Exploration in the Ways in Which the Theme Heroism Is Presented in “Journeys End” and “Birdsong”.
Birdsong & Journey’s End
Both Faulks and Sherriff in their realistic portrayals of trench warfare present a new style of hero. These heroes can be related to because of their strengths but also their weaknesses. In order to fully appreciate this, it is important to explore the setting from which these extraordinary men appear.
In “Journey’s End” we see Sherriff utilise the very nature of his art form. He does this by making use of his characters physical presence when performing, as a play is essentially a visual experience. His use of such stage directions as “his eyes are wide and staring” convey the desired emotions to the audience, in this case the horror and dismay of the loss of his comrade. Use of this technique is employed throughout the play such as when Sherriff describes the actor’s response “Stanhope turns wildly upon Raleigh” reflecting the end of his patience and the start of a conflict. In each case the emotional turmoil faced by the hero is easily visible to the audience.
Birdsong employs graphic imagery in place of visual representation. Where as in “Journey’s End” we get the description of how “Mr Raleigh’s been ‘it sir. Bit of shell’s got ‘im in the back”, in “Birdsong” when Douglas is injured we are provided with a vivid description of how Stephen’s “hand was going in towards the man’s lung” and how “his blood ran up the inside of Stephen’s uniform. It was on his face and in his hair.” The mental images the text produces however are far much more striking than those in “Journey’s End”; the fact that we are given a stream of consciousness lets us relate to the actual experience a lot more. Stephen’s mental note that the blood “had a peculiar smell, not unpleasant itself …it was fresh; it was like the smell at the back of a butcher’s shop” makes the sensory experience we envisage more poignant than the visual experience of a play.
This technique contrasts to the prose of Birdsong. This is not to say that a play does not allow this as well. The
Both Faulks and Sherriff in their realistic portrayals of trench warfare present a new style of hero. These heroes can be related to because of their strengths but also their weaknesses. In order to fully appreciate this, it is important to explore the setting from which these extraordinary men appear.
In “Journey’s End” we see Sherriff utilise the very nature of his art form. He does this by making use of his characters physical presence when performing, as a play is essentially a visual experience. His use of such stage directions as “his eyes are wide and staring” convey the desired emotions to the audience, in this case the horror and dismay of the loss of his comrade. Use of this technique is employed throughout the play such as when Sherriff describes the actor’s response “Stanhope turns wildly upon Raleigh” reflecting the end of his patience and the start of a conflict. In each case the emotional turmoil faced by the hero is easily visible to the audience.
Birdsong employs graphic imagery in place of visual representation. Where as in “Journey’s End” we get the description of how “Mr Raleigh’s been ‘it sir. Bit of shell’s got ‘im in the back”, in “Birdsong” when Douglas is injured we are provided with a vivid description of how Stephen’s “hand was going in towards the man’s lung” and how “his blood ran up the inside of Stephen’s uniform. It was on his face and in his hair.” The mental images the text produces however are far much more striking than those in “Journey’s End”; the fact that we are given a stream of consciousness lets us relate to the actual experience a lot more. Stephen’s mental note that the blood “had a peculiar smell, not unpleasant itself …it was fresh; it was like the smell at the back of a butcher’s shop” makes the sensory experience we envisage more poignant than the visual experience of a play.
This technique contrasts to the prose of Birdsong. This is not to say that a play does not allow this as well. The