JOURNEY’S

END
R.C. Sherriff
IGCSE Set Text
2021/2022/2023
Lic. Fernández Armendariz
Lic. Llera
“These who die as cattle”
 Our Focus Today
-01- -02-
Biography and Characterisation
Historical Context

-03-
Themes, Symbols, -04-
Motifs IGCSE Past Papers
 ANALYSING A PLAY
*Context

*Genre

*Structure

*Themes

*Characters

*Language and action

*Devices
 PRE-
READING
Revealing Covers
Movie and Play Posters
 Cover Analysis
1. Which characters / figures / images appear?
2. What is foregrounded and backgrounded in each
cover?
3. Is there a prevalence of certain colours?
4. Do any images call your attention particularly?
Why?
5. Is historical context/setting revealed through the
covers?
 R.C. Sheriff
-Robert Cedric Sherriff, was born on 6 June 1896 in
Middlesex, England.
-He served as an officer in WWI and was severely
wounded in 1917.
-He then went on to study history at Oxford
University.
-He wrote several plays, many novels, and multiple
screenplays, and was nominated for an Academy
Award and two BAFTA awards.
-He died on 13 November 1975.
 GENRE:
Historical Fiction
“A genre of imaginative writing set in the past, whose
authors make a deliberate effort to convey
chronologically remote settings, cultures and parsonages
with accuracy, plausibility and depth” (Holsinger,
2014)

“Fiction”: Latin: Fingere: To model or shape as of clay.

 ● Use of primary and secondary sources.
● Set 60 years before being written. (1928)
● Great authentic detail; plausibility and accuracy.
● Average people encountering grand
world events

-War Literature-
The IMW’s archives:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/journeys-end-and-
the-first-world-war
 Historical Context:
WWI
Set in the trenches, near St Quentin, France; more
specifically, in an officers’ dugout of a British
Army Infantry Company.

From March 18th to March 21st, 1918, near the

end of WWI, and close to Operation Michael, a
major military German offensive, in which
177,739 British men were either killed, wounded
or disappeared.
 Focus on:

Trenches Equipment Food

Trench Raids were seen as a
Life in the
way of both capturing enemy trenches
troops and gaining intelligence,
but also as one officer put it, to
‘worry the enemy to death and
maintain … fine fighting
spirit’.
IWM
Trenches were long narrow ditches dug into the ground, large enough for soldiers to live in
and providing some level of protection from enemy fire. During the First World War there
were lines of trenches containing Germans on one side and the Allied forces on the other. In
between them was No Man’s Land, which was where the fighting mainly took place.

Usually there would be several lines of trenches; of which the Front Line was the first trench
to face the enemy. It wouldn’t have been straight, instead following contours of land and dug
in sections so that if one section was attacked it wouldn’t compromise the others. Behind this
was the Support Line, which had positions for telephones and space for a company
headquarters. The lines were connected by communication trenches, along which men could
carry supplies, equipment or messages. By 1918, when Journey’s End is set, the trench
system had become more complex and ran several miles deep.
 Interactive interesting
sites:
Interactive adventure to experience life in the
trenches:
https://www.warmuseum.ca/overthetop/

Immersive Tour:
https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/educator-resource
/immersive-tour-trenches-world-war-i
EQUIPPING TROOPS IN WWI

https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/a-british-soldier-s-kit-in-the-first-world-war/
Food
“An army marches on its
stomach”
Napoleon Bonaparte

CREDITS: This presentation template was created https://

by Slidesgo, and includes icons by Flaticon, and www.webfoodcult
infographics & images by Freepik ure.com/world-
war-i-food/
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 WHILE-
READING
 Structure
Act I: 1 scenes
waiting-boredom- The scenes get shorter as the play
Act II: 2 scenes planning moves on.
Pace quickens and tension rises.
Act III: 3 scenes action-attack-death
 Setting
The entirety of Journey's End takes place in the
officers' dugout of a World War I British trench in
France. In this setting, the soldiers eat, sleep, chat,
and wait out the war, longing for the moment when
their six-day shift on the front lines is over.
An important part of the trench warfare was the
dugout, shelters which were more than often situated
underground and which served as sleeping areas and
places where the soldiers could find refuge during
heavy shelling.
 “A dugout got blown up and came down
in the men's tea. They were frightfully
annoyed.”

Atmosphere ‘a pale glimmer of moonlight shines

down the steps into one corner of the
dugout’.

"She doesn't know that if I went up those

Conditions in trenches: steps into the front line—without being
Constrained spaces doped up with whiskey—I'd go mad
Dirty, cold and damp: health risk with fright."
Noises of bombs: anxiety and fear
“green lights bobbing
up and down… all along the front”.
 Characterisation
❏ It’s an essential aspect of analysis since most
characters embody the main thematic concerns
of the play.
❏ The portrayal of their transition from innocence
to experience and the naturalisation of loss is
key in the play.
❏ General Questions are usually based on traits
of characters or the feelings they arouse in the
audience.
Captain Stanhope
● Solitary
● Miserable
● Inability to adapt back home
● Excessive time spent at war
● Hardened by brutality of way
● Reliant on alcohol
● Name: “a dweller on a stony ridge”

“Not a drunkard; just a - just a hard drinker; but you’re quite right about
his nerves. They are all to blazes. Last time out resting we were playing
bridge and something happened - I don’t remember what it was; some
silly little argument - and all of a sudden he jumped up and knocked all
the glasses off the table! Lost control of himself; then he - sort of - came
to - and cried-” (Act I p. 13)
Jimmy Raleigh
● Representative of Innocence
● Admiration for Stanhope
● Positive outlook on raid and
the war experience
● Forgiving towards Stanhope
● Name: “deer’s meadow”
OSBORNE: You might avoid talking to Raleigh about it.
TROTTER Why? How do you mean?
OSBORNE: There’s no need to tell him it’s murder -
TROTTER: Oh, Lord! No. [He pauses] I’m sorry ‘e’s got to go. ‘E’s a nice young
feller -
[Osborne turns to his book. There is silence.] (...)

OSBORNE: Yes, tomorrow. Just before dusk. Under a smoke cloud.

RALEIGH: I say - it’s most frightfully exciting!” (Act II, Scene II p. 62)
Lt. Osborne
● Father figure to the boys
● Closest friend to Stanhope
● Caring. IGCSE questions focus on pity and sadness.
● Name: comes from the Old Norse or Viking personal
name Asbjorn, comprised of as meaning “god,” and
bjorn meaning “bear.”
OSBORNE: I played for the English team on one great occasion.
RALEIGH: What! For England!
OSBORNE: I was awfully lucky to get the chance. It’s a long time ago now (...)
RALEIGH: They ought to know. It’d make them feel jolly bucked.
OSBORNE [laughing]: It doesn’t make much difference out here!
Trotter
● Comic relief in the midst of misery.
● Positive outlook war experience by
focusing on time passing.
● Name: “to ride a trot at a fast pace”

OSBORNE: Trotter’s plan to make the time pass quickly. One hundred and forty-
four little circles - one for each hour of six days. He’s blacked in six already. He’s
six hours behind.
RALEIGH: It’s rather a good idea. I like Trotter.
OSBORNE: He’s a good chap.
RALEIGH: He makes things feel - natural” (Act II, Scene I p. 41)
 Hibbert
● Representative of panic and fear.
● Hypochondriac
● Source of indignation for Stanhope as he wishes to desert war.
● Presented as selfish.
● Voice of theme of futility.
● Name: “Bright battle”
HIBBERT: Stanhope! I’ve tried like hell - I swear I have. Ever since I came out
here I’ve hated and loathed it. Every sound up there makes me all - cold and sick.
I’m different to - to the others - you don’t understand. It’s got worse and worse,
and now I can’t bear it any longer. I’ll never go up those steps again - into the line
- with the men looking at me - and knowing - I’d rather die here. [He is sitting on
Stanhope’s bed, crying without effort to restrain himself.]
The Colonel
● Embodiment of carelessness
● Imposition of orders and recipient of commands he does not agree with.
● Few attempts at sympathy
● Detachment (prefers not to speak to soldiers; only does so at Stanhope’s
request)
COLONEL [impatient]: Look here, Stanhope, I’ve done all I can,
but my report’s got to be at headquarters by seve. (...)
COLONEL: Good. [Another pause] You know quite well I’d give
anything to cancel the beastly affair. (...)
STANHOPE: Would like to go up and speak to them, sir?
COLONEL: Well, don’t you think they’d rather be left alone? (...)
[The COLONEL lingers a moment. There is an awkward pause.
Then the COLONEL clears his throat and speaks.]
 AFTER-
READING
THEMES
❏ The Futility of War
❏ Friendship and Support during Hardship
❏ Compassion in the Context of Conflict
❏ Fear and Desertion (Shell shock and PTSD)
❏ Innocence and Experience
❏ Miserable Conditions of Warfare
 MOTIF
❏
❏
S
Boredom in the trenches
Entrapment: Life in the dugout
❏ Alcohol for comfort and oblivion
❏ Silence (and pauses - marked off by punctuation)
vs sudden rattle of war sounds (attention to
onomatopoeias)
❏ Obscurity in the dugout / Smoke during raid
(inability to see clearly)
❏ The slow passing of time.
 SYMBOL
S
❏ Candles: fragile/faint light throughout the play and
extinguish completely after Raleigh’s death.
❏ Trotter’s circles: refers to the lethargic passing of time
and their entrapment. Their black colour may stand for
how, even if time passes, they simply get closer to death.
❏ Osborne’s bed: Stanhope lay Raleigh on Osborne’s bed
and this foreshadows the young lad’s imminent death.
 SYMBOL
S
❏ The earwig: Entrapment and life in the trenches as an
endless, inescapable cycle.
❏ Intertextuality with nursery rhymes: how the soldiers lose
their innocence at war.
❏ Osborne’s ring and watch (Act III, Scene I): Time will
stop for this character as death is approaching (p. 72-73)
How should I analyse an extract from a play?
To begin with, read the passage through, thoroughly. Read it once more.

Identify who is speaking, and to whom, along with any other characters who may be present. If
you can locate exactly where this scene takes place within the play, even better. Consider which
events have just occurred - to which they may be reacting, or affected by - and to where the
passage is going to lead (which will allow you to look out for dramatic irony and foreshadowing).

Can you identify any prominent themes of the play that are developed in this passage, and if so,
how are they advanced/deepened? Equally, how is the main plot or any subplots developed in
the passage? Think 'why does this conversation/action take place? Why did the playwright include
this scene, with these characters, in this location?' Is action taking place, or is it being conveyed
indirectly, e.g. through descriptive speech? What effect does this have on the reader/audience's
reaction to the events of the play?
Is the passage in verse, or prose? How does the presence or absence of metre affect the tone of
the speech? Are sentences long and flowing, or short and abrupt? Is punctuation abundant or
sparse? How do these details betray the mood of the characters or of the scene?

Take a look at the language. Is a particular lexis used that stands out? For example, is there a lot
of legal or medical vocabulary? Does this vary between characters, and do they use different
dialects? How does this affect your opinion of each character? Are their voices imperative?
Questioning? Casual, calm and friendly? How does this affect the mood of the scene, and does it
jar with the content of their speech?

Identify any uses of imagery, and analyse each in turn. Why did the playwright use this
metaphor? Why did they use this simile? Equally, be aware of phonic effects such as alliteration
and the effect that they have on the tone of a passage. Does the musical effect compliment or
unhinge the mood of the scene?
Note the stage directions. Are the actors uncomfortably close when
speaking, or deliberately distanced, or are they at ease with each other?
Are they moving, or still? Consider how space would be used in a
performance of the scene, and how that would affect the audience's
reception.
It may be relevant to consider how genre is manipulated or referred to in
the scene - consider any appeals to traditionally tragic or comedic forms,
and how they are imitated or distorted by the playwright, if present.
Finally, reflect on how your close reading has been influenced by your
own interpretation of the passage. Attempt to let go of any
preconceptions you may have, and to approach the text from a
perspective that is alternate or somehow opposite to your own. Repeat the
process, and see what else you can pick up on.
Passage Analysis
Silence
inside
vs
sound
outside Silence
inside
vs
sound
outside
“What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.”
Wilfred Owen - 1917
THAN
K
YOU!