Argue The Case That Journeys End Is

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

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