Compare and Contrast the Ways in Which the Writers Present the Horrors of the War in "Regeneration" and "Journey's End".

"Regeneration" was written by Pat Barker, a university-trained historian and this is confirmed by the presence of very reliable sources in the "Author's Notes", at the end of the novel. It was written the 1980's which has enabled her to gather a lot of information about the war. Pat's grandfather had been bayoneted during the war, and Pat would see his scars when he went to the sink to wash. His experiences in the war made influenced Barker's understanding of the period, making the effect of the war more immediate and personal. She attributes her immediate inspiration for "Regeneration" to her husband, a neurologist, who was familiar with Dr. Rivers's experiments on nerve "Regeneration" in the early twentieth century, yet she chooses not to use technical jargon so that her readers do not divert the focus from the painful experiencing on the part of both patient and therapist.
"Journey's End" was written by a playwright who had first hand experience in the war. His play is based upon real life experiences, mirroring the way he and his comrades lived and fought, it relives some of its incidents. Because the playwright was an officer in the war, and was injured at the battle of Passchendaele (1917) the play is made even more intimate than the novel "Regeneration"
The choice of setting of the novel and play are crucial in the way that the horrors of the war are revealed to readers and audiences of the texts.
"Regeneration" is set in Craig Lockhart mental hospital in Scotland. Although this is hundreds of miles away from the frontline, Barker is still able to show the trauma and both physical and mostly mental suffering that the war has caused to soldiers. Having such a setting has allowed the author to isolate the theme of mental breakdown.
"Journey's End" however is set in the danger zone, just behind the frontline. Faint sound and lighting effects would be used to show shelling and grenade attacks, coming through the doorway that leads to the trench outside,... [continues]

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