 |
| Journey's End - R.C. Sherriff (1928) |
Journey's End is a 1928 play by R.C. Sherriff which takes place entirely in a single dugout in a trench in Aisne. The claustrophobic setting adds to the tension which builds throughout the play and, with the contribution of the motif of time, creates a sense of the inevitability of the "end" which is indicated in the play's title. The play focuses on the value of comradeship and normality in the face of exceptional suffering. However, the bleak ending to the play hints at a futility to the preservation of humanity, as Raleigh - a symbol of innocence - is left in the collapsed dugout which serves as his tomb.
Themes and Relevant Quotes
Comradeship / Hero Worship
|
The Home Front
|
Time
|
Effects of Trench Life
|
Youth
|
Value of Normality / Coping
Mechanisms
|
"I love that fellow. I'd go to hell with him." -
Osborne (on Stanhope)
"You'll find the other officers call me 'Uncle'" - Osborne "We were at school together - at least - of course - I was only a kid and he was one of the big fellows;" - Raleigh on Stanhope "The German's are really quite decent, aren't they? I mean, outside the newspapers?" - Raleigh "I'm awfully proud to think he's my friend." - Raleigh's letter about Stanhope "Shall we go on together? We know how we both feel now. Shall we see if we can stick it together?" - Stanhope to Hibbert "Damn it! what on earth should I do without you?" - Stanhope to Osborne |
"Still, my wife reads the papers every morning and writes
and tells me." - Trotter
"Another little worm trying to wriggle home." - Stanhope on Hibbert |
"I'm going to draw a hundred and forty-four little circles
on a bit o' paper, and every hour I'm going to black one in; that'll make the
time go all right." - Trotter
".. takes out from his tunic pocket a large, old-fashioned watch, and quietly winds it up." _ Mason stage directions "He looks anxiously at his watch," - Stanhope stage directions |
"You know, Raleigh, you mustn't expect to find him - quite
the same... You see, he's been here a long time. It - it tells on a man -
rather badly." - Osborne
"I knew I'd go mad if I didn't break the strain. I couldn't bear being fully conscious all the time" - Stanhope "He told me he liked being up there with the men better than down here with us." - Hibbert on Raleigh |
"young boy" "youngster" - Hardy referring to
Osborne
"healthy looking boy of about eighteen" - Description of Raleigh "Despite his stars of rank he is no more than a boy." - Description of Stanhope |
"There's nothing worse than dirt in your tea." -
Osborne
"You must always think of it like that if you can. Think of it all as - as romantic. It helps." - Osborne "I never knew anything like a war for upsetting meals." - Trotter "By the way, did you see the sunrise? Wasn't it gorgeous?" - Stanhope |
Critical Responses
- "Sherriff has been criticised for only writing about the officers, who must have had it easy compared to the ranks. It's a fair criticism and one Sherriff suggests that he agrees with by having a heroic young officer join the men for bread and cheese rather than stay for the chicken, champagne and cigars in the officers' mess." - Socialist Review: Journey's End (2011)
- "You have no idea what terrible offence Journey’s End has given — and terrible pain too, which is a great deal more important. I think you will agree that the chronic alcoholic was extraordinarily rare." - publisher Ralph Hodder-Williams (1929)
- "Like much war literature in Britain that came after the Great War, however, the play’s attitude to the conflict was ambiguous. In fact it exalted what were conventionally characterised as the ‘military virtues’ of courage and ‘sticking it’; above all, Sherriff valued the companionship of the trenches" - The Spectator: To See How Good Journey's End is, Just Look Who it's Offended (2013)
