Outside of the realms
of war, there is still internal and psychological conflict among the
participants. Pat Barker in Life Class
calls attention to these side battles by revealing the inner-thoughts of her
characters and using symbols of art to get across her idea that with war,
change is inevitable. Paul himself is caught between duty and passion as he
cannot be content with either choice. Struggle to find identity becomes a main
idea throughout Barker’s depiction of Paul. He becomes the most dynamic and
developed character throughout this novel as the reader sees his always see his
thoughts.
The perspective the reader is given
allows for an accurate assessment of the emotions of each character. Paul
in particular, becomes the subject of this passage. He shows his sarcasm and
emotional hardening by stating: “Mercy . . . Precious little of that round
here, he thought, looking at the body of a young man who hadn’t recovered
consciousness, and wouldn’t last the night” (Barker 202). The author utilizes
not only the tone that Paul gives off but the context of his words. In this
case, he is referring to a hospital patient that he should be trying hard to
save. Yet, Paul begins to lose hope and see the negative. The unnamed patients
allow for Barker to develop Paul by having them interact with Paul. At the same
time, the lack of real understanding shows Paul begins to feel alienated from
the world he once knew. The symbolism of Paul’s previous life as a painter
becomes vital to capturing the essence of this novel.
Barker delves into the diction and
symbolism of the passage in order to create the image of an artist’s mind. The
subtleties that Barker give her work complexity and meaning. Comparing Paul’s
heart to “guns thudding” (Barker 203) show that war is still in his mind
despite the lack of violence. Paul, like Elinor and Neville, are
representatives of young adults during the war. The dynamic style that Paul
encompasses can be seen through his “incongruous moment, standing there in the
darkness, bracing himself to go back onto the ward, thinking like a painter”
(Barker 201). Despite the reality of war, Paul still manages to retain his
identity as a painter. Before the war he figured that everything will go back
to normal afterward. In this passage, this dream is crushed as Paul tears the
“meaningless scribble” (Barker 202) of a patient into pieces. Ripping paper
represents digression away from his artisan life. Rather than creating art, he
is destroying it. Barker uses the idea of art being dynamically viewed to show
change.
The style of Barker’s writing in this
novel comes from her symbols and internal descriptions. Barker uses symbols to
mainly show how changed Paul has become. The images that Paul was once fond of
have become meaningless to him. He begins to focus more on what is seemingly
important and ditches his passion. This becomes even more apparent when his thoughts
are analyzed. Paul is Barker’s main tool for getting her ideas across.
In response to “Life Class Passage Analysis”:
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I would like to say good job on your analysis of Pat Barker’s use of diction, tone, and context. I agreed with your conclusion of Paul’s encroaching feeling of negativity and depression, as is easy to fall prey to in war, especially in a hospital where examples of the atrocities that humans can inflict on each other are constantly pressed into not only your mind, but your senses and heart as well.
One thing I thought could be improved was your analysis of the symbolism present throughout the passage from Life Class you had chosen. Though Goujet seemed insane and mentally deficient to Paul, perhaps Barker’s use of this deranged patient giving page after page of meaningless scribble to Paul, the artist, is a symbol for how, yes, Paul has changed in his view and love of art, as you stated, but not only is Paul destroying, rather than creating art, he is refusing to allow his mind to the places where artists go—the fantastical, the whimsical, the optimistic. By choosing to destroy art, rather to participate in it, he is also refusing to communicate, for all art seeks to communicate some point or the other. This refusal to communicate also paints a new perspective on Paul. He is slowly falling into the prison of his own mind. The ripped scribbles of Goujet also could represent the shreds of his identity of a painter cast away, shredded, and thrown to the ground, only to be forced to the ground by the big wheels of War, which is only made more poignant by Paul’s turning away before he can witness this tragedy happen. Perhaps he is afraid to witness this final destruction of himself, or perhaps he simply doesn't care anymore. That is for you to decide. Overall, this passage, especially the paragraph about the shredded “art” at the end, is a direct reflection of the war’s effect on Paul—the war is causing Paul to lose who he is and become a husk and empty shell of who he once was.
I agree with your opinion that Paul uses his passion for art to try and escape the effects of the war. Paul's action of ripping up the paper could also signify the way that people’s appreciation of art differs. The one who ripped it up obviously did not appreciate what the man’s drawing was. That being said, the passage also mentioned that this man the “poor devil” was “nearly blind” suggesting that the speaker had already formed an opinion of this man and his ability to create art. The conclusion I came to was that in regards to this action, it all comes down to perspective and subjective opinion of the characters. I also thought it was interesting how the speaker paralleled the pronunciation of the word “Merci” (French for thank you) to the English word Mercy, it was an interesting parallel, appropriate given the setting.
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