying the many different horrors of war the soldiers have to go through. Barker shows various patients with their own struggles including constant hallucinations and nightmares, the loss of youth which was often experienced and inability to overcome explicit images that they witnessed. Barker shows a realistic and horrific view of war and its effect on men both physically and psychologically. Sheriff addresses the physiological effects of war on men and how often these men tried to hide away from the horrors of it. Through both texts we can see similar and contrasting effects of war. They present to us the horrors and atrocities of war that scar men physiologically but also destroy them physically.
