Regeneration - Chapters 3 & 4

Here's a rundown of some of the important points in Chapters 3 and 4. Many of the things that are discussed by the characters, or described by Pat Barker recur throughout the novel, so be on the lookout for motifs and themes.

Regeneration - Ideological State Apparatus

We've talked about 'Homosocial' relations in the novel, however there is another major strand that we needs to talk about: the way that 'duty' and 'free will' are in conflict all the way through. What makes this interesting is that ALL the characters internalise this conflict and it affects them all differently. There's an essay title in that, someome! Anyway, here's some terminology we can use from axe-wielding madman (no. really) and social theorist Louis Althusser. He described two forces that affect the way way act and think - these are (1) Represive State Apparatus: the things that FORCE us to do what the government says and (2) Ideological State Apparatus: the things that make us THINK/act/desire what the government wants us to think/act/desire. All the characters in Regeneration have internal conflicts between what they want to do and what the state is telling them they should want to do. Great stuff, this novel.

Novel Terminology - Get Ready for Regeneration

Here is some terminology you might need to get familiar with to help with your studies on Regeneration. Here's the spellings, just in case you've lost the sheet.

Anachrony. Analepsis / Prolepsis. Character Zone. Colouring. Deixis. Faction. Free Indirect Discourse. Focalisation. Motif. Symbol. Third Person. Tone. Irony. Intertextuality. Homosocial

Enjoy!

Form & Structure of Journey's End

There's a lot of terminology in this podcast - so here's the spellings!

Artistotle's sturcture of a tragedy: INCENTTIVE MOMENT, leading through a complication (a tying up, or 'desis')to a CLIMAX. From there we go through an unravelling (or 'lusis') to a RESOLUTION (that's the end to you and me).

Aristotle's three unities of tragedy: (a) unity of time, (b) unity of place and (c) unity of action.

Three ingredients of a complex tragedy: (a) a 'change of fortune' (luck, life situation), (b) 'reversal of intention', and (c) 'recognition'. These all add together to create the 'catastrophe' - the tragic end to a play.

Great, eh?

'Journey's End' - Osbourne

Osbourne is, if you like, the wise old owl of the play. He is mature and the most sensible character of the play. He is (to use a phrase that I don't want you to use) the most 'normal'. Don't miss the INTERTEXTUAL use of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in the play (explained in this podcast). It's interesting to note that Osbourne is at least as much of a hero as Stanhope, but he is (on the surface at least) less devastated by the war.

Journey's End - Raleigh

I have been known to burst into tears at the end of Journey's End, simply because of the emotional devastation at the play's climax. We know that Raleigh comes into Act One as a naive, snivelling, wet-behind-the-ears schoolboy. We find him nearly as irritating as Stanhope does! However, R.C. Sherriff uses the character to show the effect of war on young men BEFORE OUR EYES. That's a very powerful dramatic device. The end contains more pathos than any play or film I've ever seen: it's two men trapped by fate, trapped by the emotional constraints of the age and situation and condemned to their fate by irresponsible and contemptuous military authority. Devastating.

'Journey's End' - Stanhope

The character of Stanhope is many things in one - young and yet old beyond his years; a bold leader, and yet more flawed than those under him; a charasmatic, understanding person and yet an aggressive man unable to deal with his feelings.