Regeneration
History Versus Fiction
Split into Two Groups
You have 5 minutes to prepare your arguments to support the following statements….
GROUP A
GROUP B
Regeneration should be regarded as a Regeneration should be regarded as a
work of fiction only.
historical document.
In your preparation, consider the following:
•
•
•
•
Which characters / events / places etc. are based on real life?
How accurate is Barker’s portrayal of life in the trenches?
How can someone in the 1990’s possibly be able to accurately portray something that happened before her lifetime?
What aspects of the novel are completely made-up?
Regeneration as a Piece of Historical Writing
Several elements allow us to consider Regeneration as historically exact.
Real people
In the novel, there is a whole list of characters who have really existed.
• Several characters like Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen and Robert Graves were both poets and
soldiers during the war.
• The two psychiatrists also existed : Rivers had very modern Freudian views and Yealland did apply
his own methods as it is described in the novel.
• Pacifists like Lady Morrell and Bertrand Russell are real people. It is important to note that pacifism
was strictly forbidden at the time.
Regeneration as a Piece of Historical Writing
Real facts and events
• There are numerous references to battles (e.g. the battle of the
Somme)
• There are references to real places (e.g. : Flanders, Belgium).
• The main setting is Craiglockhart, which is also real.
Regeneration as a Piece of Historical Writing
Her style of writing is realistic
• Her descriptions of the landscape of war are based upon the
testimonies of real soldiers and contain all the brutal truths.
• Her presentation of the lives of the men while living in the trenches
does not attempt to shield the reader from the harsh realities.
• Her presentation of the physical and mental symptoms of the soldiers
is based upon real documented evidence.
Regeneration as a Piece of Historical Writing
You have 10 minutes to find as many examples as possible of genuine historical detail recorded in
the novel…
You should have found:
• P3 – Sassoon’s declaration
• P24 – Sassoon’s The Rear Guard
• P24-25 – Sassoon’s The General
• P25 – The Warmongers
• P69 – entry about Sassoon from The Times
• P71 – report from the real Rivers on Sassoon
• P81 – reference to Owen’s letters to his Mother – great historical source for Barker to draw
on
• P157 – extract from Sassoon’s The Troops
• P189 – Sassoon’s Sick Leave
• P217-18 – references to the poems of Alymer Strong
Regeneration as a Piece of Fiction
What distinguishes Regeneration from an entirely historical book?
Fictional Characters
• Prior - perhaps the most interesting character in the novel and he is entirely
fictional. Does Barker have to invent a working class character because there
are no historically represented working class officers from WW1?
• Sarah – another interesting character, whilst based upon research of women
on the home-front, is an entirely fictional character.
• Burns and Anderson are also fictional
Regeneration as a Piece of Fiction
Dramatisation
• This type of writing, which appeals to the reader’s imagination, is not found in
historical writing.
• Writers of fiction use a range of stylistic devices that are rarely found in historical
writing.
Have a look at page 160
• How does Barker’s style of writing differ from historical writing?
• Have a go at re-writing this page as a historical document.
Regeneration as a Piece of Fiction
Perspective
• Historical writing tends to have one objective voice.
• Regeneration has a third person narrator who is able to present scenes through the
eyes of the many characters. For example on p160, we see the ward through Sarah’s
eyes. Therefore, it is a subjective account.
• Find another example of a moment in the novel where we see objectively through
another character’s eyes. Analyse the way the scene is presented.
• The whole novel is based on revolt and anger and subjective responses to the Great
War, beginning with Sassoon’s protest.
Regeneration as a Piece of Fiction
Time
• There are very few dates in the novel.
• Chronology is disrupted by many flash-backs. Historical writing is
nearly always chronological. Fiction is crafted to create the greatest
effect on the reader.
• What is the impact of the use of flashbacks in the novel?
Plenary…
Discuss…
1. What right does Pat Barker have to try to present the suffering
of a generation in order to make financial gain as a writer?
2. In terms of its place in presenting the harsh realities of the
Great War, do you think it is more or less successful than a
text which is either entirely fictional or entirely historical?