Raleigh Character Analysis

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Officer Raleigh is portrayed as a naïve/boyish man. This can be proven by his childish comments such as when he describes the war as “silly”. Though as naïve/boyish he may be he is eager to prove himself and be recognized as an independent/ responsible soldier. This is seen when Stanhope commands Raleigh to go on duty with Trotter he replies without hesitation “Oh, Right”. Raleigh's character seems to be very timid from the start he has just left school and in a way has almost continued on with his school days; Denis's' presence at the dugout gives Raleigh a sense of protection like when he was a school. He assumes that it will be fun because he thinks Denis will take an immediate liking to Raleigh like when they were back at school. “Yes, rather! We were at school together..." Raleigh is a family and school friend of Stanhope’s whom he glorifies as a "hero figure". This is not directly spoken out by Raleigh but is discovered in a conversation between Stanhope and Osborne, “Small boys at schools usually have their heroes. In short Raleigh is the novice; he is innocent, enthusiastic and is so keen to be a good soldier. The audience learn a lot of things through him: they “play a bit of soccer when [they’re] out of the line”, “the front line’s about fifty yards further on” showing the audience how close they are and it’s “frightfully quiet” which is not what we were expecting but adds to the feeling of being there. Bibliography:- I. http://www.markedbyteachers.com/gcse/english/review-on-raleigh-s-character-in-journeys-end.html II. http://www.studymode.com/essays/In-What-Ways-Does-The-Writer-831923.html III.
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