Stanhope

‘There is more than one hero in Journey’s End.”
The reader relates the word “hero” with mainly one character in the play. But the word hero has many positive connotations. A hero could be a person who “saves the day” or is a hero in somebody else’s eyes or maybe even his personality and how he interacts with other characters could also give him the status of being a hero. There are many aspects of Stanhope which rightfully award him the status of being a hero.  
The reader is first introduced to the possibility of Stanhope being a hero when we first meet Raleigh. A keen and un-experienced officer, Raleigh forces himself into Stanhope’s battalion. Stanhope was Raleigh’s hero ever since high school, Raleigh mentioning Stanhope regularly in his conversations shows how Raleigh looks up to him.
After Raleigh's arrival, Stanhope reacts twice in act one to different things, but Raleigh seems to go on unknowing, oblivious to Stanhope’s change in attitude from school, showing that Raleigh admires Stanhope even more. Stanhope suspects that his constant need for alcohol to keep him going will be reported Raleigh's letter home makes him angry. This is only Stanhope's view, however, Osborne tells him: 'You imagine things'. Stanhope is the corrected moments later when Raleigh's letter is read out: 'I'm awfully proud to think he's my friend’ /this shows to Stanhope that Raleigh understands he’s conditions. In the letter he even mentions all the nice things such as how all the soldiers say how he’s always lighting the mood and never getting any sleep.  
Another act of heroism of Stanhope is when Hibbert is determined to leave the front line because of neuralgia. Unimpressed Stanhope trying to force him to stay saying, “Dr. Preston’s never let shirker pass him yet – and he’s not going to start now…” As the scene goes on we see the how firm Stanhope is on keeping Hibbert here, mentioning to Hibbert that he too has neuralgia and that if he can stand it so can he. After many...