Quote What does it reveal about How does it help us understand Why is Sherriff exploring this idea in this

Why is Sherriff exploring this idea in this way?

Stanhope/Hibbert? what they are going through?
Not a drunkard; just a hard
drinker; but you’re quite
right about his nerves. They
are all to blazes… Lost
control of himself;

This neuralgia of mine. I’m

afraid I can’t stick it any
longer-

Every sound up there makes

me all – cold and sick.

. Sometimes I feel I could
just lie down on this bed and
pretend I was paralysed or
something — and couldn't
move — and just lie there till
I died — or was dragged
away.
This reveals that Stanhope is
so desperate to avoid any
more trauma in war he is
prepared to act like a
stereotypical coward in war
and pretend that he has some
sort of physical difficulty which
no longer allows him to fight.
By emphasising the verb “died” Sherriff is highlighting how even those soldiers we may consider as
Sherriff is helping the audience heroic in their deeds also suffered from shell shock which reveals to
understand the terrible consequences the audience that being in combat had a deep psychological impact
of shell shock and how his mental often resulting in them considering lying about being ill in order to
avoid the terror of battle.
trauma has resulted in his death wish.
The use of dashes creates a sense of
how his disjointed speech is mirroring
his fractured mental state.
Shall we go on together? We
know how we both feel now.
Shall we see if we can stick it
together?