Pat Barker is a British writer who is best known for her novels set in the First World War. She is a three-time winner of the Booker Prize and has written a number of novels, short stories and plays. Her most famous works include the Regeneration Trilogy, which focuses on the psychological effects of war on soldiers. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Pat Barker on education, society, leadership.
- Born
- May 8, 1943
- Known as
- British Writer
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Cut a chrysalis open, and you will find a rotting caterpillar. What you will never find is that mythical creature, half caterpillar, half butterfly, a fit emblem for the human soul, for those whose cast of mind leads them to seek such emblems. No, the process of transformation consists almost entirely of decay.
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You know you're walking around with a mask on, and you desperately want to take it off and you can't because everybody else thinks it's your face.
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Fiction should be about moral dilemmas that are so bloody difficult that the author doesn't know the answer. What I hate in fiction is when the author knows better than the characters what they should do.
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We are Craiglockhart's success stories. Look at us. We don't remember, we don't feel, we don't think - at least beyond the confines of what's needed to do the job. By any proper civilized standard (but what does that mean now?) we are objects of horror. But our nerves are completely steady. And we are still alive.
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Half the world's work is done by hopeless neurotics.
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Looking straight at the world is part of your duty as a writer.
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Culturally, the First World War is the war that stands in for other wars.
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The result was I went nowhere.
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A society that devours its own young deserves no automatic or unquestioning allegiance.
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The past is a palimpsest. Early memories are always obscured by accumulations of later knowledge.
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Murder is only killing in the wrong place.
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The way I see it, when you put the uniform on, in effect you sign a contract. And you don't back out of a contract merely because you've changed your mind. You can still speak up for your principles, you can still argue against the ones you're being made to fight for, but in the end you do the job.
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The sky darkened, the air grew colder, but he didn't mind. It didn't occur to him to move. This was the right place. This was where he had wanted to be.
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I don't think it's possible to c-call yourself a C-Christian and... and j-just leave out the awkward bits.' -Wilfred Owen
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It's the hardest thing in the world to go on being aware of someone else's pain.
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Another person's life, observed from the outside, always has a shape and definition that one's own life lacks.
Life Lessons by Pat Barker
- Pat Barker's work emphasizes the importance of understanding the complexities of human relationships and the power of empathy in overcoming difficult situations.
- Through her writing, Barker encourages readers to think deeply about the effects of trauma and how it can shape our lives.
- By exploring the psychological effects of war and violence, Barker encourages readers to reflect on the cost of conflict and the importance of finding ways to heal.