“How is the character of Stanhope and the theme of conflict portrayed and
developed through the play Journey’s End?”
Your essay title in the question above.
This is simply a guide to writing your essay. To be gaining credit, you cannot just copy this all down
as it is; you have to do some thinking by yourself and analyse what the writer has done, why he has
done it, and why it is effective.
Introduction
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Begin your introduction by stating who is the play by (R. C. Sherriff) and briefly what is the
play about (the horrors of war, shown through the eyes of ordinary soldiers).
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Mention that the theme of conflict is portrayed through the character of Stanhope and that
the writer uses characterisation, stage direction and setting (if you’ve mentioned it in your
essay) to create it and you will discuss these techniques to show how the character of
Stanhope and the theme of conflict are created.
Paragraph 1
Internal conflict within Stanhope – pp.45-8
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What is Stanhope’s inner conflict in this part of the play?
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Can he trust Raleigh? What is it he does not want him to write home about?
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How does he feel after hearing Osborne read the letter out aloud?
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Find an example and a quote to support your example– remember to include
the page number!
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Stage directions here may help you.
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How do stage directions help us to understand Stanhope’s inner-conflict?
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Stage directions are the writing, written in italics which are basically directions the
director would give to help it be acted out.
Find a quote to show this – remember to include the page number!
For Credit, also mention the writer’s use of setting and how it helps to create the
conflict or characterisation of Stanhope.
Finish off with a couple of sentences about how the theme of inner-conflict is created and
shown through the character of Stanhope.
Paragraph 2
Conflict between Stanhope and Hibbert: pp.54-59
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What is the argument between the two men about? What does Hibbert want to do?
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How do Stanhope and Hibbert’s opinions/attitudes differ?
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Find a quote (and page number) to support this.
What is the audience’s impression of Stanhope at the beginning of this scene, especially
when he threatens to kill Hibbert for deserting?
•
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How does this change? Find an example of some stage directions (the words in italic
writing) which back this up.
By the end of this scene with Hibbert, how has the audience’s feeling’s towards Stanhope
changed?
•
Do you think he’s a good man? A bad man? Heartless? Kind? This is up to you to
decide!!
•
Give an example from the text to back this up.
Paragraph 3
Conflict between Stanhope and Raleigh – pp. 88-91
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What is the conflict here between Stanhope and Raleigh? Do you think the play has been
building up to this?
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Explain why you think Raleigh is upset and unable to eat.
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What is Stanhope’s reason for eating, drinking and smoking cigars?
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Give a quote that shows Stanhope’s anger – try to get one that includes a stage direction.
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Analyse it and explain why you think it’s effective.
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How does this scene allow us to understand the characterisation (the way the character is
created) of Stanhope? What does it tell us about his character? Is he a heartless, hard man?
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Finally, say how the conflict increases the tension between Raleigh and Stanhope.

Why do you think the writer included this part of the play? How does it make us feel about
the two characters and how do we find out more about them?
Conclusion
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Your conclusion should now wrap up your essay.
Again, mention the play’s name (Journey’s End) and the writer (R.C. Sherriff).
Answer the question, that the character of Stanhope and the theme of conflict is created by
characterisation, setting (IF YOU’VE USED IT) and stage directions.
Give a couple of your best quotes or examples to show this.
Finally, give a personal reaction: How effective did YOU find the writer’s use of characterisation
setting (IF YOU’VE USED IT) and stage directions? How did it make it better? If you didn’t find
them effective why? What was wrong? How would you improve it?
Remember:
The body is Paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, not the introduction and conclusion.