Stanhope in Journey's End
How does Sherriff develop our understanding of Stanhope in Act One?
Introduction
Stanhope is considered by the men to be ‘the best company commander
[they’ve] got.’ However under the pressure of the Great War, Stanhope has changed into a different man, and has turned to drinking alcohol to take away the fear and pain of War. At the beginning of the play,
Sherriff chooses not to introduce the audience to Stanhope. Instead, the audience builds their own picture of Stanhope through the differing views of the men in his company. Hardy’s strong description of Stanhope, forces the viewer to build a picture of ‘a freak show exhibit.’ However, this view is opposed by Osborne, who argues that
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Drinking like a fish as usual?’ – Hardy
[Page 4]
‘He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got.’ – Osborne
[Page 4]
‘When a boy like Stanhope gets a reputation out here for drinking, he turns into a kind of freak show exhibit.’ – Osborne [Page 5]
‘Young Stanhope goes on sticking it, month in, month out.’ – Osborne
[Page 6]
‘There isn’t a man to touch him as commander of the men.’ – Osborne
[Page 6]
‘He’s so fussy about the trenches.’ – Hardy [Page 7]
‘He was skipper of Rugger… and kept wicket for the eleven. A jolly good bat, too.’ – Raleigh [Page 11]
‘You mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same.’ – Osborne [Page 13]
‘It’s a big strain on a man.’ – Osborne [Page 13]
‘He’s a little bit quick-tempered.’ – Osborne [Page 13]
Conclusion
R.C Sherriff employs a very clever writing style in Journey’s End, to describe Stanhope to the audience. Before actually meeting Stanhope, the reader is left to make their own decision about Stanhope’s character. The opinions that are given of Stanhope by the other characters are fairly accurate. Hardy’s description appears to be correct at first, when Stanhope enters; his first words being ‘Damn the soup, bring some whisky.’ He uses the drink to escape from the problems of war around him. The ‘quick-temper’ that Osborne described is also shown to the audience in this part of the scene.
Shakespeare uses the plot in his play to convey the fact that selfish acts such as revenge only cause pain for those involved. Romeo, for example, is severely punished for his
Selected Answer: | To heighten the sense of harmonic drama | Correct Answer: | To heighten the sense of harmonic drama | | |
task of revenge that has been assigned to him. These four soliloquies are the backbones of the play, and they offer the
The men were miserable and ultimately they negotiated a treaty to stop the hostilities. This play has its merits and its downfalls. As a whole, however, it is well written, humorous, and most importantly, it has a purpose. On first glance, the
When I first read the excerpt from this play, my immediate reaction was “wow that was it?” After my first reading of the play, I thought that it was just a simple play made for fun. But I realized after rereading it a few more times that it actually has a deeper meaning than what it appears to have.
Perhaps the most popular theme in the play is that of revenge. R.A. Foakes in “The Play’s Courtly Setting” explains the burden of revenge which the protagonist must carry for the duration of the play:
The sound of guns firing, screaming men, bombs going off and the casual side conversations in the audience is how Journey’s End went. On October 8th I went to go watch the last show run of the play Journey’s End directed by Gordon Reinhart and written by R.C. Sherriff at the Danny Peterson theatre. In Journey’s End, there are eleven characters: Captain Hardy, Stanhope, Lieutenant Osborne, Private Mason, Lance corporal “Bert” Broughton, 2nd Lieutenant Raleigh, Trotter, Hibbert, Company Sergeant-Major, the colonel and a German soldier. As I walked into the Morrison center bought my ticket from the box office, I went straight to the back and headed towards the doors of the Danny Peterson theatre. Once I arrived at the doors I noticed the
The first part of the play helps to establish feelings of guilt and remorseful feelings
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is an adventure all on its own along much of the southern portion of America during the mid-1800s. Through Huck’s adventures, we see the hectic world of the Civil War era, shown through the eyes of a young lad who’s thrust into the middle of it all. Huckleberry Finn’s adolescence show how pure that early stage of life is, how long it takes for one to grow, and how it adds excitement and liveliness to the novel.
he can't take any more waiting to see if he will die, and he is even
In these acts, his love for Miranda, his forgiveness of his enemies, and the legitimately happy ending his scheme creates all work to mitigate some of the undesirable means he has used to achieve his happy ending. A conclusion that symbolizes the peace and tranquility that emerges when things are laid to rest and the preputial cycle of chasing power is broken. Shakespeare appears to take a slightly more elaborate stance on power in the final scene of his play. Elaborating on the idea that power and its possession are fluid, and non constant by alluding to the idea that peace and can only be achieved when the position of power from one individual is relinquished and handed over so that it is equally
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was written by Mark Twain in 1884 and is considered to be a Great American Novel. Mark Twain’s adventurous novel depicts the image of a young American boy living along the Mississippi River in the mid-1800s and expresses interpretations on on rules, morality, and racism. This caused a lot of controversy and criticism, due to the moral compass of the times. Although main characters play a major role throughout the story, Mark Twain does a great job using vivid details to create other memorable characters and to support the conflicts and main character of the book.
The purpose of revealing its metaphorical nature is to display the true purpose and meaning of Shakespeare’s famous final play.
This shows the audience the meaning and sacrifice of all the men involved battling for a communal purpose. Identity is a key feature in the book, it tells us a lot about the characters involved in the main plot. Also the terrain of the region has actually a drastic effect on the battles being taken place because it gives advantage to one side as opposed the other. The narrative describes this hilly, and dark terrain that is hard to navigate especially for the opposition coming into battle. It has a purpose justifying why it makes a difference.
20th Century Drama - The name of this play is Journey's End, written by R. C. Sherriff. Introduction The name of this play is Journey's End, written by R. C. Sherriff. The play was first preformed on a Sunday night in December 1928.