Discuss How Sherriff Presents Human Weakness and Frailty in Journeys End
Discuss how Sherriff presents human weakness and frailty in Journeys End
Journeys End was written with the intention of “letting the war speak”. The lives of the officers on the front line during 1917 are examined. A key theme that is explored throughout the play is the reactions of the mind and body, under the stress of the war. Each character represents the weakness of the human being in an individual way, but the character on which frailty is mainly focussed is Stanhope.
Stanhope is the topic of many conversations within the dugout and the first conversation we see, Stanhope is mentioned. The conversation is between Osborne, the second in command, and the commanding officer of the company being relieved. The commander inquires as to whether Stanhope is “drinking like a fish”, this indicates towards the audience for the first time, that Stanhope is an alcoholic and is seen to turn to alcohol to cope with the war. Osborne jumps to the defence of Stanhope, explaining that Stanhope is “the best company commander”. Despite Stanhope’s coping mechanism of alcohol, he still has respect shown to him by his men. This is shown throughout, yet more so in the final moments of the play when the troops are rallied by Stanhope for the raid.
Stanhope is shown to reject reminders of life before the war, and if his family waiting for him back home is mentioned it will not be tolerated. He shows that he does not want to be reminded when Raleigh arrives at the dugout and Stanhope becomes agitated. The conversations between the men and Stanhope are riddled with “silence” and on stage this would show the tension between the characters build up. We see how the war has also made Stanhope paranoid, and Stanhope’s irritation and paranoia become clear when he is insistent on looking through Raleigh’s letters home, to see if he has put anything derogatory about Stanhope. He is afraid that the truth about him being an alcoholic will reach home, and as Sherriff has told us, Stanhope has
Journeys End was written with the intention of “letting the war speak”. The lives of the officers on the front line during 1917 are examined. A key theme that is explored throughout the play is the reactions of the mind and body, under the stress of the war. Each character represents the weakness of the human being in an individual way, but the character on which frailty is mainly focussed is Stanhope.
Stanhope is the topic of many conversations within the dugout and the first conversation we see, Stanhope is mentioned. The conversation is between Osborne, the second in command, and the commanding officer of the company being relieved. The commander inquires as to whether Stanhope is “drinking like a fish”, this indicates towards the audience for the first time, that Stanhope is an alcoholic and is seen to turn to alcohol to cope with the war. Osborne jumps to the defence of Stanhope, explaining that Stanhope is “the best company commander”. Despite Stanhope’s coping mechanism of alcohol, he still has respect shown to him by his men. This is shown throughout, yet more so in the final moments of the play when the troops are rallied by Stanhope for the raid.
Stanhope is shown to reject reminders of life before the war, and if his family waiting for him back home is mentioned it will not be tolerated. He shows that he does not want to be reminded when Raleigh arrives at the dugout and Stanhope becomes agitated. The conversations between the men and Stanhope are riddled with “silence” and on stage this would show the tension between the characters build up. We see how the war has also made Stanhope paranoid, and Stanhope’s irritation and paranoia become clear when he is insistent on looking through Raleigh’s letters home, to see if he has put anything derogatory about Stanhope. He is afraid that the truth about him being an alcoholic will reach home, and as Sherriff has told us, Stanhope has