A commentary on an extract from Pat Barker’s ‘Regeneration’
Pat Barker confronts the intense emotional and mental consequences of shell shock, through the experiences of Burns, in the extract from ‘Regeneration’. Barker translates this experience, through the recurring themes of the passage; loss of control, heaviness and war, which allow the reader to vividly empathise with Burn’s terrifying experience. These themes are accentuated through Barker’s use of striking imagery as the protagonist’s ghastly hallucinations are brought to life, through her use of literary techniques. Burns also uses fluctuating tension levels to great effect, the tension levels reach a crescendo at the climax of the passage, heightening in the reader a sense of Burn’s utter loss of control and huge emotional strain.
Several themes recur throughout the extract, these help to build an atmosphere for reader and encourage our sense of sympathy with Burns’ unstable state of mind. The image of a war zone is apparent from the beginning of the passage, and is contained in Burn’s natural environment. Nature acts as a constant resilient force to Burns:“persistent drops finding the warm place between his collar and neck”, here nature is personified and seems determined to cause discomfort to Burns, and this unpleasant sensation sets the tone for the passage. Barker conveys Burns difficulty in progressing though this personification, the wind which “seemed to be trying to scrape him” off the hill, and the mud which “dragged at him”, nature acts as a constant enemy throughout the passage, and there is a definite sense of a war in Burn’s surroundings. This violence is eventually explicitly stated by Barker; “the trees were against him”, personifies the natural imagery and there is a definite sense here of battles and war, as the trees become the enemy he is fighting. Loss of control is a key theme throughout the passage, Burns sense of confusion: “he didn’t know where to go”, is very apparent, this is used by Barker to accentuate Burns’ unstable mental condition, and builds the atmosphere that peaks at his hallucination. This madness and lack of self control build throughout the passage, until Burns’ mind is “incapable of making comparisons”, at this point it seems Burns’ body takes over completely, and he becomes completely unaware of his surroundings, believing he is at war; “he listened for the whine of shells”.
Barker uses this steady deterioration of awareness to create tension throughout the passage. As Burns becomes more and more confused, the sense of stress and strain in the character increases, his “struggle” to move also increases as nature resists his movement. The interval of calm, “When at last he reached the trees he sat down with his back to the nearest, and for a while did nothing at all” appears directly before the highest point of tension. By placing this period of eerie calm here, the shock of the hallucination is heightened. The highest point of tension is conveyed through Burn’s body language, “he began stumbling, almost blindly”, here the reader feels genuine concern and panic for Burns, as he has clearly completely lost control.
The imagery apparent throughout the passage not only conveys the themes of the passage, but allows a highly surreal vision to come across with great intensity and force. We are given clues about Burns’background through the initial imagery, the appearance of “stiff khaki” and the “fence whose wire twitched in the wind”. There is a definite sense of a military situation here, and Burns’ crossing into the area, “he pressed two strands apart and eased himself through” promotes a sense of entering into No Man’s Land, as do the images of mud, which recur throughout the passage.Burn’s intense efforts are conveyed through this imagery, “hauling his mud clogged boots”, Burns struggles intensely against nature, Barker uses this mud to emphasise Burns fatigue and weakness, both physically and mentally.
The gruesome hallucination of the tree “laden with dead animals” is certainly the most striking, and is the ultimate expression of the violence of nature. The corruption of the innocent “mole” allows the image to be all the more disturbing. The description of the “small pink hands folded on its chest” is intensely disturbing for two reasons: firstly, the innocence and smallness of the creature is made apparent through its description, making the horrific nature of its death all the more shocking, Barker uses the antithesis of its lovable “pink hands” and “its fur spiked with blood” to express this horror. Secondly, the image has human qualities, its hands are “folded on its chest”reminiscent of a human death, this perhaps emphasises the ever present image of war, as well as giving us an insight into the reasons why Burns is so disturbed. Barker’s use of a tree for the appearance of these animals is interesting and a reader is invited to connect the true purpose of a tree, to give life, to its apparent purpose, giving life to death.
Although the passage is written in third person narrative, the reader still enters in to the mind of Burns and our perception of his emotional state is not hindered by this perspective. In fact, the narrative voice accentuates the situation as we are given an insight in both reality and imagination. Having the events described externally also allows the reader to see the full extent of Burns’ mental breakdown, as we can view his physical reactions as well. Barker’s use of language to express the sequence of events is therefore extremely effective. Barker is able to communicate Burns’ physical state through language, the sibilant and alliterative phrase“sometime stopping to draw a deeper breath”, reflects its meaning, helping to express the protagonist’s breathless state. Barker’s use of heavy punctuation throughout her protagonist’s journey also adds to the sense of effort and struggle for Burns, it also creates a disjointed sense to the passage, perhaps echoing the instability of the protagonist’s mind. Barker uses antithesis to emphasise Burns’ feelings; “his body was cold inside the stiff khaki, except for a burning round the knees” the sensations of both cold and heat here suggest that Burns is becoming overwhelmed by the effects of his ordeal. The personification used in the descriptions of nature;“the trees were against him” not only accentuates Burns’ sense of fear and madness, but creates a highly effective visual image for a reader. Personification is also used interestingly for Burns’ muscles, when his mind becomes redundant. By using this technique to personify something inside a human, Barker is able to create a sense of hierarchy in Burns’ physicality; as his muscles provide a better sense of direction than his brain, we can therefore deduce that he has lost all sense of sanity.
Barker creates a highly striking insight into an unstable mind in the extract, by creating a sense of both the external surroundings of Burns and his internal turmoil, the reader is presented with a complete picture of his terrifying experience. Through her language the reader is really able to experience Burns’ fear, at his surroundings, portrayed though Barkers vivid imagery. His journey becomes an exploration into his fractures mind, the extent of which is not realised until the climactic hallucination. The heightened tension in comparison eerie calmness directly before the event accentuates is gruesome nature, as we are confronted with corruption, horror and the protagonist’s ultimate mental breakdown.