R.C Sherriff's "Journey's End" - Act 3 Quiz

Answer: Coffee

This isn't of real importance - I was just surprised Stanhope wasn't calling for more whisky, as that is what he mainly drinks and what he usually calls for. Stanhope admitted to Osborne in Act One that if he "went up those steps into the front line - without being doped with whisky", he'd go "mad with fright", so it is obvious that he depends on alcohol to keep him going.

Answer: Three

The fact that there is only one hole in the enemy wire means that the Germans will know where the raid party (including Raleigh and Osborne) will attack! Stanhope realises this and mentions it to the Colonel but he says "It's no use worrying about that now", meaning that the men will be sacrificing their lives when the Colonel doesn't care very much.

Answer: His watch, wedding ring and a letter

"If anything should happen", Osborne would like Stanhope to send them to his wife. Later in the scene, Raleigh sees Osborne's ring and picks it up. It is only then when the penny drops and Raleigh realises that Osborne will die.

Answer: Margate Pier

Osborne wants to talk about anything other than the war, in order to protect Raleigh, but Raleigh insists that "it's so difficult to - to talk about anything else."

Answer: Wie heißt du?

In "somewhat poor German", the Colonel asks what the prisoner's regiment is, what his regiment's number is and when he came here. The prisoner answered: "Wurtembergisches", "Zwanzig" and "Gestern abend". This means his regiment is "Twentieth Wurtembergers" and he came yesterday evening.

The Colonel does NOT ask "Wie heißt du?" which means "What is your name?" as this information is not relevant to him.

Answer: 'Must you sit on Osborne's bed?'

Yes, Stanhope merely says "Must you sit on Osborne's bed?" which gives the impression that he cared more about Osborne than he does for Raleigh. Some viewers may even feel that Stanhope blames Raleigh for returning alive, when Osborne did not. The other answers for these questions do not feature in "Journey's End" at all.

Answer: True

An unpleasant side of Hibbert is shown because he is disrespectful to women, telling stories of when he took two women out for a "joy-ride" and threatened to "chuck 'em both out in the road" if they didn't "shut up". Hibbert says this - and more - to show off to Stanhope, but it is also due to the amount of alcohol he has drunk.

Answer: He couldn't celebrate because Osborne died

Hibbert informs Stanhope that Raleigh "liked being up there with the men better than down here with us." Feeling sad that Raleigh doesn't hero-worship him any more, Stanhope gets upset and angry. He also doesn't want to be replaced by becoming the favourite and the new hero. When Raleigh admits he couldn't eat the luxuries "when Osborne's - lying - out there", Stanhope breaks and shows his true feelings.

He says: "The one man I could trust - my best friend - the one man I could talk to as man to man".

This part of the play is very dramatic because of the conflict between these two friends and very moving because it shows how war has changed them.

Answer: Hibbert

Hibbert asks for water and "sips it very slowly", deliberately stalling. Stanhope tells him "The longer you stay here, the harder it'll be to go up", but he is also talking to himself. Stanhope never does go up and participate in the Big Attack, however.

Answer: Lancer's Alley

The shelling is "thick over Lancer's Alley" but at Fosse Way, the sergeant-major says it's "pretty bad there, too." The main problem with the fact that Lancer's Alley is blocked means that the injured won't be able to get to hospital.

Answer: False

Raleigh had his spine broken when a "bit of shell's got 'im in the back". The Sergeant-Major informed Stanhope that he can't "move 'is legs" and he's hurt badly, but the wounded cannot be taken to hospital easily, due to heavy shelling. Stanhope tells him to bring Raleigh down into the dug-out.

Answer: False

Stanhope tells him that a shell has "just gone through a bit", but he doesn't tell him the reason he can't move is that he has broken his spine. This shows us that Stanhope wants to protect Raleigh and doesn't want to worry him.

Answer: dark

Raleigh asks Stanhope if he could get him a light, and so Stanhope goes to get a candle and another blanket. During this time, a "tiny sound comes from where Raleigh is lying - something between a sob and a moan" which indicates Raleigh's death.

Answer: Trotter

A soldier, Broughton, hurries to deliver Trotter's message - "Will you come at once" - but Stanhope is numb, due to his childhood friend's death. He merely "gazes round at the soldier - and makes no other sign". Broughton has to repeat his message before Stanhope finally speaks: "All right, Broughton, I'm coming." These are Stanhope's last words in the play.

Answer: That Stanhope dies

In the final moments of the play, a shell hits the dug-out which cause the timber props of the door cave in and the sandbags to fall and block the passage to the open air. The shock "stabs out the candle flame" which suggests that at last, all the hope is gone.
We do not officially know whether Stanhope gets killed, as it does not say this in the stage directions, but we can assume that he has because he was standing at the top of the steps of the dug-out.
We know that both Osborne and Raleigh die and will not come back, so those answers are incorrect. We cannot assume that the Germans have won because we cannot see anything on stage other than the lonely dug-out. All that can be heard is the "dull rattle of machine-guns and the fevered spatter of rifle fire."