Journeys End by R C Sherriff Revision Context

“Journey’s End” by R. C. Sherriff Revision

Context • Sherriff was originally going to call the play ‘Suspense’ or ‘Waiting’. • Laurence Olivier played the part of Stanhope in the first production of the play on 9 th December 1928. • The class system was undergoing radical changes and to be a financial success plays had to have a wide appeal. • This all-male play about war was an unexpected success at a time when most theatre-goers were looking for escapism.

Setting • The play takes place in “a dugout in the British trenches before St Quentin” in France in 1918. • It begins on Monday 18 th March and ends on Thursday 21 st when the Germans launched ‘Operation Michael’. • It is historically accurate rather than ‘anti-war’ and reflects life in the trenches during WW 1

Staging • The audience sees only the main part of the dug-out. The other ‘off-stage’ locations are simply inferred. • This highlights the cramped close conditions and warren-like nature of the dug-outs. • It also throws into sharp focus the camaraderie of shared experience.

Structure • The play is divided into three acts • The time span is short – from Monday evening to Thursday morning – and the action is confined to the dugout • The claustrophobic settling adds to the sense of doom – the ending is inevitable • Mini climaxes: the letter, the raid , the dinner after the raid

Characterisation When writing about a character in the play you need to think about: • The character’s appearance and manner • What he says and does • What others say about him. For instance, we learn about Stanhope from Hardy, Osborne and Raleigh before we see him on stage. The stage directions also give us a physical description of him.

Hardy – minor character • A secondary or minor character • His drying of his sock over a candle flame introduces us to the conditions in the dugout • He offers a first insight into Stanhope • He himself is messy and disorganised and does not want to wait for Stanhope as he knows Stanhope will disapprove of the poor condition of the equipment and the trenches and dugouts. • He is red-faced and cheerful • He offers a contrast to Stanhope

Hardy’s role in the play is to offer a contrast to Stanhope. They both command a company but that is where the similarities end. Hardy is ‘a red-faced, cheerfullooking man’ Though his age is not specified he seems a good deal older than Stanhope whom he refers to as ‘the dear young boy’ and ‘youngster’. Stanhope is ‘slightly built’ and there is ‘a pallor’ beneath his tanned skin. Stanhope takes the less comfortable bed by the table so that he can get up and work without disturbing Osborne and he turns down Osborne’s offer to ‘do the duty roll and see the sergeant-major’ telling him, ‘I’ll see to it. ’ The contrast, however, is not just a physical one: Hardy is anxious to avoid Stanhope because he knows that Stanhope will be unhappy about the mess he and his men are leaving behind – ‘He’s so fussy Hardy is happy to let his sergeantabout the trenches. I expect they major see to the sleeping arrangements are rather dirty. ’ for the men and takes the best bed – the only one with a bottom to it - for Hardy also provides the audience himself. with a view of Stanhope that is less than flattering. According to him, Foreshadowing: It is Hardy who warns of the Stanhope’s drinking is the source of events of the final act: ‘you know the big some amusement among the other German attack’s expected any day now … it’s officers. Osborne is quick to defend very near now… the man he is proud to serve under.

• • • Stanhope The son of a vicar. He is only 21 but seems older. He is the Commander of Company C. He holds the Military Cross. He has high personal standards which is why he feels so guilty about drinking heavily as a coping mechanism. A natural leader, he was head boy at the school he and Raleigh both attended as well as captain of the rugby team. He did not go home on leave because he did not want his family to see him as he is now. He survived the battle of Vimy Ridge but it has affected him badly. Hardened by the war, he still cares about the men in his care.

Stage directions: Despite his star of rank he is no more than a boy; tall, slimly built, but broad shouldered … there is a pallor under his skin and dark shadows under his eyes. he’s a good chap, I know. But I never did see a youngster put away the whisky he does. OSBORNE: He came straight from school – when he was eighteen. He’s commanded this company for a year – in and out of the front line. He’s never had a rest. Young Stanhope goes on sticking it, month in, month out. HARDY: Oh, 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. There isn’t a man to touch him as a commander of men OSBORNE: It was all right at first … It was after I came back here – in that awful affair on Vimy Ridge. I knew I’d go mad if I didn’t break the strain. It’s all right, Uncle. I’ll stick it out now. It may not be much longer now. I’ve had my share of luck – more than my share. There’s not a man left who was here when I came. But it’s rather damnable for that boy – of all boys in the world – to have come to me. I might at least have been spared that.

Osborne • At 45 he is the oldest member of Company C. • He is married and before the war was a school master. As such he understands the kind of hero worship Raleigh feels for Stanhope. • He is wise and approachable – he tells Raleigh that the men call him ‘Uncle’. • He is loyal and a calming influence and Stanhope can confide in him. • He is well-liked, trusted and humble (although he played rugby for England he does not boast about it – indeed he understands that this means very little at the front when death is never very far away).

He looks about forty-five – physically as hard as nails. My name’s Osborne. I’m second in command of the company. You only call me ‘sir’ in front of the men … You’ll find the other officers call me ‘Uncle’. I suggest Osborne…He’s a very level-headed chap. He can direct it. COLONEL: (Speaking of the raid) I’m glad it’s you and I together, Raleigh… We must put on a good show. HARDY: You know, Osborne, you ought to be commanding this company … think what a dear, level-headed old thing you are. Don’t be an ass. He was out here before I joined up. His experience alone makes him worth a dozen people like me. STANHOPE to RALEIGH: The one man I could trust – my best friend – the one man I could talk to as man to man – who understood everything – and you think I don’t care - He is a schoolmaster. He has a wife and two young sons. Home on leave, he ‘spent all the time in the garden making a rockery’. He and his wife ‘pretended there wasn’t any war at all’ until his two sons made him ‘help in a tin-soldier battle on the floor. ’

Trotter • He is the only officer who has not attended public school. He does not share their conversations about rugger and cricket. He is a reminder that the class system was changing because of the war. • He is middle aged and ‘homely looking’. • He is friendly, jovial and uses humour (particularly about the food) as armour. • He too is loyal. We see this when he becomes second-incommand after Osborne’s death and is determined not to let Stanhope down. • Whilst Stanhope thinks Trotter does not feel anything too deeply, it is clear that there is more to Trotter than at first appears.

Second Lieutenant Trotter – middleaged and homely looking. He is red, fat, and round; apparently he has put on weight during his war service… ‘Ere we are for six days again. Six bloomin’ eternal days. To RALEIGH: Oh, well, you’ll soon get used to it; you’ll feel you’ve been ‘ere a year in about an hour’s time. At the end of the forty-fifth circle I’m going to draw a picture of Trotter being blown up in four pieces… He won’t see the point. He’s no imagination. STANHOPE: I reckon that raid shook ‘im up more’n we thought. I like that youngster. ‘E’s got pluck. Strong lad too – the way he came back through the smoke after that raid, carrying that Boche under ‘is arm like a baby. Trotter and Osborne both enjoy gardening: I ‘ad a decent little grass plot in front, with flower borders …’Ad some fine ‘olly’ocks out the back…Took a photer of it…Like to look at it? Sorry to ‘ear about the raid, skipper. To STANHOPE: About RALEIGH: STANHOPE: I You realize you’re my secondin-command now, don’t you? STANHOPE: envy, you, Trotter. Nothing upsets you, does it? You’re always the same. Always the same, am I? Little you know Righto, skipper. Thanks. I won’t let you down.

Hibbert • He is in his early 20 s. • He is weak and ineffectual • There is some question as to whether he is genuinely psychologically ill or cowardly. • He serves as a contrast to both Raleigh and Stanhope. • He is exploitative of women. The others distance themselves from his tales of his exploits and his salacious photographs. • He is not part of the ‘brotherhood’ of C Company but Stanhope reminds him of his duty to his fellow officers to persuade him to try to ‘stick it out’.

a small, slightly built man in the early twenties, with a little moustache and a pallid face. HIBBERT: I don’t think I can manage any supper tonight, Stanhope. It’s this beastly neuralgia. It seems to be right inside this eye. The beastly pain gets worse every day. This neuralgia of mine. I’m awfully sorry. I’m afraid I can’t stick it any longer I’ve tried like hell – I swear I have. Ever since I came out here I’ve hated and loathed it. Every sound up there makes me all – cold and sick. I’m different to – to the others –you don’t understand. STANHOPE: Another little worm trying to wriggle home. STANHOPE: Pure bloody funk, that’s all. He could eat if he wanted to; he’s starving himself purposely. Artful little swine! Neuralgia’s a splendid idea. No proof, as far as I can see. STANHOPE: No man of mine’s going sick before the attack. They’re going to take an equal chance – together. Take the chance, old chap, and stand in with Osborne and Trotter and Raleigh. Don’t you think it worth standing in with men like that? – when you know they all feel like you do - in their hearts – and just go on sticking it because they know it’s – it’s the only thing a decent man can do. STANHOPE:

Raleigh • He is 18, fresh out of school, naïve and vulnerable. • He was at school with Stanhope and the two were also family friends. Stanhope is romantically involved with Raleigh’s sister. • He is courageous – he sees the war as romantic and is proud and excited to be chosen to go on the raid. • He hero worships the older men – particularly Stanhope. • He represents all the young men who went to war and died in vast numbers. • He is a typical innocent victim of war.

Raleigh is only eighteen and pulled strings to be sent to Stanhope’s company. Stanhope, who was head boy at Raleigh’s school, is Raleigh’s hero. “I hope we’re lucky and get sent a youngster straight from school. They’re the kind that do best. ” OSBORNE: ACT I scene 1 “How frightfully quiet it is…It makes me feel we’re all just waiting for something. ” Straight from school, Raleigh is naïve and has no idea what war is really like. “You don’t think Dennis’ll mind my – sort of – forcing myself into his company? I never thought of that; I was so keen. ” “He’s very young; he’s got hundreds of strange things to learn; he’ll realise men are – different – here. ” OSBORNE: (To OSBORNE) “Were you and I picked – specially? …I say!” Raleigh represents all those innocent young men who went off to war and never came home again.

The Colonel – minor character • • He is removed from the horror of war. He seems insensitive. He too is only following orders. He provides a contrast with Stanhope who genuinely cares for his men and is respected by them.

The colonel would have sent you down long ago, only … he can’t spare you. OSBORNE to STANHOPE: Look here, Stanhope, I’ve done all I can, but my report’s got to be at headquarters by seven this evening. If we wait till it’s dark we shall be too late… I can’t disobey orders. It’s no good getting depressed. After all, it’s only sixty yards. The men expect officers to lead a raid…I’m thinking of that youngster I sent up to you last night…Just the type. Plenty of guts He’s awfully new to it all - All to the good. His nerves are sound. AFTER THE RAID: Splendid, Stanhope! … I must go right away and ‘phone the brigadier. He’ll be very pleased about it. It’s a feather in our cap, Stanhope… Oh –er – what about the raiding-party – are they all safely back? … I’m very sorry. Poor Osborne… Very well done, Raleigh. Well done, my boy.

Mason – minor character • He is a lower class character. • He is a soldier and cook. • He seems hardworking and eager to please – he worries about letting Stanhope down by forgetting the pepper and there being apricots not peaches. • He and the food he prepares offer moments of light relief bringing normality to the madness of war.

PLOT • Stanhope’s second-in-command, Osborne enters the dug-out to take over from Hardy asks if Stanhope is still drinking heavily and Osborne defends his company commander. • Raleigh, the new young officer, arrives. We discover that he knows Stanhope from school and had used family connections to get assigned to this company. • When Stanhope arrives, he calls for whisky and reacts strangely to Raleigh. Hibbert complains of neuralgia and goes to his room.

• Stanhope confides in Osborne about his contempt for Hibbert and his concern over what Raleigh’s presence means for him. He decides to censor Raleigh’s letters despite Osborne’s assurance that Raleigh will not write anything uncomplimentary about him. • The men talk about life away from war. We find out that Osborne once played rugby for England. The German attack is expected on Thursday morning. • When Raleigh enters, Stanhope insists on reading his letter. Osborne reads it and we discover that it is full of praise for Stanhope.

• The colonel tells Stanhope that there is to be a raid on the German line and Osborne and Raleigh are chosen to lead the men. • Hibbert insists he is going to see the doctor so that he can be sent home. Stanhope threatens to shoot him then persuades him to stay. • When the officers are told about the raid, Osborne is resigned to his fate, Raleigh is excited and Trotter agrees with Stanhope that the timing is wrong.

• The colonel promises Osborne and Raleigh a Military Cross for bravery for their part in the raid. The raid claims the lives of six men and Osborne but a German soldier is taken prisoner. • The prisoner is interrogated. The colonel seems happy but Stanhope is bitter and Raleigh is stunned. • Raleigh does not join the other officers for the celebratory dinner. Stanhope sends Hibbert to bed, Trotter is made second-in-command, and when Raleigh appears, he and Stanhope argue.

• Thursday dawns. The Germans attack and Raleigh is fatally wounded. Stanhope is with him as he dies. • Just after Stanhope leaves the stage, the dugout collapses into darkness.

Comic Relief • The obsession with food and public schoolboy conversation is at odds with the horrors of the trenches and provides light relief from the tension. • It also shows that mental diversions were a survival strategy for the men in war. Stanhope may make fun of Trotter’s circles but it was a means of making the waiting time more bearable.

What kind of soup is this, Mason? What’s this? Meat, sir. It’s yellow soup, sir. It’s got a very deep yellow flavour. Will you have a nice cup of tea, sir? Can you guarantee it’s nice? Well, sir – it’s a bit oniony, but that’s only because of the saucepan. In other words, it’s onion soup with tea-leaves in it? Not till dinner-time, sir. Sort of cutlet, sir. I know that. What sort? Sort of cutlet, is it? You know, Mason, there’s cutlets and cutlets. I know, sir; that one’s a cutlet. Well, it won’t let me cut it. No, sir? That’s a joke. Oh. Right, sir. No pâté de foie gras? No, sir. The milkman ‘asn’t been yet.

Themes • The physical and psychological damage caused by war • Heroism • Comradeship • The class system

Themes • The most obvious theme of the play is the impact of the war on the men who fought in it. What gives the play its power is that it is not, according to R. C. Sherriff himself, an ‘anti-war’ play but instead gives us a picture of what war in the trenches and on the front line was really like. • The play explores the psychological effects of war on different types of personalities. • It also looks at the class system and the impact that has on the life of men in the trenches. • An important statistic to bear in mind is that the life expectancy of a junior officer in 1916 -17 was only 6 weeks. Raleigh lasts only a few days whilst Stanhope has been at war for almost 3 years.

War The conditions that impact on the men’s physical well-being: • Cramped living quarters; • The water – ‘Don’t have too much water. It’s rather strong today. ’ – because of the disinfectant added to it; • Damp conditions – ‘It’s a nice looking sock … Guaranteed to keep the feet dry. Trouble is, it gets so wet doing it. ’ • ‘They simply blew us to bits yesterday. Minnies – enormous ones; about twenty. Three bang in the trench. ’ • Rats – ‘about two million’ – ‘Mustn’t hang your legs too low, or the rats gnaw your boots. ’ • ‘Dug-outs smell like cess-pits. ’ • Snipers • Gas • Need pepper in the food to act as a disinfectant • Trench fever

War The impact on the men’s psychological well-being: • ‘Sometimes nothing happens for hours on end; then – all of a sudden – ‘over she comes!’ • ‘Other men come over here and go home again ill, and young Stanhope goes on sticking it , month in, month out. ’ • ‘It – it tells on a man – rather badly-’ • Waiting: ‘We are, generally, just waiting for something. When anything happens, it happens quickly. Then we just start waiting again. ’ • ‘We never undress when we’re in the line’ – never able to rest properly • ‘if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whisky – I’d go mad with fright. ’

War The impact on the men’s psychological well-being continued: • ‘It was all right at first … It was after I came back here – in that awful affair on Vimy Ridge. I knew I’d go mad if I didn’t break the strain. ’ • ‘I’ve tried like hell – I swear I have. Ever since I came out here I’ve hated and loathed it. Every sound up there makes me all – cold and sick. I’m different to – to the others –you don’t understand. ’ • ‘I’ll stick it out now. It may not be much longer now. I’ve had my share of luck – more than my share. There’s not a man left who was here when I came. ’

Heroism There are those who do not like the depiction of Stanhope as an alcoholic but does that flaw or weakness prevent him from being heroic? Stanhope is ashamed of his dependence on whisky. It is that shame that makes Raleigh’s arrival so hard for him to bear for he is certain that his terrible secret will be exposed to the people back home – his parents and girlfriend, Raleigh’s sister. His plan to go away after the war (should his luck hold and he survives that long) to get himself ‘fit’ to return home is in ruins. Osborne is certain that Raleigh will continue to look up to and admire Stanhope. Raleigh is certainly naïve in his attitude towards the war but he can see Stanhope’s true worth and is proud when he learns of the soldiers’ respect for their company commander. Osborne is the moral touchstone of the play. He acknowledges Stanhope’s ‘failings’ – his temper, the alcohol – but he has nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for this young man with so many responsibilities on his shoulders.

Symbols • • • Osborne’s watch – time Raleigh’s letter Alcohol Osborne’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Red rags on the barbed wire Osborne’s wedding ring The Military Cross The ‘last meal’ The sun

Time The passage of time is a recurring motif in the play. The play opens with Hardy singing a song that ends with: Tick! – Tock! – wind up the clock, And we’ll start the day over again. In the first scene, Hardy tells Osborne that the German attack is likely to take place during their six days at the front. The rest of the play is a countdown to the attack which takes place on the Thursday morning. The play also covers Raleigh’s time in C Company as he arrives in Act 1 scene 1 on the Monday afternoon and dies in the final scene on the Thursday at dawn. Stanhope has been at war for three years, Hibbert for three months, (Stanhope says of Hibbert: ‘Now he’s decided he’s done his bit. ’) and Raleigh barely survives three days.

Time Trotter to Raleigh: ‘…you’ll soon get used to it; you’ll feel you’ve been ‘ere a year in about an hour’s time. By the next morning Raleigh says: ‘I feel I’ve been here ages’ and he ‘can’t imagine – the end of six days here –’ Trotter draws one hundred and forty-four circles on a piece of paper to make the six days seem less long: ‘that’ll make the time go all right. ’ Before the raid, when the Colonel and Stanhope check their watches, Stanhope’s is already 30 seconds behind – ‘Funny. We checked this morning. ’ Osborne and Raleigh talk about ‘many things’ as Osborne’s watch counts down the minutes to the raid. ‘I reckon with luck we shall be back in three minutes, ’ says Osborne, but he does not survive.

The letter Raleigh’s letter is significant for a number of reasons. Dramatic irony: the audience knows that Stanhope intends to read Raleigh's letter before it is allowed to be sent back home. We know Stanhope is doing this because he believes that Raleigh will tell his family – in particular his sister – that Stanhope drinks heavily. We anticipate the conflict and the tension is built as Raleigh chooses not to write his letter in the main part of the dugout and leaves just as Stanhope enters. Stanhope would be expected to censor the men’s letters but it is clear from Osborne’s reaction – ‘You can’t read his letters. ’ – that an officer would be trusted not to include sensitive information in his letters. It is also evidence that Osborne is an excellent judge of character as he accurately predicts that Raleigh will continue to see Stanhope as his hero. This also tells us that Osborne’s assessment of Stanhope is much more accurate than Hardy’s dismissal of him as a ‘freak’ and ‘heavy drinker’.

The letter It also increases the tension between Stanhope and Raleigh is hurt because he does not understand why Stanhope acts the way he does. The extent of his dismay is clear when he calls Stanhope, Dennis and Stanhope firmly puts him in his place: ‘Don’t ‘Dennis’ me! Stanhope’s my name! You’re not at school. ’ Raleigh ‘stares wide-eyed at Stanhope, who is trembling and breathing heavily’. Stanhope is ashamed. He cannot even read the letter. Osborne reads it instead and we discover that it is full of praise for Stanhope – ‘the men simply love him’ – and ends: ‘I’m awfully proud to think he’s my friend. ’ Stanhope lowers his head and sits in the shadows. It is not until their heated conversation after the meal on the eve of the German attack that the tension is resolved. Raleigh accuses Stanhope of resenting his presence and Stanhope admits to Raleigh how hard he has been hit by Osborne’s death during the raid.