To create the feeling that Hardy is sick of the daily routines; his voice should be full of frustration and monotone, not jolly. He would say “tick”, “tock” and “clock” louder than the rest of the verse with a pause and a sigh before “And we’ll start…”
The officers talk about the water being full of disinfectant as they drink the whisky, “Don’t have too much water. It’s rather strong today”. It seems ironic that the water is ‘stronger’ than the whisky and shows us that the water must have been extremely polluted.
Here Osborne should put down his whiskey and pick up some water. After taking a sip of the water he could then grimace at the taste and then spit it on the floor. This would demonstrate again the hardships under which they lived.
After Osborne asks if there are many rats, Hardy replies, “I should say – roughly – about two million, but then of course I don’t see them all.” Hardy is implying that they are so over-run with rats that even two million is an underestimate but even so he is still trying to make light of this. The dugout must have been damp and filthy as we know that rats thrive in such conditions.
When Osborne asks, “you got many rats here?” this should be said with an extremely sarcastic voice because the rats are everywhere. To highlight the sarcasm Hardy should respond seriously, “I should say…”
Even though the men try awfully hard not to refer to more troubling matters sometimes it is inevitable. When they do come up in conversation someone is always ready to change the subject.
Hardy talks briefly about how, “nothing happens for hours on end; then –all of a sudden-‘over she comes!’- rifle grenades – minnies – and those horrid little thinks like pineapples – you know.”…….. ‘Swish –swish-swish –swish-BANG!’ Osborne quickly makes it clear to Hardy that he should stop this talk even though it is in a humorous vain, ‘All right – all right – I know.’ This gives the audience a brief glimpse of this chilling world.
Hardy should begin speaking very seriously. There should be a short pause after “all of a sudden,” and the remainder of his lines should be spoken in a cheerful manner. The contrasting voices would show he is afraid and how he covers this up.
“Awful. A dug out up got blown up and came down in the men’s tea. They were frightfully annoyed.” Here the audience get a picture of the constant danger that the men are in and their determination to make light of it, in conversation. This is an example of litotes; when the characters describe something very serious in an odd hand way.
Hours are spent with little to do but to endure the disgusting physical conditions that are interrupted by moments of sheer terror. Osborne and Hardy talk about some of the odd soldiers and officers that come to the front line, “They do send some funny people over here.” He does not admit to himself the reason they are ‘funny’ is because they are afraid of what might happen to them. He makes it sound as if the people were strange before they got to the front line.
Periodically there should be a loud explosion. The lights should dim and flicker and some dirt should fall from the roof. When this happens the characters should carry on talking as if nothing had happened.
Extract 2 (pages 54-58) focuses upon the terrible impact the war had upon the mental state of many soldiers. Hibbert has been complaining of neuralgia, a terrible form of toothache, for some time and he now demands to leave the front to be treated. Stanhope has all along thought this was an excuse and refuses to release him. The scene is one of great tension.
During this scene Hibbert should flinch at the sound of an explosion or gun fire to show how afraid he is. He should stutter continually to let the audience, and Stanhope, see how desperate he is to leave the front.
Stanhope ‘You’re going to stay here and do your job
Hibbert, ‘Haven’t I told you? I can’t! Don’t you understand’
In this section Stanhope confronts a man he considers to be a shirker, a soldier who is in his eyes trying to avoid the conflict. For the first time we see that Hibbert is not just looking for a way out but is so terrified that, mentally, he is falling apart. This piece raises a number of issues for the audience, about the conduct of the British officers in the war. Men were forced to tolerate conditions of continuous fear, often beyond their endurance and on top of it all senior officers executed mentally ill men, in order to keep discipline amongst their troops.
When Stanhope throws accusations at Hibbert he should stand tall and speak clearly and firmly; in a military manner. He is trying to show Hibbert that he is not going to ‘get away with it.’ However at the beginning of the extract, the lines, “You’re going to stay here and see it through with the rest of us,” should be said with a degree of sympathy, to demonstrate that Stanhope understands that Hibbert, like everyone else, is afraid.
Stanhope, ‘Better die of pain than be shot for deserting’. Here Stanhope brings it home to Hibbert that he will not be allowed to leave and that if he does he will be considered a deserter. In a desperate panic Hibbert strikes Stanhope. This shows that Hibbert has lost all reason, as this is such a serious offence and demonstrates the dreadful impact of the war, on his emotional state.
To enhance his confusion and his desperation Hibbert should be breathing heavily, his mouth open and his eyes quickly moving from point to point. This should stop as he focuses on the stick that he tries to hit Stanhope with for a few seconds. In this moment a spotlight should shine on his face to dramatise the moment. He should then swing randomly with a lack of control.
This encounter demonstrates the terrible emotions that must have been common in the trenches. Some men were able to distract themselves with sarcastic humour, avoiding talking about the practicalities of death and injury, drowning their fear in alcohol. Others such as Hibbert could not cope with living like this, ‘Ever since I came out here I’ve hated and loathed it. Every sound up there makes me all – cold and sick. I’m different to- to others – you don’t understand.’
Towards the end of the scene Hibbert should stop stuttering and begin to relax. To display to the audience the he is not so tense he should make his body look limp.
What Hibbert does not realise is that the other men feel exactly the same as he does. He does not see the ways in which the other men cover it up. Towards the end of the extract Stanhope confides in Hibbert, “I feel the same – exactly the same! Every little noise up there makes me feel – just as you feel.” Knowing this and the fact that other men are counting on him, Hibbert is persuaded to remain.
Extract 3 (pages 70-73) tells the audience about the dreadful minutes before action and how men must have felt. Men dreaded suffering, injury, death, and loss of friends. The anticipation of these things was often as bad as the action itself.
All the characters are feeling tense about the raid. Even Stanhope, who is not participating, feels nervous for his men but is always trying to keep their spirits high. This is exacerbated by the fact that Stanhope does not see much point in the raid. If it was up to him they would not be going.
Osborne fears the worst, “If anything should happen, would you send these along to my wife?” and asks Stanhope to give his wedding ring, watch and a letter to her. At the very first hint of a tragic outcome Stanhope immediately reassures Osborne, “You’re coming back old man. Damn it! what on earth should I do without you?”, even though it is clear to the audience that he realises someone is going to get hurt.
Stanhope should say, “You’re coming back old man,” with too much enthusiasm. This would make it clear to the audience that he does not totally believe what he has just said. Throughout the scene, Osborne should sit at the table fiddling with his wedding ring. He should pause and stop fiddling with the ring before he says, “If anything should happen…”. When he asks Stanhope to take the ring the audience will know that he has been thinking about the possibility of his death throughout. Osborne should ask Stanhope to give the items to his wife in a very slow serious tone of voice. He should stutter the words “if” and then he take a deep breath to compose himself. This shows us he is reluctant to say ask but knows he has to.
Conversation between Osborne and Raleigh now takes place. We have one character, Osborne, who is experienced and mature and is better able to deal with the situation. He uses this experience to calm and support the new officer, Raleigh.
The two men reflect with nostalgia on their home lives and in particular the time they have spent in the New Forest, “I can show you places in the forest that nobody knows about except Dennis and me. It gets thicker and darker and cooler, and you stir up all kinds of funny wild animals.” The audience would see that these are ordinary men who have had happy lives and yet here they are waiting in a filthy trench to advance on the enemy.
Raleigh is apologising for continually talking about the raid; he can not stop thinking about it. Osborne distracts him by reciting a verse from ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’ by Lewis Carroll to which Raleigh responds:
“ “ ‘And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings’ ” ”
Osborne replies, “Now we’re off! Quick, lets talk about pigs!” By the power of association the officers start to talk about their lives in England.
Osborne should stand up when he says the first half of the verse and then Raleigh should stand up when he says the second half of the verse. This would show their increasing excitement and sense of nostalgia.
Fond memories of the past are juxtaposed with the likelihood of death in the future. We feel upset because it is almost certain that they will never get a chance to fulfill their happy plans for the future, “you should come and stay with us one day.” This is the most poignant moment of the play. This is why for the whole play the characters have been trying to avoid talking about possibilities for the future. In this instance it is so upsetting because they get excited about their plans for the future, yet we know, and they realise that they are doomed and have no future. This is the ultimate horror of war; wasted lives.
Each character should be prompt in saying their lines and this should get quicker and quicker as the excitement grows. The length of the pause between the lines should get longer as the conversation becomes more sobre but their voices should still be loud high and cheerful; full of hope and excitement.
Before Raleigh calms down there should be sound affects of shells exploding in the background. When he stops thinking about the raid the set should become silent so that their excited voices can fill the stage. The sound affects can reflect Raleigh’s mood.
Governments had to persuade large numbers of men that it was sensible for them to risk injury and death. The easiest way was to give them a high morale purpose, to argue that the enemy was evil and that it was the war to end all wars. The public greeted the outbreak of war with excitement, and so plays, book and poems mirrored this.
The war lasted much longer and was bloodier than governments and soldiers had expected when it began. As the war progressed and the death count rose, writings questioned the morality of it.
Journey’s End, along with a number of other literary works, was the first to describe the reality of war, as it was written by men who were there. Sherriff looks at the nature of the daily lives of officers fighting in the trenches. The hardships and physical dangers are described in the play but you have to read between the lines to see the true horror of war; how the men confront the inevitability of death. Some turned to drink, to forget, whilst others tried to avoid the front line by inventing excuses. Throughout the play the audience gets to know the characters and their feelings. We understand what they are going through. The fact that they die in such pointless circumstances makes their deaths even more tragic.
We know that this pointless sacrifice was commonplace in World War 1 but at the time it was considered cowardly to question orders or the political conduct of the war. Men did what they were told or they were shot. There was no way of avoiding their duty.
