‘How is the dear boy? Drinking like a fish as usual?’
This would immediately involve the audience because they are now in two minds about what to expect from Stanhope, the stereotypical officer or a drunk. As Osborne is loyal he defends Stanhope
‘He’s never had a rest… young Stanhope goes on sticking it month in month out’.
This would reassure the audience about Stanhope, it shows the loyalty he commands in his men.
Hibbert brings out the best in Stanhope, unintentionally. For example when Hibbert complains with his neuralgia, in act two scene two, Stanhope persuades Hibbert to stay, by explaining that he has it to. This may not be true but just in case Hibbert does not trust Stanhope, Stanhope gets annoyed with him, calling him a wimp and
‘God! – You little swine’.
Stanhope on this occasion had to be cruel to Hibbert in order for Hibbert to see the war through like a real man. This is a sign of Stanhope being loyal to his men and to his country.
Then immediately after their little confrontation the audience catch a glimmer of Stanhope at his absolute best, supporting his man and keeping his moral high
‘ Good man!’
‘Then we’ll go up together and hold each others hands’.
This also shows Stanhope’s sense of comradeship. All of this would involve the audience because they see two upper-class officers at their lowest point, under the strain of war, destroying the stereotypical image of every man being a strong, brave hero.
Osborne and Stanhope definitely have an honest relationship. Stanhope is able to tell Osborne his true feelings, Osborne is an avuncular character, when Stanhope has a problem he talks to Osborne, and for example when Stanhope admits about his drinking to Osborne
‘I couldn’t bear being conscious all the time’.
Conversations upon conversations took place between the pair, they began to depend on one and other for company, and they became true friends. When Osborne was sent over through ‘ no mans land’ and does not return, Stanhope takes a real blow and along with the audience begins to feel the effects of a cold, dreadful war.
However despite the grief, in act II scene II Stanhope tries to keep the men’s morale up by going along with the celebrations, from capturing a German. He drinks the champagne and eats the chicken as a celebration, but also as a sign of respect to Osborne, his loyal friend who would have wanted the exact same respect.
Due to Raleigh and Stanhope previously knowing each other, when Raleigh arrives tension is created straight away because of Stanhope’s relationship with Raleigh’s sister. To hide his thoughts and feelings Stanhope immediately turns to his most reliable friend, a bottle of whisky. Another reason for Stanhope being afraid is that Raleigh hero-worships Stanhope, and Stanhope does not want Raleigh to write home about it and also because he is ashamed.
There is a lot of tension between the pair at the beginning; they don’t know what to say to each other, there are a lot of pauses in the dialogue to show this awkwardness.
However, when Raleigh is hit by a shell, Stanhope’s feelings and emotions change, he orders the impossible, a stretcher, to keep Raleigh’s hopes of living alive. Furthermore to allow Raleigh to feel more comfortable he calls him by his Christian name ‘ Jimmy’. Once again Sherriff is showing Stanhope’s caring side, the side that not many people see in Stanhope.
Sherriff has created interest by destroying the stereotypical officer, he has shown a true hero who knows his own faults and fears. Sherriff has created a more detailed portrait of a war officer, a normal human who is stressed owing to the effects of serving his king and country.
Similarly, the revelation of Osborne’s character holds interest and surprise for the audience who would expect the second in command to be loyal, stable, reliable, dutiful and caring. Osborne in this case is the stereotypical officer. His loyalty is shown when he is supporting Stanhope, when Hardy complains about Stanhope's drink problem. His stability is shown when the sergeant major selects him for the raid, he shows signs of fear, as any man would but is confident about his return because he leaves with his pipe alight, as though he expected to return within minutes.
The other men look up to Osborne being the oldest of the officers, by twenty years or so, when they need reassurance or advice Osborne is the man they all turn to, he is extremely avuncular. For instance Stanhope asks if he is going
‘Potty?’
And Osborne replies with a powerful
‘Oh, lord, no!’
Osborne may seem to be the stereotypical upper-class officer, but he shows signs of being unconvinced about the war and its aim. The audience receives this information when Osborne is in conversation with Raleigh, they together agreed on how pointless the war actually was.
This would shock the audience, destroying all stereotypical thoughts Sherriff had previously given out. The audience would be very interested now to find out the final thoughts of all the officers.
Due to Osborne being a public school master, he has a more intellectual knowledge of words and their meanings than the working-class men and officer Trotter. Even in a child’s book, the words from Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland touch Osborne emotionally, whereas Trotter cannot
‘See the point’
Because he is from a lower-class background, Sherriff has kept the stereotype with the officers literacy, this would keep the audiences stereotypical views are still slightly alive. All of this is shown in Act II Scene II.
Osborne is a family man outside of the war. He loves and remembers his family dearly. In Act II Osborne’s thoughts about the war were somewhat similar to that of his children’s
‘I wish I knew how to fight a battle like those boys of mine.’
This is showing his love for his children and a lack of decent effort put into the real war. Once again Sherriff has destroyed the audience’s views and thoughts of there being a perfect, well planned, clean war. Slowly but surely Sherriff is bringing the audience to the truth about the war, involving and awakening them at every possible chance.
Initially, Hibbert appears to be a character similar to that of Stanhope and Osborne, he is upper class, his language reflecting this. Also when he talks about owning his own car, which again shows Hibbert’s wealth. He is a rakish young man.
Hibbert is like Stanhope and Osborne also because he uses such words as ‘cheero’ and ‘righto’ these words are often the words used by the stereotypical ex-public school boys. Hibbert is not very likable or noble because he belittles women, for example, he brings out some pictures just after Osborne’s death, of women, and he basically has a good laugh and says which one he would ‘have’.
Also when he talks about his car and how he picked up two women in it he calls them,
‘A pair of little tarts’
As well as Hibbert being the unstereotypical upper-class officer he is also a coward, because along with many other men during the war Hibbert claims to have Neuralgia, which cannot be proven, and protests to Stanhope that he must go home. His cowardliness is not impressive to Stanhope and Stanhope threatens Hibbert with a revolver and towards the end of Act II Scene II Hibbert steps down. After that incident Hibbert seems to shy away.
However when it is his turn to join the front line his cowardliness begins to show again, he tries to delay the time as much as possible all of this is shown at the end of the play in Act III Scene III. Not only is this showing Hibbert as a coward but it is also showing his lazy side. Sherriff featured Hibbert in his play only to show the audience that not everything in this world is, as it seems.
By contrast to the other officers Trotter has worked his way up through the ranks, and has not been given his status by virtue of his background.
Not only has Sherriff destroyed the audience’s stereotypical thoughts of all good officers being upper-class, he has also destroyed the audience’s views of how an officer should be fit and agile. Trotter is overweight and has a red round face; his name alone suggests food and unfitness. The audience would think that he is very lazy and does not pull his weight; this is comical and would immediately grab the audience’s attention. Also designed to put the audience against Trotter is his language and upbringing, he has now been to public school, probably because his parents could not afford it with them being lower-class to working-class. This is shown when he talks because he drops his aitches and uses standard English all of the time and very rarely, if at all, uses words such as ‘topping’.
However, Sherriff being the author that he is destroys once again the audience’s pre-conceptions of an officer. Trotter, being the comic of the trench, and also by him being the officer to come out of the war in the best position, creates this.
His humour is shown on numerous occasions; by far the best is when Mason is serving food,
Mason says ‘that one’s a cutlet’
Trotter replies ‘well, it wont let me cut it’
And Mason being as uneducated as he is did not see the pun; also this would have boosted the men’s spirits.
Another of Trotter’s talents along with being humorous is being kind and helpful, like when Raleigh first arrives, Trotter introduces himself to the timid youngster and helps him feel more comfortable.
Trotter is very sanguine, staying his happy self all of the time, lacking a care in the world. Not only is this good for him but it gives the other officers hope and maintains their self-esteem. He is very reliable and dependable in any situation. He will be chums with anyone and not say a word against them, excluding the enemy.
Readiness is Trotter’s middle name, always alert and ready for action even at the bitter end, for when Mason is awakening Stanhope it is no surprise that Trotter is all ready to go.
After Osborne’s death, Stanhope chooses Trotter to be his second in command, his reasons being that he can trust and rely on Trotter more that any of the other officers.
Raleigh is a very young and inexperienced officer. When he is first brought into the play his manners and naïveté are shown when he answers to Osborne as ‘sir’ and also his lack of experience is shown in that same discussion when he tells Osborne about leaving school the summer before.
A large number of Raleigh’s characteristics are brought out to life during conversations. In addition to his naïveté and lack of experience we also see Raleigh’s enthusiasm, for example, when Osborne is talking about the old days when he earned his England cap, Raleigh replied
‘That must have been simply topping.’
Nepotism played a huge part in bringing Raleigh into Stanhope’s ‘c’ company, as Raleigh’s uncle is accountable for the placement of new recruits.
Additionally to Stanhope, Osborne, and Hibbert, Raleigh is also from an upper-class background. His public school years are proven by, using such language as
‘Righto’ and ‘cheero’
Unfortunately Osborne dies during the raid, Raleigh does not take this without difficulty and shows his need of experience by eating with the privates.
Despite Sherriff destroying the officers stereotypes, Raleigh remains unchanged throughout the play, his enthusiasm is even shown on his death bed when he claims that his injury is simply a reoccurring tennis injury, rather than face facts that he has been hit in the back by shrapnel. He is so determined and loyal to his country that he uses every last ounce of strength to get back to the battle. This is because he believes in his king and country, and that he will be crowned a hero upon returning home. In this play he represents the young enthusiastic men who died without knowing the truth about how horrible the world would be to him.
Audience involvement occurs in a variety of ways the idea of the men being cooped up in a small dark and damp trench is given to the audience on several occasions, especially during the first Act. Audience’s stereotypes were changed throughout the play, all for the better and none for the worst. Trotter came in a lower-class officer but came out on top of the other upper-class officers. Numerous members of the audience would now question the officers within the army and also how they are selected.
Therefore Sherriff has achieved his intentions, to put the public’s minds on the right track about war. Positively I can say that R.C Sherriff succeeded in proving his point that the army is corrupt and that not everyone deserves what they are given.
