Argue The Case That ?Journey?s End? Is Still Worthy Of Being Staged Today. Essay, Research Paper
?Journey?s End? by R.C Sherriff is a play which gives
a realistic picture of life in a First World War trench. Performed in 1928 when
the bitter memories of war were still fresh, it made a profound impact on those who saw it. It was
uncompromising and showed the awful truth to those who had been given the diluted
version. Until then, the harsh reality had been hidden and a brave front of
victory and triumph put on, masking the truth about the suffering of the
soldiers. They had also had a stretch of momentum, enjoying the victory of the War
and a peaceful land, and by 1928 they were ready to know the truth. For those who see it today,
however, it would not only teach them about war and how our country came to be
through the strength and spirit of those who fought and gave their lives, but
it also provides the audience with moments of high drama, light hearted humour
and deep poignancy. These are often not found in the commonly staged plays of
today such as ?Grease? and ?Joseph? whose only meanings are to teach the
youngsters of today that they should dream about love and fame, things not
relevant in such a difficult world. The youngsters of today too are becoming
more and more desensitised by watching violent films and TV programmes and
seeing emotive images of starving children and eventually they become deadened
to such things and they have no effect. This leads to children of today
becoming complacent and less sympathetic. By watching the perseverance and tragedy
of the men in ?Journey?s End?, it will show them the hardships of those who fought
for us and they will become more compassionate. The perceptions of war that
children today have, are about lots of fighting and the glory of winning
against Germany. This is because they are the first generation which has no
direct experience of the war, without any fathers and perhaps grandfathers
having fought in it, and have had no tales of bravery or integrity told to them
personally. It is hard for them to picture what went on and to really understand
what it meant to fight in the Great War and so can learn only from films and TV.
By watching ?Journey?s End? they will gain an authentic understanding about war
without the glorified and often romantic images some people perceive. They will
learn to have humanity to those who are less fortunate than themselves in the
modern world today. ??????????? The different
personalities and attitudes of the soldiers also indicate what sort of an
effect war had on you as a person. The characters all have their own ways of
dealing with war and the effects being away had on them as people. Osborne, who
still seems unaffected and compassionate, warns Raleigh not to expect too much
from Stanhope: ?You mustn?t expect to find him-quite the same?It- it tells on a
man rather badly?. The strain has taken its toll on Stanhope and inside he is
being eaten up so he turns to drink for comfort as his nerves ??have got
battered to bits?. Raleigh is young and his ideas are all of the glory of war,
of going away and fighting for your country. He is very naÏve and starry eyed. Young
men today will be able to relate to him as he is fresh out of school and has
not had much experience of war, but is keen to do his duty for his country.
Even those who show no obvious signs of the stresses and pressures of war, such
as Trotter, are still suffering within themselves. Stanhope enquires to Trotter
about his constant optimism: ?Nothing upsets you, does it? You?re always the same?;
but Trotter reveals the real distress and misery, saying: ?How little you know?.
This tells us that inside, Trotter was the same as all the other men. He was
still enduring the same torment as the other soldiers yet he put on an
unchanging front. An audience today would admire the strength of Trotter and
his ability to show the other men that it is possible to get through war, while
all the time he was experiencing the same problems. Along with those men who
obligingly got on with war, Hibbert is an example of one of those who thought
that they had done their bit and schemed to go home. He craftily complains of
so-called ?Neuralgia? which cannot be proved, in a desperate attempt to be sent
home- ?It?s this beastly neuralgia?The beastly pain gets worse every day?. The
other soldiers, however, are aware of Hibbert?s scheme, calling him ?Another
little worm trying to wriggle home?. The audience?s dislike of Hibbert would be
intensified when we see him joking and showing picture postcards of girls to the
other men. He acts like he is cool and manly when a real man would do his duty
like the rest of them. He also remarks that he is ?as fresh as a daisy? which
too would heighten our disgust as he hasn?t done anything to make him tired. ? ??????????? The
scenario with Hibbert then leads on to a very intense moment in the play. There
are many of these which serve to keep the audience engaged in the play. Hibbert
pleads with Stanhope to be allowed to go to the hospital, to which Stanhope
bluntly refuses. Finally Stanhope says to Hibbert ?If you went, I?d have you
shot- for deserting?. This was because those who tried to leave and abandon the
war could be killed. The audience would be very apprehensive, and anxious to
see if Hibbert does get shot. The scene then becomes more intense as Stanhope
says that he could make it look accidental, to spare Hibbert the disgrace of forsaking
his country and he even gives him ?Half a minute to decide?. The audience would
feel more tense now as they see that Stanhope is serious, and they would be
excited to see what would happen after the thirty seconds was up. Fin
is broken by Hibbert laughing: ?Go on then shoot! You won?t let me go to
hospital. I swear I?ll never go in those trenches again! Shoot!?. This is a
very good example of dramatic tension in the play, as the audience is left in
suspense to see if Stanhope actually does shoot him. He counts down ?10?5?, the
anticipation is building and finally reaches its peak, until Stanhope
congratulates Hibbert ?Good man, Hibbert. I liked the way that you stuck that?.
In this scene R.C Sherriff lets his audience see what he thought of deserters.
It is very thrilling, yet at the same time, it is very emotive. The audience in
1928 would have recognised Hibbert as a deserter and their pity for him would
be reduced, yet at the same time they would possibly have sympathy, as they
would now realise what war has done to Hibbert, and he can?t take any more
waiting to see if he will die, and he is even prepared to be shot rather than
go ?over the top? and risk being killed by the Germans. ??????????? Another
dramatically tense moment in the play is when Osborne and Raleigh have been
chosen to go ?over the top? to raid the German trench for a prisoner. Raleigh
as usual is in high spirits and is very excited about the attack. Osborne
however is more understanding to the situation and does not underestimate the
task ahead. He leaves his ring behind ??in case anything should happen? so that
Stanhope can pass it on to his wife. The audience would feel very uneasy now
realising the true danger that the men face and the fact that they might not
return. It also shows that the men are nervous by their idle conversation about very trivial things: ?D?you like coffee better than tea? ?I do for breakfast?. The audience has already learned that the operation is
very dangerous as Stanhope told the Colonel ?The Boche are sitting over there
with a dozen machine guns trained on that hole- waiting for our fellows to come?
so we fear for the safety of Osborne and Raleigh, and we wait in anticipation
to see if they survive. When the party does arrive back, we are left in more
suspense to see if both Raleigh and Osborne are safe. The Colonel asks lots of
questions to the German boy to keep us interested until eventually we find out
that Raleigh is back Safely but Osborne has been killed. Along with lots of drama, ?Journey?s End? also has moments
of comedy, often before a serious point in the play to provide light relief, so
that is not too heavy and sombre. The play opens in a light-hearted, chatty manner so that
the reality of trench-life will have more of an impact. The soldiers joke about
what is for tea: ?I mean- after all- war?s bad enough with pepper- but without pepper-its-its bloody awful?, and later on
about the tea tasting like onions: ?but we aven?t ad onions for days?. It also
shows that they are trying to grasp on to reality and life before the war. They
also joke about the soup- ??What kind of
soup is this Mason?? ?It?s yellow soup sir? Mason replied. ?It is also entertaining
when Stanhope is drunk and he says to Osborne ?Kiss me uncle? this is also quite
sad as we see that this is how Stanhope feels inside, as there is no opportunity
for love when you are at war. The soldiers make their own entertainment in the
play which can also lead onto humorous moments. One of these ways is the earwig
race which they hold. Hardy tells Osborne how to get the best out of an earwig-
?. Dip it in whisky- makes ?em go like hell!? Along with the drama and the
humour, there are also very poignant moments which make the play worth
watching. Along with being dramatic, the scene with Osborne and Raleigh before they
go ?over the top? is also a moment where the audience would feel real sympathy
and pity for the men. We feel really sad for them as Raleigh is really naÏve as
to what is happening and is excited, talking about what they will do when they
go over, but Osborne is wise to the danger they are in and tries to change the subject
of the conversation so that they can talk about something else ?? now lets
forget about it all for?. 6 minutes?. So they recall life before they went,
talking about England and the New Forest. We feel really sorry for the men as
we realise that they may die soon and are trying to forget about it. We would
also feel greatly sad when Osborne leaves his ring behind, telling Raleigh-?I
don?t want the risk of losing it?, to which Raleigh replies quietly ?Oh?. Here
we realise that Raleigh has finally realised the true extent of the danger
which they face and the fact that they might not come back, this makes us feel
compassionate for the men. Another moment in the play
which is very emotive is when Stanhope tells Hibbert that he too suffers from
nervousness -? Because I feel the same -exactly the same!? This shows the
audience that even the most brave of men who appear to be untouched by the war,
are suffering inside. In this scene we also go on to feel pity for Hibbert who
was prepared to die, rather then carry on, not knowing when he would die. It helps
us to understand the real pressure the men were under, waiting, not knowing whether
they would live or die. Overall the play as a whole
makes us realise the true courage showed by the men, in risking their lives
fighting for their country, helping us to become more understanding, and
opening our minds. Although at times the language used may seem outdated, using
phrases such as ?simply topping? and ?jolly bucked?, the audiences attention is
held throughout. This is done by techniques including high drama, humour and
poignancy in the play to ensure that audiences today will find the play
interesting to watch, whilst teaching them about how their country came to be
at the same time.