Year 12 IB Extended Essays 2018

Page 10 Candidate Number: FYW812

from a young age. She is a direct contrast to her husband who wishes for his son to be a fit, healthy soldier fighting in the war. However, Prior’s mother’s attempts to show her love and compassion to Prior may be more harm than good, as Prior may feel like he is being babied. Prior is already in a helpless situation being nurtured and looked after by Rivers and nurses in the hospital, and having his mother hovering over him and protecting him from his father’s harshness may render him feeling more emasculated. Prior’s struggle with his parent’s differing attitudes clearly impacts him negatively, as he is left to deal with an asthmatic reaction after their visit. Prior also displays his fears of being labelled as emasculate by constantly expressing his wishes to return to the war. He believes that ‘when [the war] is over, [the] people… of [his] generation who didn’t go to France, or didn’t do well in France… aren’t going to count for anything’ (Barker 1991, p.135). Prior is afraid that he will be shamed for the rest of his life if he doesn’t return to the war, because he thinks that being in the war ‘is the Club to end all Clubs’ (Barker 1991, p.135). However, Prior faces a dilemma similar to many soldiers. He knows that it is his duty to serve, especially if he wants to assert his masculinity, but the state of his physical and mental health prevents him from his duty. ‘Prior had said he wanted nothing more than to get back to France as soon as possible, to get away from what he called 'the shame' of home service’ (Barker 1991, p.206). However, deep down, like any other human being, Prior ‘also wanted to save his life’. The internal conflict which Prior encounters ultimately comes down to a question of whether horrors of warfare surpass the horrors of emasculation. By displaying how soldiers gave thought to giving up their life to prove their masculinity, Barker highlights the psychological effects which the superficial standards of society had on the young men of the 20 th century.