Compare And Contrast Life Class And Ghostlight

Comparative Book Review: Life Class and Ghostlight World War I was the First Great War that put a burden on the people living through this era. This generation had to deal with hardships as well as devastating losses when it came to the impact of the war. The war would affect relationships as well as the mental state of a person. In Life Class by Pat Barker and Ghostlight by Joseph O’Connor we see throughout both books how the characters were before the war and what happened to them after the war. In each book, we also see love interest and how drastically they changed because of World War I. Both books incorporate art and theatre and how these specific mediums explain the reasoning behind the war and what people were feeling. This approach …show more content…
The book is broken up into two parts Part 1 takes place in the Slade Art School in London and Part II is about Paul’s life at war and how it has changed his life but also changed his relationship with Elinor Brooke. The central theme I believe Pat Parker is trying to achieve in Life Class, is to explain that art and life coincide with one another. Each person in World War I is experiencing something different and interpret it in different ways. The letters exchanged between Paul and Elinor in Part II of Life Class show the difference between life at war and living in London showcase this theme. Elinor is back at home dealing with family issues but it struggling whether or not she should continue school at the Slade Art School while Paul is dealing with seeing wounded soldiers and appreciates art more than ever before. Pat Barker is writing this because she wants to show how the war impacted ordinary people. We mostly hear about the soldiers and generals experience at war, but we never hear about how it affected people who were at home or helping in the Red Cross. Pat also distinguishes how the idea of art has changed for both characters. Paul wants his art to show the horrors