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Introduction

IOP Essay: Character of Raleigh In Journey's End, R.C. Sheriff presents a myriad of characters, all of which serve a different purpose. R.C. Sheriff has specially created the character of Raleigh to provide an accurate view of the realities of war as well as the emotions felt by every officer, who is new and fresh to the war scene. The playwright has effectively utilized Raleigh's emotions and attitude to reveal his inexperienced nature, and young and fresh mind. Raleigh, as such, is a round and dynamic character as well as a supporting character that evolves throughout the play. Moreover, the character of Raleigh has a variety of functions, which includes the evoking of important themes, moving the plot forward and revealing the emotions and thoughts of other characters. Throughout the play, Raleigh proves to be a benchmark for other character as he has qualities that are contrary to other characters in different ways. Therefore, the character of Raleigh is extremely essential to Journey's End. Raleigh is a young, fresh and inexperienced officer, "just out from England". He is also the only soldier, who has never "been up on the line before". Raleigh's inexperienced nature is well-highlighted through several methods throughout the entire play. Firstly, R.C. Sheriff describes the way he carries out himself in the trenches in front of other officers for the first few days to show his novice nature. ...read more.

Middle

He is ashamed of himself since everyone else, except himself, is fighting in the war. Unlike Hibbert, Raleigh does not need encouragement to keep it going all the way through till the end. While Hibbert is an outright coward, Raleigh is truly brave. Thirdly, Raleigh's characteristics contrast with Trotter's. Trotter is extremely comfortable with living in the trenches and is an optimist. As Stanhope says, "nothing bothers" him. But, Raleigh is "getting used to" trench life. He views everything to be very "strange" and even "uncanny", which augments the oddity of the surroundings. Lastly, Raleigh contrasts with the colonel. The colonel is extremely unsentimental about Osborne's death and regards the success of the raid more important than the death of an officer. He is more "interested in the pay-book" than Osborne's death. Though he does feel sad, the melancholy and gloom he experiences is quickly dominated by the enthusiasm he shows with the German's pay-book. However, Raleigh is deeply affected by the death as shown by him not celebrating the success of the raid by not dining with the other officers. Therefore, Raleigh, as a character, is involved in several character foils. Raleigh is an extremely round character, well-developed by the playwright throughout Journey's End. Raleigh has positive qualities, which include his insurmountable courage, undeterred respect, enthusiasm and sentiments. Raleigh is "plucky and full of guts" in Osborne's views. Raleigh proves his courage by taking part enthusiastically in the raid and even in defending the attack by the Germans. ...read more.

Conclusion

Thus, Raleigh has a crucial function of revealing the themes in the play as well as to reveal the feelings of other characters. For example, Raleigh is used to show the change in Stanhope and thus the depression he is facing. Through Raleigh, we also learn about Stanhope, who explains his predicament. Raleigh's presence in the trenches makes Stanhope admit that he has changed and depressed to the extent that he has turned to whiskey to not succumb to the harshness of war. Thus, Raleigh also serves as the path to understanding of other characters. Therefore, Raleigh plays several important functions in the play. Therefore, in Journey's End, R.C. Sheriff presents a myriad of characters, all of which serve a different purpose. R.C. Sheriff has specially created the character of Raleigh to provide an accurate view of the realities of war as well as the emotions felt by every officer, who is new and fresh to the war scene. The playwright has effectively utilized Raleigh's emotions and attitude to reveal his inexperienced nature and young and fresh mind. Raleigh, as such, is a round and dynamic character and thus is a supporting character that evolves in the course of the play. Throughout the play, Raleigh proves to be a benchmark for other character as he has qualities that are contrary to other characters in different ways. Therefore, the character of Raleigh is extremely essential to Journey's End. ...read more.

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