Journey’s End free essay sample

How does your impression of the relationship of Raleigh and Stanhope change and develop throughout Journey’s End? Throughout journey’s end, Stanhope and Raleigh’s relationship changes dramatically. The young men were good friends before the war, although it is not obvious when Raleigh arrives at the front. It becomes obvious as the play goes on that the relationship between Raleigh and Stanhope is tense, especially with Stanhope’s hostile attitude towards Raleigh. The young men’s relationship takes an unexpected turn when Raleigh is sent on the raid and Stanhope becomes very protective and brotherly towards him, like when they were younger. Before the war, Raleigh and Stanhope were very close. They ‘‘were at school together’’ (act 1 scene 1 page 11) when Osborne suggests to Raleigh that Stanhope might not remember since Stanhope left school three years before, Raleigh’s reply shows that they were quite close. ‘‘Oh, I think he’ll remember me. You see, it wasn’t only that we were just at school together, our fathers were friends, and Dennis used to come and stay with us in the holidays. Of course, at school I didn’t see much of him, but in the holidays we were terrific pals. ’’ (Act1, scene1). ‘Oh, I think he’ll remember me’’ shows that Raleigh is quite confident that he was important to Stanhope in his ‘old life’. Even though they were ‘‘terrific pals’’, they seemed to have had a complicated relationship, even back then. Since Stanhope was older, they ‘‘didn’t see much of’’ each other at school. When Osborne asks Raleigh if he knows Stanhope in act 1 scene 1, his reply suggests that he admires Stanhope greatly. ‘‘Yes, rather! We were at school together – at least – of course – I was only a kid and he was one of the big fellows; he’s three years older than I am. ’. Raleigh’s enthusiasm is emphasized by the use of dashes in his reply, which suggest that he is speaking rapidly and breathlessly, thus emphasizing his admiration and awe of Stanhope. This already complicated relationship only gets worse, due to the fact that Stanhope went to fight three years before and he has changed. He has become an alcoholic and is afraid that Raleigh would tell this to his sister, with whom he was involved in a relationship, in his letters. Stanhope becomes very distant and somewhat aggressive towards Raleigh. At the front, Stanhope is very distant towards Raleigh. He scarcely speaks to him, only when necessary, much less mentions the times they spent together when they were younger, before the war. Stanhope is frightened that Raleigh will reveal his alcoholism to his Madge and his family in his letters. So he threatens to censor Raleigh’s letters, which shows that he has become paranoid. When Stanhope orders Raleigh to give him his letter in act 2 scene 1, his attitude is angry, loud and violent, suggesting that he is scared of what that letter may contain. ‘D’you understand an order? Give me that letter! ’’. Stanhope is using the fact that he is more powerful than Raleigh to get the letter. He wants to censor it because he thinks Raleigh might have said something about his behavior and alcoholism in his letter to his family and that Madge would know about it. That shows that his years at the front have made him paranoid. After Osborne’s death, Sta nhope becomes very angry with Raleigh. When Raleigh doesn’t come down to the dug-out for dinner, Stanhope becomes aggressive towards him. Stanhope tells Raleigh that he has to eat with the officers and not the men because the men were ‘‘making a fool’’ of him and that he was ‘‘eating their rations’’. Stanhope’s outburst shows that he is looking for any reason to lash out at Raleigh, possibly because he finds Raleigh partially responsible for Osborne’s death since Osborne was killed while waiting for Raleigh. Stanhope is fuming at Raleigh because he is acting as if he is the only one who cares about Osborne’s death. ‘‘(Stanhope): my God! You bloody little swine! You think I don’t care – you think you’re the only soul that cares! Raleigh): and yet you can sit there and drink champagne – and smoke cigars – (Stanhope): the one man I could trust – my best friend – the one man I could talk to as man to man – who understood everything – and you think I don’t care – ( Raleigh): but how can you when – ? (Stanhope): to forget, you little fool – to forget! D’you understand? To forget! You think there’s no limit to what a man can bear? (Raleigh): I’m awfully sorry, Dennis. I – I didn’t understand. You don’t know how – I – (Stanhope): go away, please – leave me alone. ’ Stanhope’s hurt is emphasized by his inability to properly express himself which is shown by the use of multiple dashes in the fragmented phrases. In this extract, we see a side of Stanhope we had not seen before, a side with exposed feelings. At this point in the play, Raleigh and Stanhope’s relationship is even more complicated than it was before because of everything the war has done to their friendship. But their relationship changes once again when Raleigh picked to go on the raid and Stanhope tries to protect him from going. After Raleigh goes on the raid, Stanhope and Raleighâ€℠¢s relationship changes once again. It becomes clear that their relationship is closer to what it was like before the war than at the front. In the final scene, when Raleigh is wounded and dying, Stanhope looks after him like a brother, he ‘‘holds the mug to Raleigh’s lips’’, he ‘‘bring(s) a candle and get(s) another blanket’’. The two young men talk about the old times when they would see each other during the holidays and spend time together. They call each other by their first names and we learn that Raleigh’s name is Jimmy. Overall, Stanhope and Raleigh’s relationship changes throughout the play. Before the war, they were good friends and would spend a lot of time together during the holidays but when Raleigh arrives at the front, Stanhope has changed, and so has their relationship. Stanhope is hostile and distant towards Raleigh and their relationship is tense. The young men’s relationship changes once again when Raleigh is sent on the raid and Stanhope suddenly becomes very protective of him. When Raleigh is injured, Stanhope takes care of him; they talk like when they were younger and their relationship returns to how it was before the war. FEHR Anais 214