Raleigh is also the epitome of courage and bravery in Journey’s End. Raleigh, despite being new to the war scene, is willing to participate in the raid and is enthusiastic about it. Moreover, he bravely joins the other soldiers in defending against the
Germans unlike Hibbert, who is reluctant to leave the trench. Raleigh “feels rotten” to have been injured “when everybody else is” fighting. He feels the urge to get onto battle scene and support his fellow soldiers as he constantly inquires if his injury is serious. Even when Osborne dies, he does not give up but rather decides to face the realities of war, showing his mental courage. He decides to see through everything till the end and is undeterred by any distraction. Therefore, Raleigh is ready to face any danger to complete his duty as an officer.
In Journey’s End, the character of Raleigh is involved in several character foils, with almost every character in the play. Firstly, Raleigh has characteristics that are in contrary to those of Stanhope’s. Stanhope is extremely experienced as he “got his M.C. and been made captain”. In fact, Stanhope was Raleigh’s hero because of his extraordinary achievements in the army. In direct contrast, Raleigh is a novice, who is gradually being introduced to trench life and is “getting used to it”. Moreover, Raleigh is an officer who is not conscious of the hierarchy that exists between officers and the other men of lower ranks and is equally nice to them. However, Stanhope is sensitive about hierarchy and even scolds Raleigh for dining with the men. Moreover, Raleigh “hero-worships Stanhope” but is admired by Stanhope himself for his courage when Raleigh silently dies. Secondly, Raleigh’s character clashes with Hibbert’s. Raleigh views participating in the raid to be “frightfully exciting” unlike Hibbert who complains of “neuralgia in the eye” to escape from the harshness of war. Moreover, unlike Hibbert who tries to “wriggle home” to escape from war’s realities, Raleigh feels “rotten” when he gets hurt. 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. Even at the verge of death, he felt shame for being injured but never the guilt of joining the army. Even when he suffers the loss of Osborne, he does not give up like Hibbert but rather faces the realities of war, making him truly courageous at heart. Raleigh respects his seniors like Osborne, the colonel and Stanhope regardless of situations. Even when Stanhope treats him in a bad, unfair manner, Raleigh does not take it to heart and continues to hero-worship Stanhope. He is not angry at the colonel or Stanhope for having indirectly caused the loss of Osborne. He is not so particular about ranks and positions, treating his men like his equals. Unlike the colonel, Raleigh is sentimental and is extremely moved by Osborne’s death. However amidst these good qualities, Raleigh possesses one bad quality, his inability to adapt quickly to circumstances. He is very uncomfortable with trench life, shown by his limited movement and terseness in responding to other people. Instead of being vibrant like Trotter, Raleigh is rather sluggish on his ability to adapt to the trenches and be “natural”. However, it is important to notice that his positive qualities do outweigh his negative traits. Therefore, Raleigh is a round character.
Raleigh’s character is the most dynamic character in the play, evolving into a totally different person in terms of character. Although this change is internal and very sudden, the events of the plot should make it seem inevitable. Initially, Raleigh proves to be a novice, who is young and “as fresh as a daisy.” He is “just out from England” and has immediately joined the army after finishing school. He is new to the war scene and is learning gradually about trench life. Osborne, for example, tells him of the customs of trench life such as addressing him as “sir in front of the men only”. He also expects Stanhope to allow Raleigh to do duty with another officer “to get used to it.” Raleigh views everything to be very “strange” and even “uncanny”, which augments the oddity of the surroundings. However, Raleigh learns all there is to know about life in trenches and wars within a very short time. Unlike the nice and energetic Stanhope he is used to, Raleigh sees a different Stanhope, who is irascible, unfair, depressed and extremely displeased with Raleigh’s presence. Through this, he learns about the negative effects of war on the soldiers. Raleigh also experiences the “uncanny”, “odd” and “frightful” quietness of the battle scene, contrary to his expectations of the trenches being vibrant, action-packed and chaotic. Thus, Raleigh gets a taste of life in trenches and its immobility. He learns about the German soldier who shot one of the soldiers, yet allowed the surviving ones to carry his dead body from no man’s land, through which Raleigh realized the sheer foolishness of war. Raleigh feels bitter about Osborne’s death after the raid unlike the previous, short-lived surge of excitement he experienced, through which Raleigh learns about the harsh realities of war. Thus, Raleigh takes in several learning points from his short stay in the trenches. From a novice, he turns into an experienced and mature soldier. Therefore, Raleigh has changed and so is an extremely dynamic character. By being a dynamic character, R.C Sheriff has utilized Raleigh to effectively evoke the themes of the negative effects of war on the soldiers, life in trenches and its immobility, the harsh realities of war and several others. 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.
