Sheriff goes on to show a discussion involving talk of peacefulness and tranquility. ‘Funny about that bird. Made me feel quite braced up.’ This emphasizes the irony of war by showing how their surroundings are naturally beautiful and harmonious. However, Sheriff uses this to compare with the destruction and death of humanity caused by war. This discussion between Trotter and Osborne also shows the humanity of the soldiers who are being sent to their deaths mercilessly by the upper class.
Furthermore Sheriff shows the characters’ longing for their lives afore the war, ‘Sort of made me think about my garden of an evening’. Sheriff shows a regretful tone in Osborne’s voice with the use of ‘sort of’. The hesitation shows how Osborne relishes the moments of his past when he used to live in peace and serenity. The playwright emphasizes the tragedy of the war by showing how the characters are denied the happy lives that they used to enjoy. He does this by contrasting this with Osborne’s previous statement ‘it’s warm now. You can feel it on your face’. This shows the beauty of the place, but also shows how war has destroyed everything in its path, therefore the death of nature.
To add to this Sheriff has illustrated how war has disfigured their perceptions of the outside world. ‘”Gas!”- and we put on our masks; and then I spotted what it was’. This shows the paranoia caused by the war. The soldiers fear everything they see and hear, and cannot remove the scars of war from their minds. The playwright has done this by showing how they mistook the tree for the deadly gas, which emphasizes the disastrous effect that the war has psychologically had on them. This makes the reader feel sympathy for the characters lives and the various difficulties that they are forced to face every day.
Furthermore, Trotter’s casual and nonchalant tone is shown, ‘I don’t like this time of the day in the line. The old Boche ‘as just ‘ad ‘is breakfast’, the uncaring language shows how the characters often seem defeated and hopeless. They are portrayed to feel that the war has no glory or purpose. The officers and soldiers like Trotter are presented simply as pawns in a war where the elite on either side are needlessly competing in a rat race. This makes the audience feel sorry for the soldiers because their lives are trapped and being thrown away with no value or honor.
Sheriff also shows how Raleigh is impressed with Osborne’s achievements. ‘What! For England!...(with awe) Oh good Lord! That must have been simply topping.’ This emphasizes how the audience is reminded of Raleigh’s innocence. In addition to this, Sheriff shows how Raleigh and Osborne should be living fulfilling and enjoyable lives which again reminds the audience of how deprived the soldiers are in the war.
Sheriff goes on to further show the irony of war and humanity of the soldiers, ‘The Germans are really quite decent, aren’t they? I mean outside the newspapers?’ This shows how the soldiers have no quarrel against each other and the cause of the war is the generals’ cat and mouse game. Sheriff also emphasizes how the army leaders use the media using ‘outside the newspapers’ to show that propaganda is being used to make people believe that the Germans are enemies by talking about glory and honor by dying for the country. In addition to this the people are also convinced because they have no choice due to their financial difficulties.
The futility of war is shown to the audience, ‘a big German officer stood up in their trenches and called out: “Carry him!”’. This emphasizes the pointlessness of the war because both sides of the army have nothing against each other. It is only the generals who want to send soldiers to their death. It also further shows the audience how the German army is just like the British.
Sheriff displays the effect of war on Stanhope, ‘D’you ever get a sudden feeling that everything’s going farther and farther away—till you’re the only thing in the world’. This emphasizes how Stanhope has been negatively changed by war. The confused tone shows how Stanhope has become uncertain of himself deep inside. He no longer believes in his own abilities, which is shown by ‘only thing in the world’, which further shows how the war has changed him as a person and diminished his self confidence.
Furthermore Stanhope’s observations are shown by Sheriff, ‘thousands of guns were hidden there, all ready cleaned and oiled—millions of bullets lying in pouches—thousands of Germans’; this shows the audience the huge numbers of people that are fighting each other for no reason. It also shows how Stanhope is not able to stop thinking about the war and emphasizes how Stanhope has become mentally unstable because of the stress caused by the fighting. Furthermore, the destruction caused by the war is also emphasized with ‘just an enormous plain’, which shows the devastation that is caused by the troops’ occupation.
Sheriff adds to this by showing Stanhope’s alcoholism, ‘Bring some mugs and a bottle of whisky’. Stanhope is shown to be continuously thinking about drinking and the playwright uses this to show Stanhope’s addiction to consumption. With deeper analysis, Sheriff has shown his addiction as a tragedy caused by the war and makes the audience feel sorry for him.
Lastly Stanhope has jeopardized his friendship with Raleigh, ‘But it’s—it’s private. I didn’t know’, this shows how Stanhope is consumed by his own radical and paranoid ideas of the world. Dramatic irony is utilized by the playwright because Stanhope does realize how he is being unfair to Raleigh. Dramatic irony is further emphasized by Raleigh’s character who does understand the obvious fears that Stanhope has and is probing him and his letter for. The atmosphere at the end of this scene is of defeat and misery for Stanhope.
To conclude, Sheriff has used this scene to highlight the futility and misery of war by showing how the characters are normal humans like us, but are forced to fight in a war with no purpose. He has also shown how the characters are affected by the war both physically and mentally. They no longer have a chance at living a normal life and are awaiting their inevitable death; they enjoy what memories they can muster before this happens to them and ultimately this is what the audience is shown to feel sorry for people who are forced into these positions. In my opinion Sheriff has managed to accomplish a play which conceives an undying idea about the futility of most wars that take place. An example of this is the American occupation of Iraq and their unjustified accusation of WMDs.
