stays and supports his company and friends. He is organised and skilful, and it shows courage to take on such a large responsibility at such a young age.
Stanhope has a very affectionate and deeply touching relationship with his
second in command, Osborne, or as he prefers to be called, “Uncle.” There is a
very warm and loving conversation when Osborne tucks Stanhope up for bed.
“[Osborne helps him on to the bed, takes the blanket and puts it over him.]”
Despite the fact that Stanhope is drunk, it is still very friendly, especially
when Stanhope says to Osborne, “Kiss me Uncle.” Although this is very comical,
it is also very poignant because we see that this is how Stanhope feels inside, as
there is no opportunity for love when you are in the war. This shows courage by both characters, because they are not embarrassed and look after one another, which is very noble of them.
Osborne is a very civilised, controlled man who “looks about forty-five.” He is very caring and paternal. Despite his “iron grey hair”, he is described to be “physically as hard as nails.” He comes across as very wise, and he used to be a teacher. He enjoys reading, gardening and playing “ruggers.” He even played for England once, but does not want Raleigh to “breeze about it.” This shows how modest and humble he is.
Some may say that Osborne is the most courageous character. He is courageous because he looks after everyone and cares deeply about his fellow soldiers. A good example of his courageousness is when he is asked to go and fight.
“OSBORNE: Who’s going?
STANHOPE: You and Raleigh
OSBORNE: [Pause] Oh [Another pause] Why Raleigh?”
Sherriff uses subtext here, as he is shocked that he has to go, but still instead of saying, “why me”, he says “why Raleigh?” He is looking out for Raleigh, instead of being selfish and refusing to go. This shows lots of courage. He could have complained if he wanted to, but he knew that this would just make Stanhope feel bad. Instead he accepts it, and he also begins to organise the men like a true soldier. The officers just attempt to make a joke of the affair, saying things like “what a damn nuisance!” in the full knowledge that somebody or all of them will die. Towards the end of the play when Osborne dies, his absence from the trenches is very noticeable and it has quite a detrimental effect on some of the soldiers.
The use of juxtaposition throughout the play is very effective because it is used to emphasise something awful that is happening, by next talking about something more light-hearted. For example, the officers turn their attention to Osborne who is sitting and reading Alice in Wonderland. He reads a short poem which is about a crocodile, “how cheerfully he seems to grin, and neatly spread his claws, and welcomes little fishes in with gently smiling jaws!” This changes the subject and draws the attention away from what is happening, and lightens the atmosphere for the audience and the characters. This is also a good example of how Osborne thinks about himself, and how he does not care what people think about him. He does not worry if people laugh at him because he is reading a child’s book, because he is strong-minded and at ease with who he is. This shows a different type of courage that Osborne has.
Raleigh on the other hand, is very naïve about the raid, but this is because he is young and inexperienced, and just thinks it is “ frightfully exciting!” This illuminates just how naïve and innocent he is to the audience, who feel sorry for him in this state. The audience are aware of how serious and dangerous the raid will be, because the other officers had been speaking about it in the previous scene. “ I reckon the Boche are all ready waiting for it.” This creates sympathy for Raleigh, and shows how courageous he is going off to fight, not knowing what to expect or when to return.
Raleigh is young and enthusiastic and will do anything for his fellow soldiers. He looks up to Stanhope because he used to go to school with him. He is courageous in many ways. Firstly, the fact that he had joined a new company must have been really frightening for him. On top of that, he was selected for the raid. He had practically only just joined before he was sent to go “over the top.”
It is a very dramatic moment in the play when Raleigh and Osborne are just about to leave the dugouts. Raleigh as usual is in high spirits and is very excited about the attack . Osborne, however, is more understanding of the situation and does not underestimate the task ahead. He leaves his ring behind, “…in case anything should happen” so that Stanhope can pass it on to his wife. The audience would feel very uneasy now, realising the true danger that the men would face and the fact that they might not return. They are both very nervous. This is shown by their idle conversations about very trivial things. “D’you like coffee better than tea?” Osborne is very wise about the risks that they had to face and tries to change the subject of the conversation so that they can talk about something else, “now lets forget about it all for….six minutes.”
This whole scene really shows how courageous the whole company are, because they all help organise the raid, and help each other out. In particular Osborne and Raleigh are very courageous, because they are obviously the ones who are going on the raid, and they must be very scared. They know that it is really dangerous, and that there is a risk that they could be very badly injured, or even possibly killed, but they still go, because they know it is their duty and they have no choice.
Raleigh is also courageous in the ways that he stands up to Stanhope. When they have an argument about Raleigh eating with the men, when he should have been eating with the officers, Raleigh stands up to Stanhope when he is shouting at him.
“STANHOPE: [Shouting] Are you going to eat your dinner?
RALEIGH: Good God! Don’t you understand? How can I sit down and eat that – when..”
Also his body language is confident. You can tell this by the stage directions. For example, after Stanhope shouts at Raleigh to sit down, subsequently he stands up.
RALEIGH: [rising] I’m not lying! Why should I – lie?” This means they are staring each other straight in the eye, and he is matching Stanhope’s status.
Hibbert and Trotter are other significant characters in Journeys End who also show vast amounts of courage. Trotter is an amiably fat and garrulous second lieutenant whose presence shows the awareness of class differences. He is quite a comical character, with comments like “war’s bad enough with pepper – but war without pepper – its – its bloody awful!” He has a kind heart, and is described to be “short and fat” and “middle aged and homely looking.” He tends to keep himself to himself, and is generally a happy and strong person. Stanhope questions Trotter about his constant optimism.
“STANHOPE: Nothing upsets you, does it? You’re always the same
TROTTER: How little you know.”
Trotter reveals the real distress and misery that he has, but he keeps it all bottled up inside. He does not want to load all his problems onto the other men, and instead, stays brave and strong yet silent. The audience would admire his strength and courageousness, and his ability to show the other men that it is possible to get through the war, whilst all the time he was experiencing the same torment that the other men were facing.
Hibbert is quite a contrast to the other soldiers, because he is very insecure and frightened about the war. He thought that he had done his bit and schemed to go home. He craftily complains of so – called “neuralgia” which cannot be proved, in a desperate attempt to be sent home. “It’s this beastly neuralgia…the beastly pain gets worse every day.” The other soldiers, however, are aware of Hibbert’s scheme, especially Stanhope, he says “Another little worm trying to wriggle home.”
This scenario about Hibbert’s “illness” then leads on to a very intense moment in the play. Hibbert pleads with Stanhope to be allowed to go to the hospital, to which Stanhope bluntly refuses. Finally Stanhope says to Hibbert, “If you went, I’d have you shot – for deserting.” Stanhope says that he could make it look accidental, to spare Hibbert the disgrace of forsaking his country and he even gives him “half a minute to decide.” The silence is broken by Hibbert laughing, “Go on then shoot! You won’t let me go to hospital. I swear I’ll never go in those trenches again! Shoot!” Finally Stanhope congratulates Hibbert, “Good man Hibbert. I liked the way that you stuck that.” Although Hibbert is made out to be scared and cowardly, he shows great courage in this scene. He is not only brave and courageous in the fact that he stands up to Stanhope, and tells him to shoot him, but also because he admits to Stanhope exactly how he feels. All the other soldiers have to put on a brave face and be fearless and strong, but Hibbert just can’t take any more waiting to see if he will die, he would prefer it if he was shot by Stanhope, than be killed by the Germans. This scene really shows us just how courageous the men are, as it helps us to understand the real pressure that the men are under, waiting, not knowing whether they will live or die.
Overall, I feel that all the characters in Journey’s End show amazing amounts of courage. They were under immense pressure and strain, and the play really makes the audience realise the true courage shown by the men. I’m sure that in achieving these numerous and vivid displays of courage, Sherriff gained immeasurably from his first hand experience in being a soldier himself, and fighting in World War One. They risked their lives for their country, and there are no words to describe just how terrible it was for them.