Sheriff's Aims in Writing Journey's End

1574 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critiques of Romeo and Juliet

Sheriff's Aims in Writing Journey's End What were Sheriff’s aims in writing ‘Journey’s End’ and how successful was he in achieving those aims? Drama has been with us since the times of the Greeks. It is very popular among all age groups. The main aims of a drama are to entertain and to provide a message to the audience. ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is one of the most popular dramas to date. It is a romantic tragedy and is greatly appreciated, even today. It was written by one of the greats, Shakespeare, in the year 1595. The drama that we have in discussion is set in the times of the World War 1. During World War 1, R C Sheriff was an officer in the East Surrey Regiment and was wounded in the battle of Passchendale in 1917. R C Sheriff’s play Journey’s End is based upon his real life experiences during the war – reflecting the way he and his comrades lived and fought throughout the war. The play was first performed in 1928, which is 10 years from the First World War. At this time, people were disillusioned and were ready to face the truth about war. In Journey's End, Sheriff presents a realistic picture of life in the trenches as he had known it and a portrayal of the horrors of the War. This is an anti war story and it is trying to convey peace to the audience. As well as entertaining us, he provides a moral message of peace. There is also a personal touch to the play, as this is reality as seen by him. He manages to provide a social and moral message. In order to achieve these aims he uses literary and dramatic features. Journey's End is set in 1918 when the German army was preparing a massive attack against the allies once again. It is in this backdrop that the play opens. The whole play takes place in the trenches. It is basically the life of the soldiers in the trenches. The dug-out, where they spend their time when off-duty is a dark, enclosed structure. This heightens tension and also involves the audience in the events of the play. The characters are well etched to put forward Sheriff's aims. The focus is on the character of Stanhope, who shows varied emotions as the play proceeds. He is portrayed as a brave company commander out at front but within him, he is falling apart. Professionally, he is trying to control and command the company but personally, he is shattered. Sheriff uses Stanhope as a protagonist to show the long term effects of war on a person.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Imagery And Irony In All Quiet On The Western Front

    721 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many soldiers who come back from the war need to express how they feel. Many do it in the way of writing. Many soldiers die in war, but the ones who come back are just as “dead.” Many cadets come back with shell shock, amputated arms and legs, and sometimes even their friends aren’t there with them. So during World War I, there was a burst of new art and writings come from the soldiers. Many express in the way of books, poems, short stories and art itself. Most soldiers are just trying to escape. A lot of these soldiers are trying to show what war is really like, and people respond. They finally might think war might not be the answer. This is why writers use imagery, irony and structure to protest war.

    Read More

  • Firsthand Accounts of World War I

    2167 Words  | 5 Pages

    World War I is marked by its extraordinary brutality and violence due to the technological advancement in the late 18th century and early 19th century that made killing easier, more methodical and inhumane. It was a war that saw a transition from traditional warfare to a “modern” warfare. Calvary charges were replaced with tanks; swords were replaced with machine guns; strategic and decisive battles were r...

    Read More

  • Dbq Valley Forge

    554 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the painting from document B, it reveals what the lodging looked like, the state of our clothing and shoes, and the health that most of the soldiers were experiencing. We have had to deal with, “poor food- hard lodging- cold weather- fatigue, “(Document B). In this diary by Dr Waldo, a doctor we have at camp, he has accurately described what life is like at camp. The factors that we undergo make us sick both physically and mentally, these factors make us lose all sense of empowerment to win this war that we once felt, these factors make us want to go home more than anything just to hear our mother’s voice just once more.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast In The Trenches And Two Ways Of Seeing A River

    1221 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charles Yale Harrison’s “in the trenches” and mark twain's” two ways of seeing a river” are both autobiographical narratives that use descriptive language. In Harrison’s “in the trenches,” his brilliant use of sensory imagery lets the readers mind experience the treacherous and horrendous reality of war, with just the use of words. On the other hand, in twains “two ways of seeing a river,” the use of sensory imagery is carefully used to help the reader visualize the change in twains perception of the once “majestic river.” Both authors effortlessly utilize imagery to illustrate the realities of their topics. Harrison uses all the aspects of sensory imagery to display the life men are living in the trenches; meanwhile, in twains essay, he partially

    Read More

  • The Role of Storytelling in The Things They Carried

    2570 Words  | 6 Pages

    ...n amnesiac nation into “working through” its troubled past.” (Bly ,189) Story telling was the soldier’s salvation, their survival method. Being able to tell their stories let them express everything they were feeling and ultimately cope with the horrors of war and the guilt the carried.

    Read More

  • Myth of Courage Exposed in The Things They Carried

    2673 Words  | 6 Pages

    King, Rosemary. "O'Brien's 'How to Tell a True War Story.'" The Explicator. 57.3 (1999): 182. Expanded Academic ASAP.

    Read More

  • Fiction or Nonfiction, War Has the Same Effect

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    O’Brien, Tim. “How to Tell a True War Story.” The Things They Carried. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Print.

    Read More

  • Fighting the Vietnam War and Communism

    610 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fighting the Vietnam War dramatically changed the lives of everyone even remotely involved, especially the brave individuals actually fighting amidst the terror. One of the first things concerned when reading these war stories was the detail given in each case. Quotes and other specific pieces of information are given in each occurrence yet these stories were collected in 1981, over ten years following the brutal war. This definitely shows the magnitude of the war’s impact on these servicemen. These men, along with every other individual involved, went through a dramatic experience that will forever haunt their lives. Their minds are filled with scenes of exploding buildings, rape, cold-blooded killing, and bodies that resemble Swiss cheese.

    Read More

  • Photography in The Wars by Timothy Findley

    423 Words  | 1 Pages

    "A picture is worth a thousand words," we say. From the eyes and mind of the archivist studying the pictures of Robert Ross' experience with war, they are worth a lot more. The photographs in the epilogue of Timothy Findley's "The Wars" play an important role in Findley establishing both a trust with the reader, and a sense of realism to his war story. This satisfies the need for realism in his tale. The result of this image that is brought forth through the medium of the photograph, is that we are forced to see the "before" and "after" of Roberts "experience" and figure out our way through what is deposited in between: the cause and effect.

    Read More

  • Russia in World War Two

    3805 Words  | 8 Pages

    in the war in between 1939 and the end of 1941, was largely based on a

    Read More

  • A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...it may help us arrive at an understanding of the war situation through the eyes of what were those of an innocent child. It is almost unique in the sense that this was perhaps the first time that a child soldier has been able to directly give literary voice to one of the most distressing phenomena of the late 20th century: the rise of the child-killer. While the book does give a glimpse of the war situation, the story should be taken with a grain of salt.

    Read More

  • The Heroes of Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried

    1963 Words  | 4 Pages

    King, Rosemary. "O'Brien's 'How to Tell a True War Story.'" The Explicator. 57.3 (1999): 182. Expanded Academic ASAP.

    Read More

  • The First World War: A Brief History with Documents

    860 Words  | 2 Pages

    In document thirteen, we encounter a letter written by a young English soldier fighting the Germans from the woods. He starts his letter by explaining how once again he was forced to be out in the trenches for forty-eight consecutive hours. The letter, addressed to his parents, illustrates how devastating it can be for a young man out at war. When he asked for time alone they told him to take a group of men with him and after a bit of difficulty they finally let him go off on his own. While he is out on a stroll he comes across a German trench and kills an officer, he does the same thing the next day. By the end of the letter he simply defines the experience as awful.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Slaughterhouse Five And The Things They Carried

    1093 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... war, but: “Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story.” (O’Brien 233). The stories by the veterans of war, struggle with their own mental illnesses in their stories of fiction. Both stories are about their reflection of the war they served in.

    Read More

  • Consequences of the World War II

    1300 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the World War I individual rights and civil liberty have died. The wartime controls had replaced the free enterprise, exchange controls and import-export regulations had replaced the free trade. The inflation had undermined the sanctity of property. The war had shrunk the rights of individuals and enhanced the power of the State.

    Read More

More about Sheriff's Aims in Writing Journey's End

Open Document