R.C. Sherrif has used the character of Raleigh in order to depict the emotions of many officers especially that of the new and fresh army officers.

Authors Avatar

Vishnu Saran (32)

3.13 (Haggai)

Raleigh’s character

In Journey’s End by R.C. Sherriff, there are a variety of characters that each serves a variety of functions. R.C. Sherrif has used the character of Raleigh in order to depict the emotions of many officers especially that of the new and fresh army officers. Sherriff has used Raleigh’s character and emotions in order to show how inexperienced, young and fresh at mind he is. Raleigh, a round and dynamic character evolves throughout the play. Raleigh also has a variety of functions such as evoking the theme of the play, and revealing the emotions and thoughts of the play. Throughout the play, Raleigh is depicted to be a different type of character as he has important qualities that other characters do not have.

Raleigh is a very inexperienced and has never “been on the front line before”. His freshness to army is shown in many ways. Sherriff shows how Raleigh behaves in front of his fellow comrades, to show his inexperienced nature. He is extremely nervous and not comfortable which is evinced by the fact that he makes little movement. For instance, he even has to be told to “take his pack off” which shows that he is in constant fear. Raleigh is also a learner. This is shown by the incident when Osborne teaches him to address him as “sir in front of men only”. Stanhope also scolds him for having dined non-officers in order to teach him about hierarchy. Another incident would be when Osborne expects Stanhope to send Raleigh to duty with another officer so that he will “get used to it”. Stanhope sends Trotter, who is of equal rank of Raleigh to duty with Raleigh which shows that even Trotter has something to teach Raleigh. These incidents prove that Raleigh is an inexperienced officer.

Join now!

Firstly, Raleigh has characteristics that are totally opposite of Stanhope. Stanhope is extremely experienced as he has got his “M.C” and is the Captain of the Regiment. In contrast, Raleigh is a novice that is just “getting used it” referring to the trench life. Raleigh is also an officer that is not at all aware of the hierarchy system in the army and treats all the men equally. However, Stanhope is very sensitive towards the hierarchy system and even scolds Raleigh about not taking into note on the hierarchy system. Secondly, Raleigh’s character clashes with that of Hibbert. Raleigh finds ...

This is a preview of the whole essay