Journey's_End

Journey’s end The Great War Bold, heroic and no one will ever forget it. R.C Sherriff was one of the many officers who were involved in World War 1 as he was an officer in the East Surrey Regiment. Everyone’s experiences were very different, but no one expected it to be so intense and scary, but at the same time you had to have a lot patience because of the many moments where nothing happened. The anticipation could sometimes drive you mad. I think R.C Sherriff wrote the play Journeys end not only to entertain, but to inform the reader about his real experiences as well as the soldiers around him and lastly, what encounters with the enemy really felt like. 1914 is when it all began, and England needed all the soldiers they could get! The soldiers under the office of R.C Sherriff were located in a dug-out in the British trenches before S.T Quentin. I believe that this play was set towards the end of the war as many of the soldiers are quite experienced and have formed a day-to-day routine. Stanhope, the leader of the group, is also another clue that this was set towards the end of The Great War because it explains that he has seen many deaths and is too tired to carry on, so he drinks alcohol to keep his spirits up. This is apparent in Act 1 when Stanhope says, “Damn the soup! Bring some whisky!” after Mason explains that he is bringing soup. First impressions are always extremely important if you want to create a lasting impression of yourself. My first impression of Stanhope, however, wasn’t a pleasant one. To me, he seemed bad tempered and slightly un-predictable. The fact that he was an alcoholic made me feel that if he was in charge of me, I would not feel safe in his hands. The way Stanhope was introduced in the play gave me the impression of his un-predictability as when Mason was bringing the soup, Stanhope seemed annoyed and once he heard that Mason was bringing soup to him, that aggravated him even more. There were also many rumors and opinions of Stanhope that the audience had absorbed from other characters before Stanhope even appeared in the play. This included Hardy saying on Act One, “Stanhope really is a sort of freak; I mean it is jolly fascinating to see a fellow drink like he does-glass after glass.” But the audience also learns from Osborne praising how great Stanhope really is. Examples of this includes, “young Stanhope goes on sticking it, month in, month out.” and, “I’ve seen him on his back all day with trench fever, then on duty all night.” Because of all these comments made, it makes the audience vision a picture of Stanhope’s looks and personality by collecting opinions from other characters. The audience has to find out if they are right once they meet Stanhope for real. Although we learn that Stanhope is the leader, Osborne plays just, if not more of an important role in the play. This is because Osborne plays the role of the father figure in all the scenes and keeps everyone’s spirits up. The conversation in act one between Osborne and Raleigh is a clear example of his father figure. Osborne is comforting Raleigh when Raleigh doesn’t know if Stanhope or “Dennis” will mind him being in his group and under his command. Osborne says, “No, of course he won’t (pause) you say it’s a good time since you last saw him'” I believe the (pause) is quite important as it shows that Osborne knows Stanhope will mind a lot but just doesn’t want to cause Raleigh any unnecessary panic. In terms of the audience, everyone would think of Stanhope differently, but generally people tend to believe bad rumors about people rather than the good. Because of this, Stanhope is already being judged before we even get to know him properly. His appearance is mentioned on Act 1 page 17. This is a very important part as people do tend to judge a book by its cover, even though people know they shouldn’t. Stanhope is, “A tall slim figure, who takes good care of his appearance and uniform, and is also quite a good looking chap.” With this information he sounds like quite a good, well presented Captain, but his face told of a more in-depth story. It explains that, “Despite his stars and ranks he is no more than a boy. There is pallor under his skin and dark shadows under his eyes.” I believe this shows that maybe because he is young, the others may feel uncomfortable looking up to Stanhope and taking orders from him. Also you can tell that although he is just a boy, his face explained that the long endurance of surviving in the war for years had sapped the energy out of him. Without even saying a word, it already feels like we know Stanhope’s story and position in the group whilst fighting in this Great War. Stanhope’s world is turned upside down almost straight after he arrives back to the dug-out. Just the sight of seeing Raleigh caused his mind to fill with a thousand thoughts, questions and feelings, a lot of them probably to do with his and Raleigh’s past together. The audience can instantly tell that Stanhope strongly disapproves of Raleigh staying, but doesn’t want to say. Evidence of this includes the first conversation with Stanhope and Raleigh as Stanhope says, “I didn’t see you in this miserable light.” (He stops short at the sight of Raleigh. There is a silence.) Raleigh then says, “Hullo, Stanhope!” (Stanhope stares at Raleigh as though dazed. Raleigh takes a step forward, half raises his hands, and then lets it drop to his side.) This instantly creates dramatic tension between these two characters and so also creates more depth in the storyline and plot. Questions are now being thrown around in the audience’s head like “Why is Stanhope so nervous around Raleigh'” and “Will this relationship continue on like this'” well these questions are answered in Act 1 page 25-30 when Stanhope confesses to Osborne about his relationship with Raleigh’s sister. Summing the plot up, Stanhope doesn’t want Raleigh to write about how much he’s changed and is not quite on the level due to what the war has done to him. To avoid this he plans to read and, if necessary, edit all of Raleigh’s letters going home and reaching his sister. This is quite selfish of Stanhope as he is using his authority for his own benefit and putting himself first, however, this an important part of the play as it shows of a more sensitive and self-aware side to Stanhope. Most people now would start to realize that Stanhope is still human and does have his reasons for acting the way he does. As with most stories and plays, the more you get to know a character, the more you like them. This is no exception. Stanhope’s obsession with Raleigh’s letters continues into Act 2. This makes me feel that Stanhope is very self- conscious about how others see him, except for Osborne who is there to keep Stanhope from losing it completely! Osborne reads out Raleigh’s letter to Stanhope to see if it is fit to, in Stanhope’s eyes, send it home in Act 2 page 47-48. I believe this letter made a big impression on Stanhope which made him think twice about his attitude towards Raleigh, Osborne and the war itself. I think this because, for starters, everything that Osborne said about Raleigh was true. This includes saying that Raleigh thinks of Stanhope as a hero and also that Raleigh will understand about Stanhope’s drowsiness and drinking. Evidence of this is all in Raleigh’s letter when Raleigh writes, “I’m awfully proud to think he’s my friend” and, “He looked tired, but that’s because he works so frightfully hard, and because of the responsibility.” Once Stanhope hears this, I believe he feels guilty because of the way he treated and felt about Raleigh. It shows he felt guilty also because of his body language as after he hears the letter, he just sits on the floor with his head lowered towards the ground. The second impact includes Stanhope’s attitude towards Osborne. Raleigh explains in his letter, “A sergeant told me all about Dennis. He said that Dennis is the finest officer in the battalion, and the men simply love him. He hardly ever sleeps in the dug-out; he’s always up in the front line with the men, cheering them on with jokes, and making them keen about things.” After hearing those words from an un-biased letter, I think Stanhope starts to realize and appreciate all that Osborne’s done, and is doing for him. Personally, I like Stanhope a lot more at this point of the play because he is not so much of a mystery anymore and can be sensitive when he wants to. Once deep in the play, you start to get an insight into how Stanhope can become a strong leader if push comes to shove. I say this because on Act 2 from pages 54-58, Hibbert, one of Stanhope’s fellow soldiers, pleads to Stanhope if he can see the Doctor. Stanhope, so sure that Hibbert can survive in this journey with the other soldiers just a little further, refuses to let him go as he knows Hibbert too well to let his excuse of having neuralgia sink in. It is now that Stanhope shows a side of him so loyal, brave and heroic, that you then realize why he was assigned a captain! My evidence includes Stanhope saying, “Shall we go on together' We know how we both feel now. Shall we see if we can stick it together'” Hibbert then says, “I can’t -” Stanhope says, “Supposing I said I can’t - supposing we all say we can’t - what would happen then'” This conversation between Stanhope and Hibbert brings the tension level higher and also shows that the war is taking its toll on the soldiers, including Stanhope as he is scared of what is going to happen to them. This shows another human quality of him as although he is putting on a brave face to encourage the others. Inside he is just as scared as the rest of the soldiers. The war wasn’t glamorous by any means. I think Osborne’s death showed to all the other soldiers the harsh reality of the life they were living, but also, how to deal with a death of a close companion. Stanhope, however, wasn’t taking Osborne’s death well at all. Instead of facing the fact that Osborne was gone, he bottled up all his emotions and lashed out at everyone around him. Because in the inside, Osborne’s death was destroying him. One of Stanhope’s worst victims had to be Raleigh in Act 3 pages 88-91 during his dinner. Raleigh had eaten some of the other men’s rations when there were barely enough to go around, but Stanhope took it one step too far and caused uproar at the dinner table between them two. This scene highlights the importance of what class you are and it also unconsciously creates tension to the audience because of the vivid imagery and in their mind, they are probably holding their breath to what happens next. During the end of the argument though, Raleigh says, “Good God! Don’t you understand' How can I sit down and eat that - when - when Osborne’s - lying - out there -” Stanhope then interrupts, “My God! You bloody little swine! You think I don’t care - you think you’re the only soul that cares!” I think he lashes out at Raleigh the hardest because he didn’t want him to be here in the first place so to him, Raleigh seemed like a threat and someone to blame even though no-one was responsible for Osborne’s death. Looking deeper into it though, I think Stanhope is ashamed of himself as he doesn’t see himself as a hero, even though Raleigh does. Because Raleigh is a constant reminder of his past as well, it probably upsets him therefore he lashes out at Raleigh the most. Amongst all the negative banter tossed by Stanhope and Raleigh, I believe this argument did do some good though. By the end of the argument, Raleigh was able to, un-intentionally, pries out Stanhope’s real feelings towards Osborne. Admitting that he cared for Osborne was the key step towards letting all of his emotions out and all his anger towards everyone else too. Things were falling apart for Stanhope. For him, the drama just seemed to exponentially grow until Osborne’s death pushed him over the limit. Now, towards the end of the play, we have got a full understanding of Stanhope and are able to appreciate him to the full as well. The reason why I like the last scene so much is simply because once we think we know Stanhope well enough, his personality does completely change from a tough-but-depressed captain to a caring friend. Raleigh is dying and is holding on for dear life whilst Stanhope watches over him and comforts him. The thing is Raleigh doesn’t seem to realize that he is dying but Stanhope does. The two seem to be trapped in their own conversation whilst the others are losing the battle in the trenches. This is shown by comments like when Stanhope says, “The guns are making a bit of a row.” Raleigh eagerly says our guns' Stanhope then replies, no. Mostly theirs. (There is a silence in the dugout) Knowing that Raleigh is on his last breaths, he gives in to Raleigh’s wants like water and for Stanhope to stay with him. This highlights the irony of the war as some people go on to live after the war for many years whilst others die strait away, even if they are the least likely people to deserve it. R.C Sherriff, I think, tried to make you change your outlook on Stanhope gradually from the very beginning to the very end. At first you judge Stanhope harshly, for the rumors you hear do not make him out to be the nicest of Captains. But once you get past the hard outer shell of comments and rumors, inside there is a Captain who has fought through hell and seen his comrades suffer. I believe that once you hear Raleigh too is now dying, you can’t help putting yourself in his shoes and feeling sorry that both his and Raleigh’s Journeys are ending so soon!