Why is Journey's End Popular?

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Laura Summersell                                                        29.10.2007

 Coursework

Why do you think that ‘Journey’s End’ continued to be popular so many years after it was first performed?

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        The play ‘Journey’s End’ has been popular ever since it was written in 1929. the author, R.C. Sheriff uses his own experiences as an officer in World War  One to successfully recreate the lives that many soldiers were forced to lead during the First World War. The play shows a balanced mix between the battles, and the officers’ free time in the dug-out. This educates the audience on all aspects of life at war. There have been many reproductions of the play since 1929 and it continues to sell out large venues across the world. ‘Journey’s End’ is undoubtedly one of the most poplar war time plays ever written.

        One of the obvious reasons that ‘Journey’s End’ is so successful is the vivid mixture of characters’ personalities shown in the play. We see Raleigh’s character develop from quiet at first to keen at the end. Hibbert is portrayed as a coward and Osborne is the caring, loyal, family man. Captain Stanhope is very bold and he can be quite outspoken. Theses characters make the play successful because they are very easy to relate to and they seem like nice, normal people.

        In charge of Company C, Captain Stanhope is under a lot of pressure to succeed, and he has turned to alcohol to control his nerves. The other men en courage Stanhope’s excessive drinking and enjoy watching him drink an entire bottle of whisky in one evening. He is dependent on the alcohol but unfortunately for the others, his temper often flares up whilst drunk. One example of this is when Hibbert jokingly tells Stanhope that he’d “better go to bed”. Stanhope completely loses control of his emotions and Hibbert is left bewildered and confused about the evening’s events. Stanhope’s outbursts contribute to making the play entertaining as the conflict keeps the play in perspective as in real-life, stressful situations, you are bound to get annoyed with your colleagues.

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        Another important character in the play is Osborne who is very down-to-earth and wise. At 45, he is also the oldest soldier in the battalion, and therefore, he is respected and called “Uncle” by the other men. The only time the audience sees Osborne conflicting with another character is when Stanhope bullies Raleigh into giving him the letter. When Stanhope raises his voice, Osborne intervenes and says “Good heavens Stanhope” and tries to calm him down. Osborne is a very sensible man and I think that after his death, Stanhope would have found it difficult to cope without his former ...

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