The Pressures of War in Journeys End :: R.C. Sherriff Journeys End War Essays

The Pressures of War in Journeys EndThe introductory man War provoked many different reactions in the people modify by it, particularly the soldiers, which Sherriff seeks toexplore in Journeys End. He uses Hibbert to steer the way in whichsome soldiers reacted, but which was frowned upon by any others, and and so presents the opposite view of Stanhope, who, despite being thestereotypical perfect soldier, still has his mo workforcets of worry andself-doubt.Cl archean, both the officers and the men involved in World War I livedin conditions of extraordinary hardship. The men refer to the poorfood, the rough sleeping conditions and the rats, of which on that point areabout two million, according to Hardy. at that place is also a torturousroutine of inspections, patrols, raids and duty in early hours of themorning. The men also have to cope with the ever-present shadow ofdeath. In the background, there is a constant rumble of guns and heavyartillery, although it is the silence wh ich affects the men more, asthey do not know what is happening - it is more of a threat than theguns.Most of the men, although Hibbert is the significant exception, arebrave and dutiful, but their methods of make do with the challenge ofwarfare vary according to their temperaments. The play opens with a parley between Hardy and Osborne, in which they seek to blockout the atrocities occurring all around them by concentrating onseemingly mundane, irrelevant things, such as earwig racing. Theextraordinary type of morbid humour which situations such as the FirstWorld War seem to provoke shows through whilst they are discussing the relatively serious matter of the bombing which they are under.OSBORNE Do much defile?HARDY Awful. A dug-out got blown up and came down in the mens tea.They were frightfully annoyed.OSBORNE I know. Theres nothing worse than dirt in your tea.Clearly, there are many things worse than dirt in your tea, and onewould expect an adjective that was rather stronger than annoyed todescribe the mens reaction to the fact that they were being bombed.Osborne tries to get things in perspective and see the beauty insituations to cope with the blackjack he is under. He tells Raleigh toalways think of it like that, if you can. bring forward of it all as - asromantic. It helps. Osborne epitomises a certain type of well-bredmiddle-class reticence and self-possession. Like Stanhope and Raleigh,he attended private school, which taught him the tralatitious andtypical English values, which can be summed up in the enouncestiff-upper-lip. He maintains an apparent steady clam in the face of