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O-LevelLiterature in EnglishDrama2010/11 · May/June 2010 · Q1625 Marks

R.C. SHERRIFF: Journey's End Read this extract, and then answer the question that follows it: Osborne: He's a fine company commander. Raleigh: I bet he is. Last time he was on leave he came down to the school; he'd just got his M.C. and been made captain. He looked splendid! It – sort of – made me feel — Osborne: keen? Raleigh: Yes. Keen to get out here. I was frightfully keen to get into Dennis's regiment. I thought, perhaps, with a bit of luck I might get to the same battalion. 5 Osborne: It's a big fluke to have got to the same company. Raleigh: I know. It's an amazing bit of luck. When I was at the base I did an awful thing. You see, my uncle's at the base – he has to detail officers to regiments — 10 Osborne: General Raleigh? Raleigh: Yes. I went to see him on the quiet and asked him if he could get me into this battalion. He bit my head off, and said I'd got to be treated like everybody else — 15 Osborne: Yes? Raleigh: — and next day I was told I was coming to this battalion. Osborne: Funny, wasn't it? Extraordinary coincidence! 20 Raleigh: And when I got to Battalion Headquarters, and the colonel told me to report to “C” Company, I could have cheered. I expect Dennis'll be frightfully surprised to see me. I've got a message for him. Osborne: From the colonel? 25 Raleigh: No. From my sister. Osborne: Your sister? Raleigh: Yes. You see, Dennis used to stay with us, and naturally my sister [he hesitates] – well – perhaps I ought not. Osborne: That's all right. I didn't actually know that Stanhope — 30 Raleigh: They're not - er – officially engaged — Osborne: No? Raleigh: She'll be awfully glad I'm with him here; I can write and tell her all about him. He doesn't say much in his letters; can we write often? 35 Osborne: Oh, yes. Letters are collected every day. There is a pause. Raleigh: You don't think Dennis'll mind my – sort of - forcing myself into his company? I never thought of that; I was so keen. Osborne: No, of course he won't. [Pause] You say it's – it's a good time since you last saw him? 40 Raleigh: Let's see. It was in the summer last year – nearly a year ago. Osborne: You know, Raleigh, you mustn't expect to find him – quite the same. 45 Raleigh: Oh? Osborne: You see, he's been out here a long time. It – it tells on a man – rather badly - Raleigh: [thinking] Yes, of course, I suppose it does. Osborne: You may find he's – he's a little bit quick-tempered. 50 Raleigh: [laughing] Oh, I know old Dennis's temper! I remember once at school he caught some chaps in a study with a bottle of whisky. Lord! the roof nearly blew off. He gave them a dozen each with a cricket stump. Osborne laughs. 55 Osborne: He was so keen on the fellows in the house keeping fit. He was frightfully down on smoking – and that sort of thing. You must remember he's commanded this company for a long time - through all sorts of rotten times. It's – it's a big strain on a man. 60 Raleigh: Oh, it must be. Osborne: If you notice a difference in Stanhope – you'll know it's only the strain – Raleigh: Oh, yes. How do you think Sherriff's writing conveys the tension below the surface in this conversation?

  1. (a)How do you think Sherriff's writing conveys the tension below the surface in this conversation?[25]

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2010). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

  1. [25] On the surface this is a pleasant conversation between the new boy and a welcoming veteran.
  2. [25] However, as the conversation develops, so does the tension below the surface.
  3. [25] As Raleigh describes how he got to the Company, his embarrassment becomes quite evident and it also becomes apparent that Osborne's unease is mounting.
  4. [25] His comment on the coincidence of Raleigh's posting is as near as he ever gets in the play to possible sarcasm.
  5. [25] However, clearly much more concerning to him is the emerging hero worship which has impelled the young man to pull strings so outrageously.
  6. [25] In addition he is presented with knowledge of Stanhope's life back home.
  7. [25] He struggles to prepare Raleigh for the shock of seeing Stanhope and what he surmises is likely to be the latter's reaction to having his fiancé's brother foisted on him.
  8. [25] He handles this with characteristic tact but the concern is evident, most obviously in the way the pauses in mid sentence suggest an attempt to let the young man down lightly.
  9. [25] Reasonable reward should go to those who grasp the underlying reasons for the tension and manage some detailed support for their ideas.
  10. [25] Higher reward will go to those who show how Sherriff shapes the dialogue to mirror thoughts below the surface.
  11. [25] Refer to the band descriptors in arriving at your mark.

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About this question

Topic
Drama, O-Level Literature in English (syllabus 2010). Structured question, 25 marks.
Source
O-Level Literature in English, May/June 2010 Paper 1 Variant 1, question 16.

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