Insights into "Journey's End" Characters and Plot
Journey’s End Revision Session
Starter: Knowledge Vomit
On the different tables are
pieces of paper with character
names:
•
Write down everything you
remember about each character.
•
Include any quotes you can
remember and also whether you
think they represent any
themes.
The Plot
: What happens in the
different Acts?
•
On your tables construct a summary of the
play. In other words write down everything
you can remember about the play and the
order of events.
•
There is a sheet with some prompt reminders
of some of the main parts of the plot to help
you but you should
Plot Summaries
•
Act 1:
Act 1
: It is the evening of Monday 18
th
March. The
play opens in a dugout. Stanhope’s company is about to
take over from another one. They will be on duty for six
days, during which time a German attack is expected.
Osborne arrives as Hardy, the other company’s commander,
is drying his socks and singing. He and Hardy share a drink.
•
They talk about conditions, the present situation and about
Stanhope, whom Hardy describes as ‘drinking like a fish’
and having strained nerves. Osborne defends his
commander as dutiful, brave and experienced. He has
been at the front for three years. Hardy leaves without
waiting to see Stanhope.
Act 1 Continued
•
A new officer, Raleigh, arrives. It emerges that he knows and
admires Stanhope from school and that Stanhope and his sister are
close. Osborne tries to warn Raleigh about the changes in
Stanhope. He introduces him to the routines of trench life. Mason,
the soldier cook, confides in Osborne about a mistake over tinned
pineapples so that Stanhope will not blame him. Stanhope appears
on stage. He calls for whiskey before even seeing Raleigh and when
he does see him he is stunned – ‘as though dazed.’ Trotter, on the
other hand, welcomes Raleigh.
•
After eating, Trotter and Raleigh go on patrol. Hibbert enters the
dugout and complains of his neuralgia – a sever pain in his head and
face. Stanhope thinks it is just an excuse to get sent home, but
Osborne is more sympathetic. The two of them discuss Raleigh and
his sister. Stanhope is concerned that Raleigh will betray him in his
letters and decides to censor them. Osborne tries to calm
Stanhope; sensing he is tired, he suggests that he goes to bed. Both
men turn in for the night.
Act 2:
•
It is the following morning. Stanhope is on duty in the trench and
the other officers are enjoying breakfast in the dugout. They talk
about Stanhope, who is looking ill, and discuss his strange
behaviour towards Raleigh the previous night. Trotter talks about
gardening and nature, and then leaves the stage to take over from
Stanhope. Raleigh and Osborne talk; it emerges that Osborne was
a schoolmaster and had played rugby for Harlequins and England.
We gain an impression of Raleigh’s views of war before he leaves to
finish a letter that he has started to write, just as Stanhope enters
the dugout.
•
Stanhope and Osborne discuss the German attack, which is
expected in two days’ time. Stanhope is drinking whiskey and is
worried about what Raleigh thinks and what he might write in his
letter. He is determined to censor it. When Raleigh enters on his
way to inspect the rifles and puts his letter on the table to be sent,
Stanhope tells him to leave it open. After a discussion and a
struggle, Raleigh is forced to give Stanhope the letter and leaves.
Stanhope is too ashamed to look at it and eventually Osborne reads
it. Unexpectedly, it is full of praise for Stanhope.
Act 2 Continued:
•
That afternoon, Stanhope issues details of work to a sergeant major, which
he wants carried out before the German attack. The colonel arrives and
instructs Stanhope that he is to organise a raiding party for the following
day. He suggests that Osborne, and (despite Stanhope’s objections)
Raleigh lead the party. Stanhope is to have supper with the colonel and
the colonel will talk to Osborne and Raleigh the following morning.
•
Hibbert enters the dugout, having been asleep. He complains about his
neuralgia and asks to go down the line and seek medical help. Stanhope
refuses and threatens to shoot him ‘by accident’ if he tries to leave.
Eventually Stanhope confides in Hibbert that he is too scared and
encourages him to stay to help the others. Hibbert says he will try.
•
Osborne returns to the dugout and is told of the raid by Stanhope; Trotter
who is also informed of the raid, which he feels is badly timed, soon
follows him. He asks what Osborne is reading. It is Alice’s Adventures in
Wonderland. Stanhope and Hibbert leave to relieve Raleigh, and Osborne
writes a letter. Raleigh returns to the dugout and seems to be excited at
the thought of going on a raid.
Act 3:
•
It is Wednesday afternoon. The colonel has arrived with last minute
instructions and words of encouragement for the raiding party. Osborne
and Raleigh sit for a few minutes before the raid. They talk about home
and trivial things. Osborne puts his wedding ring on the table and the two
of them leave for the raid. Noises of gunfire and shells are heard off
stage. Stanhope and the colonel appear on the stage with the captured
German soldier who Stanhope leaves the colonel to question. He returns
and rather bitterly tells the colonel that Osborne and six men have been
killed. Raleigh enters and is congratulated by the colonel, but is unable to
speak. Stanhope comments that Raleigh is sitting on Osborne’s bed.
•
That evening, Trotter, Hibbert and Stanhope share stories and jokes about
women, having eaten together. Raleigh has not eaten with them but has
remained on duty in the trench. Hibbert and Stanhope argue and Hibbert
is sent to bed. Trotter is made second in command then goes to relieve
Raleigh. Stanhope is angry that Raleigh did not eat with the officers. The
two argue and Raleigh expresses his confusion over Stanhope’s attitude to
Osborne’s death. Stanhope makes it clear that he uses drink to help him
cope. Raleigh tries to apologise but is told to leave and they part on bad
terms.
Act 3 Continued
•
The following morning the officers wake. The sound of
German shells is heard, signalling the attack. Hibbert holds
back, but eventually he and Mason leave.
•
Stanhope is told that Raleigh has been hurt, so he has him
brought into the dugout where it becomes clear that
although Raleigh does not know this himself, his wounds
are serious. Stanhope comforts Raleigh and gives him
water, but he dies. Stanhope leaves the dugout as the
sounds of shelling rises. ‘There is darkness in the dugout’
and the ‘red dawn glows’. The play ends as the dull rattle
of machine guns’ is heard: we may assume that the whole
company have met their deaths.
Journey’s End - Themes
Task:
•
Can you remember
what the main
themes of the play
are?
•
Discuss them and
note them down.
•
Mind map around
each theme what
you think it involves.
War
•
It’s easy to think that soldiers in wars are
always fighting battles. When for most of
the time, it’s a matter of waiting.
What
soldiers do to pass the time under such
horrendous stress is a major theme of
the play.
•
Sherriff wanted his audiences to
understand just how this tense
prolonged waiting was an untold horror
of war and this helps the play create a
subtle anti-war message although this
was not necessarily intentional.
•
How Sherriff manages to create a tense
plot whilst also showing the boredom
and waiting of trench life is one of his
skills.
War
•
Although Sheriff did not write
Journey’s End as an anti war play
the fact that the characters are
seen suffering emotionally, and are
presented as physically wrecked
and dying, is a
reminder to
audiences of the casualties of war
.
•
When the play was first staged the
audience would have recognised
Raleigh’s youthful enthusiasm and
Stanhope’s hardened cynicism.
•
Many young, talented and
educated men died in the First
World War. They came to be
known as the ‘lost generation’ and
it is to them that Journey’s End
pays homage.
1.
In what ways does
RC Sheriff recreate
for his audience
the tremendous
stress and fear
suffered by the
men at the front?
2.
Do all the
characters in this
play react in the
same way to the
horrors of war?
Heroism
•
The idea of heroism is explored
through:
•
Raleigh’s boyish patriotic myth
of the 'hero' as some kind of
knight in shining armour, and
the way he hero-worships
Stanhope
•
Stanhope’s real fear
is that his
status back home as a 'hero'
will be blown. This is shown in
the desperate way he “clutches
Raleigh’s wrist and tears the
letter from his hand” - a letter
which could reveal the truth
about his drinking
•
Sheriff presents us with two
sides of the coin – the heroism
and the cost.
•
It is only after his experience of
the raid that Raleigh begins to
recognize the true price of
glory. He has been exposed to
the truth and the futility of the
attack.
•
Stanhope holds great fury
towards Hibbert as he sees him
as dishonorable and a coward.
•
Osborne’s death and the others
may be seen as pointless but it
is likely that Sheriff intended to
pay tribute to the heroism of
the men at C Company. To him
they represent all the men that
died in the war.
Heroism
1.
What do you think were
Raleigh’s expectations
when came to join
Stanhope’s company?
2.
To what extent were
these hopes fulfilled and
how much was he
disappointed?
Courage and Cowardice
:
•
Courage and Cowardice
:
the
men coped with the war in a
number of different ways
•
Osborne gives advice to
Raleigh: ‘you must always
think of it… as romantic. It
helps’.
•
Stanhope depends on drinking
alcohol for courage
•
Hibbert shows us what
focusing on death can do to
the nerves and health, it is
never made clear if Hibbert is
just a coward or has a real
mental illness
•
Sherriff helps us to see how
humans can gain courage
from others as well as by
diverting their thoughts
through ‘displacement
strategies’:
•
Humour for example is used;
Osborne is seen to be reading
Alice in Wonderland
a
childhood book – reassuring
and comforting perhaps in
times of great difficulty;
Complaining about the food
like Private Mason ‘Smells like
liver, sir, but it 'asn’t got that
smooth, wet look that liver’s
got’
Comradeship
•
Stanhope’s encouragement of
Hibbert helps to suggest to
the audience the importance
of ‘getting on together’. ‘Shall
we go on together? We know
how we both feel now. Shall
we see if we can stick it
together?’.
•
How men survive as a
community of individuals
under the most extreme
stresses imaginable is at the
heart of the play.
•
Even the idea of ‘enemy’ is
brought into question as
Raleigh reminds us that
Germans are just ordinary
people.
•
The use of formal surnames,
‘Stanhope’ and ‘Raleigh’, for
example, normal in public
schools and the army is
something the audience is
forced to think about at the
end of the play. When Raleigh
is dying, he calls Stanhope
‘Dennis’ who replies, to the
audience’s surprise with
‘Jimmy’.
Comradeship
1.
Do you think that the
comradeship
engendered by the war
is more than mere
friendship? Is it a
special bond imposed by
the constant threat of
death?
2.
What examples can you
find in the play of
comradeship and
compassion for others?
Social Class
•
When Sherriff was
writing, the social order
would have been very
different to nowadays.
•
By juxtaposing the public
school educated upper
class officers with
working class soldiers like
Trotter and Mason,
Sherriff wanted to show
how war brought
everyone together.
•
Stanhope tries to dismiss
Trotter as having no
proper feelings, but
Trotter responds “"Always
the same, am I? (He sighs)
Little you know"”; and his
braveness later on in the
play suggests that he is as
much a 'hero' as any of
the officers in the
company.
How to write an exam answer
Sample Question:
•
Explore the
presentation of Raleigh
in Journey’s End.
•
On your tables, mind
map everything that
you would include in
this kind of question.
•
Consider:
•
How is he presented?
•
What methods does the
writer use to show him?
•
What themes does he
represent?
Sample
Essay Plan:
The question asks you
to consider two
things:
•
What Raleigh is
like
and
•
How we find this
out?
You should also
consider the
hidden ideas of
•
What makes him
important?
This is a good method
for most character
questions.
Step 1: analyse the character
•
He is naïve, romantic, young and inexperienced –
consider how this is made clear through his actions,
stage directions and speech
Step 2: Consider how Sheriff shows that he is
important?
•
We meet him early in the play and his death is one of
the last and most significant scenes.
Step 3
:
Think about the function that he plays in the
play
a)
He commentates on Stanhope and gives greater
insight into Osborne and Stanhope through their
extended dialogues
b)
He adds to the sense of tragedy through his death
and shows the futility of war
c)
He shows the themes of heroism and the ideas of a
lost youth
d)
He offers a contrast to Hibbert and his supposed
cowardice
e)
He almost becomes a man by the end of the play.
Step 4: Conclude – What is the lasting impression of
Raleigh
Do this now as if the question was
Osborne
•
What Osborne is like
and
•
How we find this out?
•
What makes him
important?
•
Step 1: analyse the
character
•
Step 2: Consider how
Sheriff shows that he is
important?
•
Step 3
:
Think about the
function that he plays
in the play
•
Step 4: Conclude –
What is the lasting
impression of Osborne
Explore character descriptions, key quotes, and thematic analysis of "Journey's End" characters in a revision session. Delve into the unfolding events in Acts 1 and 2, focusing on the interactions and dynamics among soldiers in a trench during World War I.
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Presentation Transcript
Journeys End Revision Session Starter: Knowledge Vomit On the different tables are pieces of paper with character names: Write down everything you remember about each character. Include any quotes you can remember and also whether you think they represent any themes.
The Plot: What happens in the different Acts? On your tables construct a summary of the play. In other words write down everything you can remember about the play and the order of events. There is a sheet with some prompt reminders of some of the main parts of the plot to help you but you should
Plot Summaries Act 1: Act 1: It is the evening of Monday 18thMarch. The play opens in a dugout. Stanhope s company is about to take over from another one. They will be on duty for six days, during which time a German attack is expected. Osborne arrives as Hardy, the other company s commander, is drying his socks and singing. He and Hardy share a drink. They talk about conditions, the present situation and about Stanhope, whom Hardy describes as drinking like a fish and having strained nerves. Osborne defends his commander as dutiful, brave and experienced. He has been at the front for three years. Hardy leaves without waiting to see Stanhope.
Act 1 Continued A new officer, Raleigh, arrives. It emerges that he knows and admires Stanhope from school and that Stanhope and his sister are close. Osborne tries to warn Raleigh about the changes in Stanhope. He introduces him to the routines of trench life. Mason, the soldier cook, confides in Osborne about a mistake over tinned pineapples so that Stanhope will not blame him. Stanhope appears on stage. He calls for whiskey before even seeing Raleigh and when he does see him he is stunned as though dazed. Trotter, on the other hand, welcomes Raleigh. After eating, Trotter and Raleigh go on patrol. Hibbert enters the dugout and complains of his neuralgia a sever pain in his head and face. Stanhope thinks it is just an excuse to get sent home, but Osborne is more sympathetic. The two of them discuss Raleigh and his sister. Stanhope is concerned that Raleigh will betray him in his letters and decides to censor them. Osborne tries to calm Stanhope; sensing he is tired, he suggests that he goes to bed. Both men turn in for the night.
Act 2: It is the following morning. Stanhope is on duty in the trench and the other officers are enjoying breakfast in the dugout. They talk about Stanhope, who is looking ill, and discuss his strange behaviour towards Raleigh the previous night. Trotter talks about gardening and nature, and then leaves the stage to take over from Stanhope. Raleigh and Osborne talk; it emerges that Osborne was a schoolmaster and had played rugby for Harlequins and England. We gain an impression of Raleigh s views of war before he leaves to finish a letter that he has started to write, just as Stanhope enters the dugout. Stanhope and Osborne discuss the German attack, which is expected in two days time. Stanhope is drinking whiskey and is worried about what Raleigh thinks and what he might write in his letter. He is determined to censor it. When Raleigh enters on his way to inspect the rifles and puts his letter on the table to be sent, Stanhope tells him to leave it open. After a discussion and a struggle, Raleigh is forced to give Stanhope the letter and leaves. Stanhope is too ashamed to look at it and eventually Osborne reads it. Unexpectedly, it is full of praise for Stanhope.
Act 2 Continued: That afternoon, Stanhope issues details of work to a sergeant major, which he wants carried out before the German attack. The colonel arrives and instructs Stanhope that he is to organise a raiding party for the following day. He suggests that Osborne, and (despite Stanhope s objections) Raleigh lead the party. Stanhope is to have supper with the colonel and the colonel will talk to Osborne and Raleigh the following morning. Hibbert enters the dugout, having been asleep. He complains about his neuralgia and asks to go down the line and seek medical help. Stanhope refuses and threatens to shoot him by accident if he tries to leave. Eventually Stanhope confides in Hibbert that he is too scared and encourages him to stay to help the others. Hibbert says he will try. Osborne returns to the dugout and is told of the raid by Stanhope; Trotter who is also informed of the raid, which he feels is badly timed, soon follows him. He asks what Osborne is reading. It is Alice s Adventures in Wonderland. Stanhope and Hibbert leave to relieve Raleigh, and Osborne writes a letter. Raleigh returns to the dugout and seems to be excited at the thought of going on a raid.
Act 3: It is Wednesday afternoon. The colonel has arrived with last minute instructions and words of encouragement for the raiding party. Osborne and Raleigh sit for a few minutes before the raid. They talk about home and trivial things. Osborne puts his wedding ring on the table and the two of them leave for the raid. Noises of gunfire and shells are heard off stage. Stanhope and the colonel appear on the stage with the captured German soldier who Stanhope leaves the colonel to question. He returns and rather bitterly tells the colonel that Osborne and six men have been killed. Raleigh enters and is congratulated by the colonel, but is unable to speak. Stanhope comments that Raleigh is sitting on Osborne s bed. That evening, Trotter, Hibbert and Stanhope share stories and jokes about women, having eaten together. Raleigh has not eaten with them but has remained on duty in the trench. Hibbert and Stanhope argue and Hibbert is sent to bed. Trotter is made second in command then goes to relieve Raleigh. Stanhope is angry that Raleigh did not eat with the officers. The two argue and Raleigh expresses his confusion over Stanhope s attitude to Osborne s death. Stanhope makes it clear that he uses drink to help him cope. Raleigh tries to apologise but is told to leave and they part on bad terms.
Act 3 Continued The following morning the officers wake. The sound of German shells is heard, signalling the attack. Hibbert holds back, but eventually he and Mason leave. Stanhope is told that Raleigh has been hurt, so he has him brought into the dugout where it becomes clear that although Raleigh does not know this himself, his wounds are serious. Stanhope comforts Raleigh and gives him water, but he dies. Stanhope leaves the dugout as the sounds of shelling rises. There is darkness in the dugout and the red dawn glows . The play ends as the dull rattle of machine guns is heard: we may assume that the whole company have met their deaths.
Journeys End - Themes Task: Can you remember what the main themes of the play are? Discuss them and note them down. Mind map around each theme what you think it involves.
War It s easy to think that soldiers in wars are always fighting battles. When for most of the time, it s a matter of waiting. What soldiers do to pass the time under such horrendous stress is a major theme of the play. Sherriff wanted his audiences to understand just how this tense prolonged waiting was an untold horror of war and this helps the play create a subtle anti-war message although this was not necessarily intentional. How Sherriff manages to create a tense plot whilst also showing the boredom and waiting of trench life is one of his skills.
Although Sheriff did not write Journey s End as an anti war play the fact that the characters are seen suffering emotionally, and are presented as physically wrecked and dying, is a reminder to audiences of the casualties of war. War 1. In what ways does RC Sheriff recreate for his audience the tremendous stress and fear suffered by the men at the front? When the play was first staged the audience would have recognised Raleigh s youthful enthusiasm and Stanhope s hardened cynicism. 2. Do all the characters in this play react in the same way to the horrors of war? Many young, talented and educated men died in the First World War. They came to be known as the lost generation and it is to them that Journey s End pays homage.
Heroism The idea of heroism is explored through: Raleigh s boyish patriotic myth of the 'hero' as some kind of knight in shining armour, and the way he hero-worships Stanhope Stanhope s real fear is that his status back home as a 'hero' will be blown. This is shown in the desperate way he clutches Raleigh s wrist and tears the letter from his hand - a letter which could reveal the truth about his drinking Sheriff presents us with two sides of the coin the heroism and the cost. It is only after his experience of the raid that Raleigh begins to recognize the true price of glory. He has been exposed to the truth and the futility of the attack. Stanhope holds great fury towards Hibbert as he sees him as dishonorable and a coward. Osborne s death and the others may be seen as pointless but it is likely that Sheriff intended to pay tribute to the heroism of the men at C Company. To him they represent all the men that died in the war.
Heroism 1. What do you think were Raleigh s expectations when came to join Stanhope s company? 2. To what extent were these hopes fulfilled and how much was he disappointed?
Courage and Cowardice: Courage and Cowardice: the men coped with the war in a number of different ways Sherriff helps us to see how humans can gain courage from others as well as by diverting their thoughts through displacement strategies : Humour for example is used; Osborne is seen to be reading Alice in Wonderland a childhood book reassuring and comforting perhaps in times of great difficulty; Complaining about the food like Private Mason Smells like liver, sir, but it 'asn t got that smooth, wet look that liver s got Osborne gives advice to Raleigh: you must always think of it as romantic. It helps . Stanhope depends on drinking alcohol for courage Hibbert shows us what focusing on death can do to the nerves and health, it is never made clear if Hibbert is just a coward or has a real mental illness
Comradeship Stanhope s encouragement of Hibbert helps to suggest to the audience the importance of getting on together . Shall we go on together? We know how we both feel now. Shall we see if we can stick it together? . Even the idea of enemy is brought into question as Raleigh reminds us that Germans are just ordinary people. The use of formal surnames, Stanhope and Raleigh , for example, normal in public schools and the army is something the audience is forced to think about at the end of the play. When Raleigh is dying, he calls Stanhope Dennis who replies, to the audience s surprise with Jimmy . How men survive as a community of individuals under the most extreme stresses imaginable is at the heart of the play.
Comradeship 1. Do you think that the comradeship engendered by the war is more than mere friendship? Is it a special bond imposed by the constant threat of death? 2. What examples can you find in the play of comradeship and compassion for others?
Social Class When Sherriff was writing, the social order would have been very different to nowadays. By juxtaposing the public school educated upper class officers with working class soldiers like Trotter and Mason, Sherriff wanted to show how war brought everyone together. Stanhope tries to dismiss Trotter as having no proper feelings, but Trotter responds "Always the same, am I? (He sighs) Little you know" ; and his braveness later on in the play suggests that he is as much a 'hero' as any of the officers in the company.
How to write an exam answer On your tables, mind map everything that you would include in this kind of question. Consider: How is he presented? What methods does the writer use to show him? What themes does he represent? Sample Question: Explore the presentation of Raleigh in Journey s End.
Step 1: analyse the character He is na ve, romantic, young and inexperienced consider how this is made clear through his actions, stage directions and speech Step 2: Consider how Sheriff shows that he is important? We meet him early in the play and his death is one of the last and most significant scenes. Step 3: Think about the function that he plays in the play a) He commentates on Stanhope and gives greater insight into Osborne and Stanhope through their extended dialogues b) He adds to the sense of tragedy through his death and shows the futility of war c) He shows the themes of heroism and the ideas of a lost youth d) He offers a contrast to Hibbert and his supposed cowardice e) He almost becomes a man by the end of the play. Sample Essay Plan: The question asks you to consider two things: What Raleigh is like and How we find this out? You should also consider the hidden ideas of What makes him important? This is a good method for most character questions. Step 4: Conclude What is the lasting impression of Raleigh
Do this now as if the question was Osborne What Osborne is like and How we find this out? What makes him important? Step 1: analyse the character Step 2: Consider how Sheriff shows that he is important? Step 3: Think about the function that he plays in the play Step 4: Conclude What is the lasting impression of Osborne
