Although clearly, both the officers and the men involved in World War I lived in awfully hard conditions. The men refer to the poor food, the rough sleeping conditions and also the rats, of which there are "about two million", according to Hardy (a character appearing at the start of the play). There is also a frequent routine of rifle inspections, patrols, raids and duty in early hours of the morning meaning many of the soldiers suffered from sleep deprivation. The men also have to cope with the fear of death.
In the background, there is a constant rumble of guns and heavy artillery, although it is the silence that affects the men more, as they do not know what is happening it can seen more of a threat than the actual guns.
With the exception of Hibbert most men are very brave and dutiful, but their methods of coping with the horrors of war vary according to the person’s personalities and temperaments.
The two characters I have chosen to analyse are Stanhope and Osbourne.
Stanhope has been out at war for nearly 3 years, he is a commanding officer. It is not quite sure how long Osbourne has been at war. He is also an officer.
Osbourne enjoys quiet pursuits, such as gardening when he goes home on leave, and he also enjoys reading, such as "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Osbourne enjoys reading books such as Alice in wonderland because it takes his mind off of war and clears his head. This is one of Osbournes personal cures for the horrors of war. When he speaks to trotter about the book and reads a paragraph to him Trotter describes it as nonsense, this shows how personal methods are needed to cope as some will not work for everybody. When Stanhope tries talk about the way the war makes him feel, and how close he thinks he is to breaking down, Osborne attempts to change the subject, as he believes that the less you talk about things, the better. Osbourne goes on to talk about the sunset, rather than dealing with Stanhope's problem, which he fears, if concentrated on, will cause Stanhope to collapse.
Stanhope is introduced in the play before he actually features, this is through the conversation between Hardy and Osborne. He is courageous and driven, “a long way the best company commander we’ve got” but he is reaching the end of his tether. He has turned to drink for comfort, which is ironic because of the fact that he was so against it whilst at school. Whilst talking about Raleigh's sister, Stanhope says: “she doesn’t know that if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I’d go mad with fright” He realises how much he depends on alcohol, and dislikes this reliance, which he, understandably sees as a weakness.
The appearance of one of Stanhope’s old pals from school Raleigh helps to emphasise how much the war has effected him.
Stanhope’s tender compassion for Raleigh is shown in the final scene, the only time in the play when Stanhope uses Raleigh's first name. This shows a revelation of his true sensitivity and humanity beneath his hard shell of tough dedication to duty with which he protects himself for much of the time.
Sheriff was using his experience at war to help create a realistic description of conditions and the way men reacted to warfare in World War I.