# Frederick Barnet — The World Set Free character guide > Frederick Barnet in The World Set Free by H. G. Wells. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Barnet, VI Barnet, V Frederick Barnet, Mylius **First appearance:** 0002-the-world-set-free ## Who they are A witness-narrator whose book chronicles a world 'coming about like a ship that sails into the wind,' he registers how ordinary lives buckle under accelerating change. ## In the story ### [The World Set Free](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/the-world-set-free) Witnesses the air battle over Holland and survives the inundation. ### [Prelude: The Sun Snarers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/prelude) Barnet is a common man who witnesses the last war and the subsequent inundation, representing the ordinary individual caught in the upheaval of change. ### [§ V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/v) Protagonist and author of the autobiographical novel 'Wander Jahre'; a short, sturdy, observant young man whose education and travels are described, along with his family's financial ruin and his military training. ### [§ VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/vi) Protagonist; experiences financial ruin and homelessness after his father's suicide, observes the March of the Unemployed, and reflects on the need for collective intelligence. ### [§ VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/vii) Protagonist who descends from his vision, seeks relief, and receives charity from a stranger. ### [§ VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/viii) Narrates his wanderings, observations of social inequality, and reflections on patience and reconstruction; later reports to a mobilisation depot. ### [The Last War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ii-the-last-war) Narrator and common soldier; describes his journey through France, entrenchment in Belgian Luxembourg, and participation in the battle. ### [§ I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i) Barnet describes the London crowd's patriotic enthusiasm as his battalion departs for the French frontier, noting the fickle emotion of minds without established ideas. ### [§ VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/vi) Narrator and protagonist; describes his wartime experiences, including his first kill and his growing disillusionment with war. ### [The Flank March and the Battle in the Air](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/vii) Barnet leads his company through Holland and witnesses the catastrophic aerial battle and flooding. ### [§ VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/viii) Narrator and protagonist; witnesses the air battle and leads his men through the flood. ### [§ IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ix) Narrator and protagonist; leads rescue efforts, grapples with thirst and the loss of military orders, reflects on the senselessness of war. ### [§ X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/x) Barnet and his barge-load of hungry men are left behind as the history shifts focus; his narrative provides vignettes of the shattered civilization. ### [III: The Ending of War](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iii-the-ending-of-war) Mentioned as a contemporary writer who described humanity as a sleeper handling matches in his sleep, and who experienced despair during the war's final phase. ### [§ I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/i) Described as passing through moods of despair, declaring 'This is the end' during the phase of blazing waste. ### [§ II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/ii) Cited as an observer who came within forty miles of Paris and described the social confusion and the red glare of the destruction. ### [§ III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iii) Observer and recorder of the dispossessed; he serves with the army of pacification and sketches the plight of refugees. ### [§ IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/iv) Narrator and protagonist; returns to England, witnesses famine and executions, works as a wireless assistant, transcribes the Brissago proclamation. ### [§ XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/chapters/xi) His book is described as a picture of the world coming about like a ship that sails into the wind, serving as a key example of literature reflecting accelerated change. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters/frederick_barnet - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_world_set_free_se/characters