Identify and Explain Key Quotes in 'Journey's End' Worksheet

In the exam you will need to able to support your ideas with quotations from the text.

You should try to build a bank of quotations for each character and theme and learn these so that you can use these readily in the exam.

notepad and pencil

In this activity you will practise identifying:

- Who is speaking in particular quotations

- Who is being to referred to in quotations

- What quotations suggest about a character

- What theme or idea is explored in a quotation

Remember that it is always a good idea to have your text handy and refer back to it to ensure that you are looking at quotations in context.

Who is being referred to in the quotation "Drinking like a fish, as usual?"

Osborne's response to Hardy's comment about Stanhope's heavy drinking allows Sherriff to also highlight how Stanhope is a strong leader.

Find the quotation that best shows this and write it out below. Remember to use quotation marks.

Sherriff highlights that much of the time, the trenches were quiet and that the soldiers would spend a lot of time waiting.

Choose the quotations below that show this to the audience.

"I thought there would be an awful row in here - all the time"

"It makes me feel we're - we're all just waiting for something"

"Think of it all as - as romantic. It helps!"

"It's just this - this quiet that seems so funny"

Match the following quotations to the character speaking.

Column A	Column B
Stanhope	"It's this beastly neuralgia. It seems to be right...
Osborne	"You can't help feeling sorry for him. I think he'...
Hibbert	"Another little worm trying to wriggle home"

Who is being described by Osborne in the following quotation:

"He's very young; he's got hundreds of strange things to learn; he'll realise that men are - different - out here"

Type your answer in the box below.

Sherriff uses the stage directions to indicate aspects of staging the audience would experience. Sound is important to the play in building anticipation and conveying the fear and terror that would have been felt by the soldiers.

Underline all of the words in the stage directions that show how sound would have been used.

\"There is silence in the trenches about the deserted dugout. Then, suddenly, there comes the dull \'crush\' of bursting smoke bombs, followed in a second by the vicious rattle of machine- guns. The red and green glow of German alarm rockets comes faintly through the dugout door. Then comes the thin whistle and crash of falling shells\"

Match the following quotations to the character speaking.

Column A	Column B
"You don't think I care - you think you're the onl...	Raleigh
"To forget, you little fool - to forget!"	Raleigh
"How can I sit down and eat like that - when (his ...	Stanhope
"I'm awfully sorry, Dennis. I - I didn't understan...	Stanhope

Which theme is explored in the quotation below?

"Raleigh: Can you stay for a bit?

Stanhope: Of course I can.

Raleigh (faintly): Thanks awfully."

Condition of the trenches

Comradeship

Psychological effects of war

Sherriff uses colour in his set to create atmosphere. In the very last set of stage directions, colour imagery is used to suggest the death and violence of the attack.

Identify one word from the last set of stage directions to show how colour is used.

ANSWERS

Question 1

Who is being referred to in the quotation "Drinking like a fish, as usual?"

CORRECT ANSWER

Stanhope

EDDIE SAYS

Stanhope is well known for his heavy drinking. In the very first scene, before we've even encountered Stanhope, Hardy gives us an impression of his behaviour and this is one of the first things we learn about him. Sherriff highlighted the psychological effects that fighting during World War One had on men and the coping mechanisms that were used.

ANSWERS

Question 2

Osborne's response to Hardy's comment about Stanhope's heavy drinking allows Sherriff to also highlight how Stanhope is a strong leader.

Find the quotation that best shows this and write it out below. Remember to use quotation marks.

CORRECT ANSWER

"He's a long way the best company commander we've got"

EDDIE SAYS

Did you manage to find the quote? This statement comes shortly after Hardy asks about Stanhope "Drinking like a fish, as usual?". The way in which Osborne is supportive and complimentary of Stanhope allows the audience to see past the knowledge that Stanhope is a heavy drinker and consider that he's someone to be regarded with respect.

ANSWERS

Question 3

Sherriff highlights that much of the time, the trenches were quiet and that the soldiers would spend a lot of time waiting.

Choose the quotations below that show this to the audience.

CORRECT ANSWER

"I thought there would be an awful row in here - all the time"
"It makes me feel we're - we're all just waiting for something"
"It's just this - this quiet that seems so funny"

EDDIE SAYS

When Raleigh first arrives, there's a lot of discussion about how quiet the trenches are. Sherriff shows us that this was a shock to many of the young, naïve soldiers who arrived thinking that they would be 'fighting all the time'. The waiting and anticipation for something to happen is shown to be just as difficult to cope with as the more obvious horrors of war.

ANSWERS

Question 4

Match the following quotations to the character speaking.

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A	Column B
Stanhope	"Another little worm trying to wr...
Osborne	"You can't help feeling sorry for...
Hibbert	"It's this beastly neuralgia. It ...

EDDIE SAYS

How did you do? Sherriff shows us different perspectives of the character Hibbert. Hibbert complains of neuralgia, a shooting facial pain, and later begs to be sent away from the front line for treatment. We see his extreme fear revealed as he later admits he just can't cope any longer. Stanhope is critical of this behaviour, stressing that he's being disloyal to his fellow men and failing to fulfil his duty. Sherriff employs Osborne as the voice of reason, allowing the audience to feel some sympathy for Hibbert, who's clearly struggling psychologically, as many men fighting during the war would've been.

ANSWERS

Question 5

Who is being described by Osborne in the following quotation:

"He's very young; he's got hundreds of strange things to learn; he'll realise that men are - different - out here"

Type your answer in the box below.

CORRECT ANSWER

Raleigh

EDDIE SAYS

Raleigh is the soldier who most represents the young and naïve soldiers during World War I. He begins with hopeful and idealistic views of what being a soldier will involve. Osborne's viewpoint here foreshadows that Raleigh can't possibly stay this innocent; he will experience the harsh realities of war and will be changed, just like the other men.

ANSWERS

Question 6

Match the following quotations to the character speaking.

EDDIE SAYS

When the men learn about the raid, we see opinions of the senior decision making revealed. Sherriff highlights how some of the strategy to send men into raids wasn't thought through properly. Trotter describes this as "murder". We see Raleigh's innocence here when his reaction to the raid is so different to the more experienced men - he's still naïve and idealistic, viewing this as an "exciting" opportunity. Osborne's father-like behaviour is conveyed in this scene also, as he tries to shield the innocent Raleigh from the harsh reality for as long as possible.

ANSWERS

Question 7

Sherriff uses the stage directions to indicate aspects of staging the audience would experience. Sound is important to the play in building anticipation and conveying the fear and terror that would have been felt by the soldiers.

Underline all of the words in the stage directions that show how sound would have been used.

CORRECT ANSWER

"There is silence in the trenches about the deserted dugout. Then, suddenly, there comes the dull 'crush' of bursting smoke bombs, followed in a second by the vicious rattle of machine- guns. The red and green glow of German alarm rockets comes faintly through the dugout door. Then comes the thin whistle and crash of falling shells"

EDDIE SAYS

Well done if you managed to find them all! Whilst Sherriff depicts a lot of quiet and waiting in the trenches, his focus on sound in his staging helps to build the anticipation and fear that there is an attack approaching. He reminds the audience that this terror is only just outside the walls of the dugout, foreshadowing the incoming attack that will cause devastation to the company.

ANSWERS

Question 8

Match the following quotations to the character speaking.

CORRECT ANSWER

Column A	Column B
"You don't think I care - you thi...	Stanhope
"To forget, you little fool - to ...	Stanhope
"How can I sit down and eat like ...	Raleigh
"I'm awfully sorry, Dennis. I - I...	Raleigh

EDDIE SAYS

After Osborne's death, we see Raleigh visibly shaken by what he's experienced and can't understand how other men can carry on as normal. Sherriff uses Stanhope here to educate Raleigh on the realities of war, that men did what they had to do to cope. We see Raleigh lose his innocence and begin to understand how war changes men irrevocably.

ANSWERS

Question 9

Which theme is explored in the quotation below?

"Raleigh: Can you stay for a bit?

Stanhope: Of course I can.

Raleigh (faintly): Thanks awfully."

CORRECT ANSWER

Comradeship

EDDIE SAYS

Many themes are explored throughout the play, but this particular scene really highlights the importance of comradeship on the front line. We see Stanhope comforting Raleigh in his dying moments, making his last few moments as comfortable as possible. Stanhope puts aside their earlier conflict and we see him here as compassionate and sensitive.

ANSWERS

Question 10

Sherriff uses colour in his set to create atmosphere. In the very last set of stage directions, colour imagery is used to suggest the death and violence of the attack.

Identify one word from the last set of stage directions to show how colour is used.

CORRECT ANSWER

Darkness
Red dawn
Red

EDDIE SAYS

The quotations in the last section of stage directions, where colour is used, are "there is darkness in the dugout" and "the red dawn glows". Light has played a large part in previous stage directions and here we see how darkness permeates, suggesting death, while the "red dawn" is evocative of the blood shed following the attack. This colour imagery would be very powerful to the audience watching, having experienced war and probably the loss of loved ones themselves. You've completed the activity! Why not try another one?