R.C Sheriff’s Message in Journey's End

R.C Sheriff’s Message in Journey's End

‘Journey’s End’ is a play written by R.C Sheriff. It is written based

on the author’s own experiences during WW1. The play is set in trench

warfare in 1918, but was written in 1928 which was the 10 year

anniversary of the Armistice (the agreement to end the war).

Britain declared war on Germany in August of 1914 and the mood in

Britain was one of heroic optimism. Millions of young men enlisted in

the army with the firm belief that they’d be home for Christmas; but

World War 1 lasted for four years. By Christmas 1914, millions of men

were dug into trenches in France either side of no-mans land.

Thousands of men died.

‘Journey’s End’ is an anti-war play written by Sheriff to try and

bring home the experience of war and show what a waste of valuable

lives it was. ‘Journey’s End’, as well as other war literature of the

time, helped to change people’s attitudes from Victorian attitudes to

more modern and aware ones.

The confrontation of Stanhope and Hibbert in act 2 scene 2 is key in

our understanding of the characters and Sheriff’s anti-war message.

The attempt by Hibbert to escape from the war by faking neuralgia is

thwarted when the character of Stanhope reveals his own fears about

the war.

When the character of Hibbert attempts to leave, Stanhope threatens to

shoot him ‘accidentally’ to spare him the shame of being shot as a

deserter. “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,

...

... middle of paper ...

... audience get to know and understand the characters

before they are killed is very effective. It portrays the realism that

experienced men such as Stanhope, who had been fighting in the

trenches for a long time, would often have watched their entire

friends and comrades die. On page 27 Stanhope tells Osborne how "there

is not a man left who was here when I came." This brings home the

experiences of war to the people back at home.

Sheriff along with other war poets such as Wilfred Owen, was

responsible for the people back at home understanding what terrible

things were happening in the trenches. Sheriff conveys his message in

a very dramatic and effective way that really brings home the

experience of the war. He made sure the people back at home understood

that war was dangerous and that the soldiers were risking their lives

just being in the trenches.