Journey's End GCSE Student Guide by Andrew Maunder

Author:Andrew Maunder [Maunder, Andrew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781474232302
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2019-12-10T06:00:00+00:00

Things to do

1In 1927, the novelist E.M. Forster made a distinction between flat and round characters. Flat characters, who tend to be less prominent in novels and plays, are those who we do not get to know very well – they are always the same. They tend to be distinguished by a single trait or catchphrase and can seem cartoonish. Round characters meanwhile, appear more like the people we might encounter in ‘real life’, possessing a mixture of features and emotions, and the author tries to suggest a complex personality which gradually emerges over the course of the events. According to Forster flat characters ‘are sometimes called types, and sometimes caricatures. In their purest form, they are constructed round a single idea or quality: when there is more than one factor in them, we get the beginning of the curve towards the round.’ An advantage of flat characters, argued Forster was ‘that they are easily remembered … afterwards. They remain in [the] … mind as unalterable for the reason that they were not changed by circumstances’ (Aspects of the Novel, 73–4). We can transfer these ideas to Journey’s End. Look at the cast list of characters at the front of the play. Which could be described as ‘round? Are there any which could be described as ‘flat’?

2From the list below, choose five words that you think best describe each character. Find a line from the text to support or evidence each of your choices.

Affectionate Ambitious Anxious Bitter Brave Calm Caring Childish Cold Competitive Content Conventional Cowardly Cruel Deceitful Difficult Dishonest Easy-going Energetic Free Generous Imaginative Immature Intelligent Irresponsible Irritable Jealous Kind Lonely Loving Loyal Misguided Obstinate Open-minded Paternal Playful Political Prejudiced Protective Proud Relaxed Resentful Resilient Responsible Restricted Sensible Strong Stubborn Warm Weak Wise

3Which character in the play do you sympathize with most? And which least? Use evidence from the text to justify your reactions towards them.

4The play’s characters are given their own personalities and Sherriff wants his audience to be aware of the differences between them. However there are several moments where the role of the characters is more functional and they speak in order to convey information about what has happened, or is happening off stage. This relaying of information to the audience is an important function of stage characters. Find some examples from the text where this happens.

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