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A LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE exam questions "Journey's End"
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A Level English Literature exam questions "Journey's End"
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A LEVEL ENGLISHJourney’s End – R C Sherriff
One of the best academic articles to focus on Journey’s End is an academic essay by Amanda
Phipps on the audience reception of the play at different times. It will deepen your
understanding of the play and the way attitudes to the war have changed over time:
https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/history/students/retrospectives/issues/amandaphipps.pdf
…….………
Claustrophobic and tense, R C Sheriff’s play explores the horror of war through the eyes of five
British officers.
Journey’s End’ is a play which focuses on a group of British Soldiers in the trenches. The play
has three acts with everything taking place over four consecutive days. The confined timespan,
claustrophobic setting and overwhelming feeling of doom creates a sense of unity. R.C Sherriff
based his work on his own experiences in the war. He wrote Journey’s End to try and show
audiences how men really lived in the trenches. He wanted people to recognise themselves,
their friends, their sons and husbands in the characters on stage.
Throughout the play Sherriff varies the mood. He moves from moments of calm to tension,
relief to drama, joy to sadness and anger to peace. The war setting allowed him to include the
extremes of different emotions due to the unpredictable nature of war. Through this he
showed a true understanding of human psychology and of the war itself.
Raleigh throughout the play is used to represent those soldiers who were young, naive and
inexperienced arriving straight out of school. At the start Osborne states: “I hope we’re lucky
and get a youngster straight from school. They’re the kind that do best.”
Exam questions
1. ‘In Journey’s End, Sherriff suggests that, despite the loyalty shown to Stanhope, he is far from an
ideal leader of men.’ Examine this view of Stanhope.
2. ‘Even on the front-line, their pre-war roles and relationships still govern the lives of the men.’
Examine this view of the play.
3. Sherriff said “I have not written this play as propaganda and certainly not as propaganda for
peace.”
4. Examine the view that Journey’s End is not an anti-war play.
, 5. ‘Memories of home are a comfort to the soldiers in the play.’ Examine this view of Journey’s
End. Possible content:
AO5 Explore literary texts informed by different interpretations Students might consider:
• how Raleigh’s experience of school life and his friendship with Stanhope influence his experience on
the front line
• how memories of home are shared between the characters and act as a comfort in contrast to the
strain of war; for example Osborne and Trotter’s discussion of gardening in Act Two
• how Sherriff shows that discussion of home is comforting. It is a way of coping with the strain of war;
for example the discussion about the New Forest in Act Three Scene 1
• the extent to which memories of home might disturb, rather than comfort. For instance, Stanhope
refuses to go home to avoid his fiancée seeing how he has changed
• how Raleigh continually reminds Stanhope of home, his relationship with Raleigh’s sister, and the
extent to which he has been damaged by his experience of war
• how memories of home signify that these are ordinary, everyday men who are placed in the
extraordinary, abnormal experience of war
AO4 Explore connections across literary texts Focus might be on:
• the differing ways that First World War Literature focuses on the home life of soldiers
• the importance of the shared experience of home life as a coping mechanism in the front line
AO3 Demonstrate understanding of the significance and influence of the contexts in which literary texts
are written and received Focus might be on:
• how the importance of home life differs over time
• the changing views on the naivety of young soldiers who are conditioned by their experience of school
• the changing views on the experience of soldiers when they are on leave or at home
AO2 Analyse ways in which meanings are shaped in literary texts Focus might be on:
• the use of dialogue to convey the shared experience of home
• the importance of props such as photographs and letters to denote the saved memories of home
• the tension in the relationship between Stanhope and Raleigh as a way of presenting the conflict
between home front and frontline experiences
. AO1 Articulate informed, personal and creative responses to literary texts, using associated concepts
and terminology, and coherent, accurate written expression
• quality of argument
• organisation of ideas
• use of appropriate concepts and terminology
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