Stanhope in Journey's End by RC Sheriff

546 Words2 Pages

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

‘[Stanhope’s] experience alone make him worth a dozen men.’ It is

obvious to the audience that Osborne holds Stanhope in high regard.

These differing views make the audience believe that Stanhope is an

immature man, who is always drunk, although this is proved to be far

from the truth when the viewer meets Stanhope. He is revealed as an

admirable leader of...

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