Raleigh and Stanhope

“Journey’s end” and “The Accrington Pals” are both plays that talk about the First World War, that period of fight that was open in 1914 and finished with an armistice on the 8th November 1918. Both the plays describe the cruel conditions that war leads to, but, each of them, focuses on different points. For instance, Journey’s End, written by R.C.Sheriff , centers on the relationships between the soldiers, such as   what is known as fellowship. Differently, the play “ The Accrignton Pals”, written by Whelan, prefers treating another theme, such as the friendship between women, during a crucial period, like war, when your most close-knit friends or relatives have gone away, joining the army.   The two plays don’t differ just for the plot, but also for the environment, in which they are set. Indeed, the first play named, is set in the trenches, on the frontline, while the second one, is staged on the home-front, alternating May’s kitchen and the frontline as main places. This makes us think, there’s an example of correlation between the setting and the plot, in fact, if we think back to “Journey’s end”, the behavior of the character, or at least their way of expressing themselves, are different that those in the “Accrington Pals”. Just think back at the scene where Raleigh dies. Everything is blowing up, it’s the war’s peak, and, of course, everyone feels desperate. More the environment around the characters appears “mad”, more the characters of the play are “mad”.   Moreover, if we go through the plays, we can get that the ranges of characters differ completely, in fact, in the first play, the characters are just males, while in the second one, the characters are mainly women, considering that Whelan treats about women’s attitude towards war, and their interests.
In both the plays, there are plenty of characters, but the ones that caught my attention most, are Raleigh, in “Journey’s End”, and Tom, in “The Accrington Pals”. I think I’ve chosen them, because, they may...