The evolution of Burns’s trauma from lashing about in the unforgiving greenery to sitting in pure serenity amongst the circle of dead animals, having triumphantly conquered the ruthless elements to a point, is steady and established by Barker especially through vivid imagery and description of the setting. Physical descriptions of Burns, in-depth information into his past or even an explanation as to how and why he was at that particular area are all bypassed by Barker in favour of descriptions of the gust that ‘snatched his breath,’ and the ‘veil of rain’ that seemingly covered the distance he had stumbled. Attributing human qualities to the environment enhances the detailed descriptions of the setting, but it also develops the passage’s overall impact. The concept of Burns almost fighting a battle in walking through the forest may at first seem superfluous, but it is the painstaking description that gives Regeneration a poignant edge and augments the other elements of the extract—such as characterisation.
The characterisation of the passage may seem to be fleeting—the descriptions of Burns are not detailed, and there are none included of Rivers—in fact, even his position in Burns’s life is not made entirely clear. This seeming blurriness of human characterisation is, however, written with its reasons. All the reader may deduce from the passage is that Burns is an ex-military man, still dressed in khaki, and that he may still be in a state of shell-shock or trauma. “He didn’t know what to do at first, it was so long since he’d been anywhere alone.” Burns still relies, like a soldier, on the voice of authority—he hears commands in his head from a man called Rivers, even ‘in his dreams,’ and follows them. It is his gut-instinct that pulls him through the forest, and this makes the antagonistic nature of the country lane even more pronounced. Burns can almost hardly be classified as a character in Regeneration—he is at the mercy of a malevolent Mother Nature, a shell back from war in need of a commanding voice and healing. Barker’s progression from the heavy description of the setting to the fleeting treatment of Burns as a fully-fledged character makes Burns’s struggle even more interesting, and adds a new dimension to the passage.
Continuing the thread of Burns’s almost non-existent development into a character in Regeneration is his relationship with the dead animals. Barker does not flesh out Burns fully in the extract as a character complete with dialogue and a biography, but rather allows other elements to highlight these necessary details. Burns trips uncertainly through the forest, as uncertain as ever and being bogged down with rain and slapping trees, when he encounters the dead mole. The dead mole’s hands are folded across its chest, and all it would conceivably need is a small coffin to lie down in. The mole startles Burns, and he panics upon discovering that the tree ‘bore them like fruit.’ The dead animals are introduced with an element of horror—on the part of Burns, and also in their method of hanging grotesquely from the tree, as though inviting someone to pick them freshly dead and ripe. However, the passage moves towards a complete change in tone and atmosphere, Burns’s attitude takes a small twist. He puts aside his revulsion to untie them, and they garland the tree in a seeming ‘circle of life.’ Burns is satisfied by his altruistic act, and lies against the rough tree in spiritual comfort with his new companions. The dead animals reinforce Burns’s inclination to regeneration and rebirth, and so, as he frees them, they become less of a part of the unfamiliar, unkind terrain, and a relationship develops with between Burns and the animal corpses. They represent a restoration of order and calm, while he takes comfort in the idea that they will all be in harmony and in their rightful place. The author does not enlarge upon this relationship in a conventional way, but rather the reader is able to deduce its details with the shift in tone and atmosphere. This relationship is softly underscored by the other conceptual links in the extract—namely, the theme of regeneration.
Regeneration is an apt title for the novel, and especially for this passage. Burns frenziedly rushes through the forest, and ‘he didn’t know where he was going, or why.’ His aimlessness is at first focused by the wet and merciless forest, and Burns realises that he cannot keep trudging through the pitiless, rain-soaked woodland. His attempts to leave are hindered by the trees, and it is only once he is calm that he has any real clarity of thought. Upon freeing the animals, Burns is able to restore himself somewhat—he is ready to regenerate. Scarred by the ravages of war, which trouble his dreams and leave his mind empty, he is in need of healing. The freeing of the animals represents Burns own ripeness for dissolving into the Earth—an invisible, natural balance must be restored. Burns is seemingly a man with odds stacked up against him—his body aches and awakens memories of war, inanimate objects are pulling and tugging him mercilessly, and he stumbles into a tree that bears dead animals instead of fruit. The regeneration of Burns is not detailed in the passage, but at least by its end he reaches a state of mental equilibrium—the animals are his ‘companions,’ ringing around him like the circle of life. This theme is introduced and developed throughout the passage assiduously by the author, and enhances other elements, such as the unforgiving nature of the setting, even more acutely. It is also underlined by the sparse yet effective description in the last few paragraphs, as well as by the sudden change of pace in the extract.
The tone and atmosphere of Regeneration is a vital part of the passage. The atmosphere of unwelcome that Burns finds himself mired in is mixed with his feelings of uncertainty. He follows Rivers’ commands that materialise in his head and stumbles from tree to tree, having flesh broken open and marked by the sharp branches in the pouring rain, as though he were nothing but a guileless soldier in the trenches during a World War. The change in tone is almost symphonic—Burns’s mad scrambling through the forest soars into panic as he encounters the dead animal tree, and then descends into an almost spiritual peace as he sits at the tree with his ‘circle of companions.’ The tone and atmosphere are gradually developed and changed by Barker throughout the extract, perfectly fitting in with the sequence of events and themes. As Burns approaches regeneration—he is filled with calm and puts his hands down meditatively, a definite change from the trees that are out ‘against him,’ and the vacant nothingness that enveloped his mind as he walked.
The passage from Regeneration by Pat Barker is a work that stands out for its evocative writing and masterful changes in tone and atmosphere. While its descriptions of the harsh elements may seem to be wrought with lucidity, I was struck by how sensitively the author handled the issue of a shell-shocked man returning from war. Such a person would be presumably in need of healing, and Barker was able to depict the beginning of Burns’s process of regeneration memorably. Through the use of the antagonistic and well-portrayed environment, the changes in tone and atmosphere and literary techniques, the author has created a passage which is simple yet rich in its appreciation of the nuances of life and the necessities of internal rebirth.
