20th Century Drama - Journey's End, R C Sheriff

20th Century Drama – Journey’s End, R C Sheriff

Thomas Robson

30/10/2001

The play, Journey’s End, was written by R C Sheriff just ten years after the First World War in 1929. The play is set in a single dark, damp dugout amongst a front line trench, which has probably been chosen to give a very claustrophobic outlook to the entire piece. All of the events occur throughout just four short days, which I think is purposely tight in order to add tension and to show the futility of the war, how a whole company of men could be wiped out within a few short days. The script is based mainly on the relationships, situation and most importantly the conflict which occurs between men in the trenches. The inner conflict of the characters is also a principal feature of the script and adds physiological weight to the play, perhaps playing on the audiences’ own experiences with inner conflict. There are four primary characters. These are the officers, all of whom have attended public school and are of higher social and military rank to the ‘men’. Sheriff often emphasises the partition and stringent class system amongst the trenches and England at that time by describing the characters as ‘the officers’ or ‘the men’. I believe that he has kept the number of central characters in the play and places them all within a single setting to create a magnifying glass effect, focussing on the officers as individuals, not soldiers. This takes the audience deeply into the reality of the war. I think people always tend to hold the ability to deal with a terrible situation when a group of victims are labelled as a group, but are only seriously affected emotionally when they are confronted with those individual victims. Sheriff uses this significantly to his advantage. Another dramatic device which is employed heavily throughout the play is contrast. Contrast between the dugout and the outside world, contrast between home and the trenches. These all add extra impact to the scenes for the audience and engage them through their emotions and reactions. Sheriff uses the weather to this effect. He repeatedly sets the scene with “A pale shaft of sunlight shines down the steps, but candles still burn in the dark corner where Osborne and Raleigh are at breakfast” or similar, emphasising the contrast between the damp dugout the and pleasant weather outside. In fact the weather is beautiful throughout the entire play. The play itself is also set during the early parts of 1918, just months before a victory was claimed by the Allies. In my opinion R C Sheriff is a very good playwright and includes every line to manipulate the responses of his audience. The time scale and setting are no exception and deliberately, but yet quite subtly provokes emotions from the audience. Why couldn’t these individuals have been saved from the terror of war?

The play begins with the relief of the old company and the arrival of our main characters. This is the way the trench warfare operated. Companies would go up the font line for several weeks and then be granted leave and replaced by another company and so on. It is late evening and “A pale glimmer of moonlight shines down the narrow steps into one corner of the dug-out” is the description given of both the night and the setting where we are to remain for the entirety of the play. A pivotal character, Osborne, arrives first and speaks to the existing commanding officer. Osborne is a very important character and Sheriff takes good care in describing him. “A tall thin man comes slowly down the dug-out steps stooping low to avoid the roof. He takes his helmet off and reveals a fine head, with close-cropped, iron grey hair. He looks about forty-five-physically as hard as nails” is his initial description. Hardy, “red faced, cheerful looking men” greets Osborne and offers him a drink. We soon hear the first mention of Stanhope, the commander of the new company. From the start we can see Osborne’s respect for his friend as he tells how Stanhope is “looking after the men”. This is the first part of the impression that Sheriff expects the audience to receive about Stanhope and his relationship with Osborne. They also make a joke of the trench being damaged and about how the grit got into the men’s tea. How awful! You will find this whenever the officers participate in conversation, which shows the audience how the soldiers have to deal with their predicament. Next Hardy reminds about the imminence of a significant German bombardment along the British lines, which is expected very soon. Hardy goes on to tell Osborne “I’ve been out listening at night when it’s quiet. There’s more transport than usual coming up – you can hear it rattling over the pavẻ all night; more trains in the distance – puffing up and going away again, one after another, bringing up loads and loads of men -“ which immediately starts to build up a reasonable amount of tension in the audience. Hardy continues and remarks “Then I should think you’ll get it – right in the neck”, almost issuing a death penalty before we even get to know the other characters, highlighting just how futile this war is. This expectance of the bombardment plays a crucial role throughout the remainder of the play and sets the foundations for the story. Again the class divide is shown by Hardy’s disregard for the ‘men’s’ sleeping quarters. This first scene is very interesting and cover quite a lot of ground where setting the trench situation is concerned. Hardy tells of how his last new officer who “got lumbago the first night and went home. Now he’s got a job lecturing young officers on ‘Life in the Front Line’”. This is both humorous and shown the audience how the conditions would scare the life out of all of its inhabitants. Enough to drive them into faking illness. Osborne also talks of how “I hope we’re lucky and get a youngster straight from school. They’re the kind that do best”, illuminating the fact that those with no experience of the trenches tend to have a different mind frame from those who do and are more willing to risk injury etc. When they stumble on the subject of Stanhope we see Osborne defensive nature for Stanhope. Hardy jokes about the commander’s drinking problem. Osborne naturally argues in defence for the lad. We learn more about Stanhope’s complex character now and throughout the play, Sheriff never stops developing it. We learn from Osborne that Stanhope has been on the line for three years, how Stanhope is open to breaking down in tears occasionally and how his nerves have been “battered to bits”. The tall grey man shows his devotion to the man, saying “You don’t know him as I do; I love that fellow. I’d go to hell with him” and introducing another of the strong characteristics of this play. Comradeship is important to develop Sheriff’s characters and to provoke emotion from the audience, to shown them how the individuals survived the Great War.

Another character is introduced, Mason, the officers cook. The presence of a personal cook again highlights the class system. Mason is the hub of most of the humorous dialogue within the dug-out, the ‘Baldric’ of Journey’s End. This is backed up by his mentioning of “smells like liver sir, but it ‘asn’t got the smooth, wet look that livers got.” The inclusion of humour into the script is designed to stoke up the audience’s interests and to lighten the mood a little at this early stage in the play. Now we see the arrival of the new officer, the young rookie Raleigh. The stage directions are important for this scene in conveying the reactions of the characters accurately for the audience, increasing their viewing pleasure. We quickly learn that Raleigh is fresh from school, the type that do best. Osborne introduces himself as the ‘uncle’, showing his close relationship and fatherly relationship with the other officers. We also hear of how Raleigh’s uncle, a general, placed him in the company to be with Stanhope, his hero. Osborne and Raleigh continue with their talk of school, rugger, of the young lad’s admiration for Stanhope and of how his sister is in a relationship with Stanhope. Now Osborne reminds the boy that his hero might no be the man he remembers and of how the trench can change people, adding weight to the situation. More ironic humour is included to amuse the audience when Raleigh reminisces about how Stanhope would never touch alcohol or cigarettes at school. A total contrast from the ‘new’ Stanhope. Now they talk about the eerie silence of the trenches, creating a foreboding atmosphere. The rookie was expecting constant commotion.

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In the same scene we are familiarised with the central character. The playwright offers a very detailed description of Stanhope’s appearance as this is obviously very important in achieving the desired affect. He goes on “Despite his stars or rank he is no more than a boy; tall, slimly built, but broad shouldered. His dark hair is carefully brushed; his uniform, though old and war-stained, is well cut and cared for. He is good looking, rather from attractive features then the healthy good looks of Raleigh. Although tanned by months in the open air, there is a pallor under his skin and dark shadows under his eyes”. Sheriff is careful to show how warn down the boy is by the war. He is depicted to be a good officer with care to his role. Another officer enters simultaneously. Trotter is the complete opposite to his companion. “Middle aged and homely looking. His face is red, fat, and round; apparently he has put on weight during his war service, for his tunic appears to be on the verge of bursting at the waist”. This may be to offer a contrast to Stanhope and the other men or it might just be to offer some variation in the characters.

This is when Stanhope really starts to be developed. One of the first things he says is “Damn the soup! Bring some whisky!” showing his obvious tendency to drink. Stanhope is shocked at the arrival of Raleigh. He stands, stunned for a moment. Stage directions are carefully employed once more. Stanhope speaks very little to Raleigh; his tone of language immediately informs the audience of his bad mood at the youngster’s arrival. His words are short and sharp, he is obnoxious to Mason. The conversation between all of the officers turns to inconsequential issues such as pepper in the soup and Trotter speaks and slurps greedily, cracking a joke. Right now Stanhope is in what might be called his ‘Efficient mode’, he is carrying out his role, issuing his order, he will not rest at all, even if he is tired. This is a corner-stone of his character. Soon after the final officer arrives, Hibbert, who doesn’t play a great role in the running of the company, but is used to show the extent of the psychological damage the war can cause. He complains of Neuralgia in his eye. Stanhope ignores his complaints and becomes agitated, saying “Another little worm trying to wriggle home” to Osborne, who attempts to defend the man in his usual manor. Stanhope has asked the Doctor not to allow Hibbert to be relieved. There is also a cruel side to Stanhope. Later he fills in Osborne, his second in command and closest friend, about Raleigh’s sister. Stanhope declares that “We’ll say fifty divisions. That’s a hundred and fifty brigades – four hundred and fifty battalions. That’s one thousand eight hundred companies” and asks why Raleigh must have been sent to his own, showing the sheer enormity of the war to the audience, showing how there are thousands of salutations similar to this one, all at the same time. Stanhope’s brave front is dropped for his friend. He admits that “if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I’d go mad with fright”. The commander becomes depressed, saying thinks like “it may not be much longer now. I’ve had my share of luck”. This shows how many men have been killed, outlines the futility of the battles, and conveys this to the audience through Stanhope. He is also scared that Raleigh would tell his sister about the ‘new’ Stanhope and then goes into a drunken fit, ranting and raving “D’you see? He’s a little prig. Wants to write home and tell Madge all about me. Well he won’t; d’you see, Uncle? He won’t write. Censorship! I censor all his letters – cross out all he says about me. He continues slurring until Osborne tucks him into bed like a baby. “Kiss me, uncle” Stanhope asks humorously. Once again Sheriff is giving his audience a strong impression of comradeship amongst the officers.

The next day, the Tuesday morning, starts off with the same old chit-chat. Trotter claims his sighting of “a bloomin’ little bird” that started singing, offering complete contrast the dug-put and the war. The officers start to talk about home, about their gardens and Trotter boasts about his and presents a photograph. Osborne speaks about his rockery and the time he used to enjoy back at home in sunny England. This then jumps into talk of rifle grenades, more application of contrast, slightly shocking the audience. Raleigh and Osborne are starting to form a relationship away from Stanhope now. They converse in the dug-out, chatting about rugby. Raleigh notices a slip of paper on the table and enquires. Osborne replies “Trotter’s plan to make the time pass quickly. One hundred and forty-four little circles-one for each hour of six days. He’s blacked in six already. He’s six hours behind” and presents another of Sheriffs dramatic devices. He frequently uses the counting down of time in this play. This shows both the monotony of the trench life and the time, which the audience already knows the company have remaining before the ‘big raid’. It really does add suspense and tension to the scenes. The playwright also uses the ideas of comradeship and the futility of the war as Osborne tells the story of a certain raid to Raleigh. “I remember up at Wipers we had a man shot when he was out on patrol. Just at dawn. We couldn’t get him in the night. He lay out there groaning all day. Next night three of our men crawled out to get him. It was so near the German trenches that they could have shot our fellow one by one. But, when our men began dragging the wounded man back over the rough ground, a big German officer stood up in their trenches and called out: ‘carry him!’ – and our fellows stood up and carries the man back and the German officer fired some lights for them to see by”. He goes on “Next day we blew each other’s trenches to blazes”. This blends the idea of comradeship, even across no-mans-land and the futile war they are fighting, which again provokes anger within those in the audience. Stanhope returns with news of the attack being confirmed for Thursday, just two days time. This turns up the tension dial. Stanhope jumps back into his ‘efficient soldier mode’ once again and informs Osborne that two wiring parties will wire the company in for the ‘big raid’ because he doesn’t trust the companies either side of them to hold their ground. He goes on to tell him that the Colonel had been arranging each company’s battle positions. Their conversation strolls back over to Hibbert’s hour-keeping paper and Stanhope enquires how many hours are left until the 21st. there are just thirty six hours left until the inevitable attack and now the tension and suspense are roaring. Sheriff uses contrast again as they speak of the marvellous sunrise which had enveloped and patterned the sky over such a dead, grey land. They continue their conversation, reminiscing about home, they beauty of the evenings, a poke and a read, pretending the war didn’t exist’. For a brief moment they had left the dark, slimy dug-out and were back home in England.

There follows a scene of anger and extreme tension between Stanhope and Raleigh. The young lad gives the commanding officer a letter to home. To Raleigh’s surprise he learns from Stanhope that all letters must be censored. “Oh, I-I didn’t realise that. (He stands embarrassed; then gives a short laugh.) I-I think-I’ll just leave it, then. (He unbuttons his tunic pocket to put the letter away.)” Raleigh responds in embarrassment. Stanhope bawls “Give me that letter!” several times. The youngster tries to compromise, but Stanhope shouts again. “Don’t ‘Dennis’ me! Stanhope’s my name! You’re not at school! Go and inspect your rifles!” in a fit of rage. After passing the letter to Osborne the letter turns out to be innocent and clean. This has exited the audience and at the same time created feeling towards Raleigh.

Later that afternoon the Sergeant-major discuses battle plans with Stanhope. This is all a very clear and straight forward affair. Then sergeant gingerly asks the commander if they should make plans to fall back, saying “Well, then sir. If they don’t get through the first day, they’ll attack the next day and the next-“. Stanhope attempts to reassure the soldier in a very queer manor, saying “we’ll make a hell of a mess of them. We might delay the advance a whole day”. This has been included to give the audience a shock, to shown that there is no going back, the men are going to die within the following hours. This will have a profound effect on Sheriff’s audience. It is a kind of milestone in the story, approaching the final mile and the end. Just after the sergeant leaves the Colonel arrives with bad news. He starts with “spring’s coming” but quickly changes his tone to pass on the deadly message from headquarters. The company is to make a raid on the enemy lines, to capture and retrieve an enemy soldier for questioning. To add to the situation the raid is also to be arranged for that very same night! More suspense is bubbling amongst the audience from this news. The Colonel suggest sending two officers and ten men, “quite enough for the purpose”. Instead of choosing the condemned Stanhope asks the Colonel to choose, “Who do you suggest, sir?” he asks anxiously. The Colonel suggests Osborne, a closest friend, and Raleigh, young and innocent. I think that Sheriff has chosen these two men in order to further bring out his audience’s emotions. If Osborne was killed the company would be lost and if Raleigh should die it would be a terrible loss of such a young man with a whole life ahead of him.

Now one of the most shocking and suspending scenes occurs between Stanhope and Hibbert, still complaining vigilantly of his neuralgia. Hibbert complains and asks to be relieved on grounds of sickness, Stanhope simply claims he is suffering from the same symptoms. Stunned, Hibbert carries on and speaks of the doctor sending him home anyway. Stanhope ensures the Hibbert knows that he’s dealt with the doctor, “I saw him this morning. He won’t send you to hospital; he’ll send you back here. He promised me he would”, he assures. Hibbert becomes agitated and argues with Stanhope. Stanhope won’t back down and tells Hibbert “You’re going to stay here and see it through with the rest of us”. Hibbert begins to plead with the man and attempts to pass him by. Both men are now raging and Hibbert asks “I shall die of the pain if I don’t go” and is responded to with “Better dir of pain than be shot for deserting”. There is an uneasy tone in Stanhope’s voice and the two men continue the bawling match. Eventually Hibbert loses his wit when he is pushed by the other man. He strikes at Stanhope with a stick, who catches the stick and breaks it on his knees”. “God! – You little swine. You know what that means-don’t you? Striking a superior officer!” Stanhope cries and trains his revolver on Hibbert, who stands quivering but still, argues. Stanhope gives him just half a minute to think, a long half a minute at that. Stanhope threatens to cause an ‘accident’ involving his revolver and Hibbert. The suspense and tension peaks before the men breaks down onto his knees and cries like a sick child. Hibbert explains how he feels. “I feel the same-exactly the same!” Stanhope, his friend, offers. “We know how bad we both feel now. Shall we see if we can stick it together?” he carries on in a brotherly fashion, once again showing comradeship. The idea of inner conflict is brought up here. Both Hibbert and Stanhope have to fight themselves in order to carry on, especially Stanhope, who doesn’t know if he wants to die, to live, to go home, to get drunk, to stay for ever or whatever. He is fighting a constant battle with his mind. The trenches have warped him into their own creature, ad twisting, deep and dark as they are. In fact every man in that trench has to fight his inner fears every day just to survive. All of this conflict creates a very engaging mixture for the audience and keeps them fascinated. Stanhope reasons with Hibbert, who finally agrees to go back onto the front line.

Now the officers, Osborne, Trotter and Stanhope are together in the dug-out. This is when the poor wreck Stanhope is forced to break the news to the others about the raid. Although shocked, Osborne 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. They continually change the conversation and talk about the jam or alike. This is their only way of coping. Trotter speaks about hoe “It’s damn ridiculous making a raid when Boche are expecting it” and the other know he’s right. They turn their attention to the book Osborne is reading, Alice in Wonderland and Osborne reads a short poem out. The poem talks about a crocodile, “How cheerfully he seems to grin, and neatly spread his claws, and welcomes little fishes in, with gently smiling jaws!” This gives both a serious contrast between the real situation and a fantasy story land and also shows Osborne’s cool attitude to everything. He has lost hope. Both of these provoke a lot of emotion from the audience and are used for this specific purpose. When Raleigh hears news about the raid he thinks it’s all frightfully exiting! And asks if he has been picked especially. This just illuminates just how naïve and innocent he is to the audience, who feel sorry for him in his state. Raleigh bleats “I say!” and the curtains fall. This is important as it marks the point at which the officers have their last real meeting together.

Act 3 starts on a Wednesday afternoon, the fourth day in terms of the play. Sheriff starts the tension ball rolling slowly with stage directions. The sun is slowly setting over the horizon. Stanhope is alone and pacing to and thro within the dugout, staring at the map on the table and then his watch anxiously. The audience senses that Stanhope is on edge because he has dropped into what could be called his ‘soldier’ or ‘proficient’ mode. He calls for coffee, “Make it hot and strong. Ready in five minutes. I’ll call when it’s wanted”, he has not time to waste of pleasantness. The colonel interrupts his pacing and a dialogue begins between them, with which the writer starts to weave in the idea of the raid’s futility and ridiculousness. Stanhope interrogates his superior officer, asking if the commanders had listened to sense and taken good advice. Some humour is included as Stanhope makes the sarcastic remark “They can’t have it later because of dinner, I suppose.” When he hears that a report on the raid must be completed by seven o’clock, implying how distance the commanders are from the reality of the trenches and the ‘real’ war and beginning to knead the audience’s emotions against headquarters and the hierarchy. The atmosphere is heated as Stanhope attacks the colonel. “Meanwhile the Boche are sitting over there with a dozen machine-guns trained on that hole-waiting for our fellows to come”, “Why didn’t the trench mortars blow a dozen holes in different places – so they don’t know which we were going to use?”, he scolds in outrage. The colonel simply replies “How could they blow a dozen in time? It’s no good worrying about it now” and asks for Osborne and Raleigh’s location. This is when the imminence of the raid and most probably death hits the audience. There’s no going back and it makes them feel as helpless as the men and any hope is extinguished.

In a pathetic attempt to reassure Stanhope with, “It’s no good getting depressed. After all, it’s only sixty yards”, but is this good or bad? The writer starts to push the tension a little higher now as they speak about the red rags, which the Germans have tied to the wire surrounding the hole and attempt to be patriotic about the affair. Uneasiness in the air and Sheriff creates what could be described as a hill of tension for his audience, which will get steeper and steeper until it peaks and then drop once more. As the hill starts Stanhope asks if the men are having their rum, followed by the colonel’s speech to the men after an uneasy pause. We, the audience know just as well as he do those men could all die, including the innocent, young Raleigh. The men are now approaching the middle of the hill and are reminded to leave any personal objects behind for purposes which the audience are not directly told but are left to assume, engaging them through emotion perhaps for the men’s loved ones. On Osborne’s next encounter with Stanhope the courageous leader is revealed, his feelings towards Osborne are naked and he admits that he wouldn’t know what to do without Osborne. This does two things to the audience. Firstly it sets them up to anticipate what would happen to Stanhope if Osborne were to be killed, adding another battery to their interest in the play. Secondly it shows how vulnerable war has made the men and how Osborne is the glue that holds them mentally together. At the same time Stanhope puts on a brave front, lifting his physiological shield and tries to convince them that Osborne’s safe recovery is guaranteed under fate for 12 months. However the writer changes the more positive atmosphere by riddling this dialogue with pauses.

Stanhope leaves Osborne alone, lighting his pipe, and Raleigh enters the dugout. Now Osborne and Raleigh have their first and most important conversation of the play. They encourage each other; they share their feelings and fears. Within the conversation Sheriff keeps using a counting down of time technique to add suspense for the audience. “We’ve got eight minutes yet.” Osborne declares to Raleigh’s disappointment. In the time they have Osborne plans out the raid with the Rookie and he explains that they should be in and out in just three minutes, highlighting how long it would be before the suspense would be over. Osborne appears to be impersonating the talking clock, now counting six minutes. Raleigh can’t hold for much more, he must get it over and done with, which builds both anticipation and excitement in the audience. We notice that every time the conversation turns to the raid Osborne will divert it, diverting the fear. In a bizarre situation they start talking about bizarre things like the New forest. Raleigh tells of how Stanhope and he had spent time in the forest during the summer and Osborne reveals that he used to walk there a lot. This offers a total contrast to the audience, which will add to the shock of the raid. The writer is tweaking with the audiences emotions by showing them what the men miss, opening the war into a personal situation, the worst reality of war. The loss of people, not men. They chat on. Osborne counts 2 minutes and they have nearly reached the peak of the tension hill. Raleigh picks Osborne’s wring from the table and asks him why he left it there. The uncle says he wouldn’t want to lose it. He is still protecting the young boy from the reality of the situation, but Raleigh is learning and realises why the ring was left. Another uneasy pause follows. Now they take their pistols in anticipation. Three minutes left. Stage directions, once more, as their eyes meet. For the last 6 minutes the men have chit chatted over what could be seen as a load of inconsequential nonsense, but they have come together some how and the audience now feels prepared for the raid.

The raid is depicted only through stage directions, describing only the sounds, lights, and colours. The next thing we get is the news that one German boy has been captured. Stanhope goes off to see the men. After a short interrogation of the German, Stanhope returns. The colonel seems over the moon! “Splendid Stanhope! We’ve got all we wanted – 20th Wurtembergers!” he bleats. Stanhope is not as amused as the writer show by the tone of his voice, dead and cold. He walks past the colonel in disgust, which generated disgust in the audience. “How awfully nice if the brigadier’s pleased”. His voice stinks of cynicism and provokes the colonel into asking about the men’s well-being. Stanhope carries on in this tone, asking how the colonel thinks the men are. Sheriff breaks the news of the death of Osborn, a key character, very subtly. A hand grenade – while he was waiting for Raleigh. The colonel begins to speak but his words fray away until he congratulates Raleigh, who has just entered the dugout. The colonel’s leaves and the stage directions describe the silenced trench, the sun setting over enemy lines and Stanhope staring at Osborne’s watch and ring on the table. Sadness rushes through the audience as Sheriff intended. Raleigh and Stanhope’s eyes meet. “Must you sit on Osborne’s bed” Stanhope fires at the boy. We don’t know whether to feel sorry for Stanhope, for Raleigh, for Osborne or feel anger for anybody. The audience shares a mix of emotions.

The next scene is set in the late evening of that same day. All of the officers, bar Raleigh, lie drunk in the dug-out. They have finished their chicken dinner and now tell jokes and stories, falling over in a drunken roar of laughter. This is not a dream; the men are far from happy. They are just drowning their sorrows. Sheriff has done this to contrast with the disastrous raid. This astonished the audience, however they know why the officers are drowning their sorrows. Despite being ridiculously champagne drunk Stanhope starts on the whisky. Today’s events have hit him the hardest. He has lost his best friend and several of his men. The audience’s feelings are with the man. The start to discuss Raleigh’s absence from the ‘celebration’ and Hibbert reports that “He told me he liked being up there with the men better than down here with us” and how when he heard about the special supper which had been organised for their return Raleigh has said “Your not having that, are you?”. Stanhope’s bloods begins to heat, he steams about how he doesn’t want to hear about that bloody raid. He verbally attacks Hibbert. He orders Hibbert to go to bed, Hibbert asks what he meant. Stanhope retaliates and then apologises, admitting to his tiredness. The others leave Stanhope in the dug-out and Raleigh steps slowly down inside. “I though I told you to come down to dinner at eight o’clock?” the drunken Stanhope snarls. Raleigh apologises, but when offered his dinner he notifies the commander that he ate with the men in the trenches. Stanhope is shocked, angry, and furious. He lectures the boy with “Now, look here. I know you’re new to this, but I thought you’d have the common sense to leave the men along to their meals, do you think they want an officer prowling round eating their rations, and sucking up to them like that? My officers are here to be respected-not laughed at”. He yells at Raleigh to sit down and interrogates him as to what he told Hibbert, making it clear that he had insulted the others. Raleigh stares at Stanhope, who immediately jumps into confrontation. “You resent me being here.” Claims Raleigh. Again the lad refuses his meal, infuriating Stanhope. “Good God! Don’t you understand? How can I sit down and eat that – when – when Osborne’s – lying – out there-“he shouts for the first time. Stanhope explains that the celebration was to forget and asks Raleigh to leave. “Oh get out! For God’s sake, get out!” This is the climax of the tension between the two men, finally having burst out into the open. Here the playwright is exploring conflict between each of the characters and this helps to add impact for the audience. The arguments purpose was to excite and shock the audience and I believe that it his achieved these goals. It also shows them how unstable war has made Stanhope and how it affects individuals as well as groups. The curtain falls again, which is important once more the last fall before the bombardment.

This is the day. This is it and the playwright has made sure that the audience knows it. The dug-out is now in darkness, a darkness which is perhaps symbolic of the officer’s futures. Mason lights a candle and wakes Stanhope at half past five. The Sergeant major enters to receive his orders. Stanhope cracks a quick joke to liven up the mood amongst the men. They hear shelling above. Stanhope goes up to check and finds action to the right. Hibbert goes up to the front line. He is followed by Raleigh, who says little to Stanhope, apart from “Cheero, Raleigh. I shall be coming up soon.” Which I think has been used as an emotive device to show that everybody will be up on the line together as comrades. Hibbert wakes in and is greeted with a “come on man” from Stanhope. He complains of a dry throat and asks for a little water. By this point the shelling has increased significantly. “Stretcher bearers!” can be heard bellowing from above. Stanhope pushes Hibbert to hurry. Hibbert is wasting time to save his nerves and asks to stay for a little longer. Mason now leaves just the two men in the dug-out. News from the sergeant major that a Corporal Ross has been hit reached the dug-out and Hibbert escorts Stanhope up to the front line. Then the sergeant also delivers more news. Raleigh has been hit, a piece of shrapnel in the back. Stanhope panics in a controlled fashion and requests for the injured boy to be sent down. Stanhope quickly prepares Osborne’s bed for the casualty. When he arrives Raleigh pretends not to be injured badly, although his spine is irreparably damaged. He talks about how he suffered a similar injury during rugger in his delirious state and attempts to get back up again. Stanhope reassures the boy that he will be going home. “You’ve got a blighty one, my boy!” he says, indicating that Raleigh is injured enough to be sent home. Raleigh’s last request is for a candle, after which his fades away on the bed. Sheriff describes the sky outside as having deepened into a fiery red and I think this symbolises the end, the fire and evil. I also think that the preparation of Osborne’s bed is a sign of forgiveness on Stanhope’s part towards Raleigh, a resolution. These two factors have a deep effect on the audience by causing their emotions to fly free, to feel sorrow and loss, but to also feel satisfied with the resolution between the two men. With that Stanhope finishes up in the dug-out and climbs the steps into the trench and out of the scene. Raleigh is left. The shelling his now reached a furious shower of fire. A shell falls above the dug-out roof, the candle is extinguished and the doorway and roof slowly cave in. I think that Sheriff has written this for a number of reasons the extinguishing of the candle symbolises to the audience the end of life and the collapse of the dug-out symbolises the collapse of the relationship of the company. I also think that it shows the end of the conflict, which may bring good emotions to many members of the audience. These combine to leave the audience sorrowful and distressed.

Personally I enjoyed reading and working on the play. I found it very engaging and emotive. It brings out so many emotions, anger, hope, happiness, regret and sadness. I like that way in which R C Sheriff explores the theme of conflict. What better a subject to choose than war? I appreciate the way in which it really shines the spotlight on the individuals in the company, their inner conflicts, their conflicts amongst each other and the conflict between powers. I can understand why Journey’s End is such a successful play and is still shown in the theatre.

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