Journey's End" by RC, Sherriff was written in the late 1920s, when attitudes towards the First World War began to change and that people began to realize and cope with the horrors of war. . This piece offers a different view of most of the war's commanders compared to the media we see today, where they are usually seen as comic relief. The character of Captain Stanhope is introduced by many other characters, such as Hardy and Osborne, before signing in himself on page twenty-two. Stanhope creates conflict in several ways from the first act of the play and even creates conflict when he is not on stage, which highlights the importance of the character as a whole. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay One of the ways Stanhope creates conflict in the opening act is by using the different opinions Osborne and Hardy have of him, which creates conflict between them. Osborne described Stanhope as "the best company commander we have". The use of "we have" shows that Osborne believes this is a common opinion among his fellow officers and could emphasize that not everyone agrees with Hardy. This could also highlight the bond the officers have with each other and how they are a dysfunctional family, which could explain why they are so loyal to Stanhope. Additionally, the use of the word "got" could also emphasize that Osborne feels that Stanhope will never leave because he can only focus on the war and doesn't want his family to see the man he is became. To expand on this further, the word can also emphasize that Osborne is possessive towards Stanhope because he is the "best" and would not want others to replace him, perhaps this is why Osborne is so defensive towards Hardy . Osborne may want to defend Stanhope because he knows that Stanhope's coping mechanism for war is drinking and Hardy copes with war in another way and does not understand Stanhope. This ties into the idea that Osborne copes with war by acting as a father figure to others, which is particularly evident when Raleigh first enters. Hardy describes Stanhope as "drinking like a fish, as usual". The use of the simile "like a fish" emphasizes that Hardy has no sympathy for Stanhope and views him as an object used for his personal amusement, rather than a man struggling with mental health issues. The use of the phrase after "as usual" adds the feeling that everyone knows his habits and that Osborne should be embarrassed to have to report to a man like this. Additionally, this ties into the idea that Hardy faces the war through humor and may not know how to show sympathy towards Stanhope and uses a "fish" as comic relief. This continues when Hardy uses the phrase "Stanhope really is kind of a monster", pointing out that Hardy has no tact and doesn't care if Osborne might tell Stanhope about this conversation, but that wouldn't be in the Osborne's character. Additionally, this sentence also highlights that Hardy once again sees Stanhope as a source of entertainment and possibly calls him a "monster" because he doesn't know how to express his feelings and can't do so without being rude, even if he doesn't think so. Overall, Stanhope's importance is emphasized in the beginning of the first act as he is mentioned.