Presentation of Sacrifice Terence Mervyn Rattigan 11th Grade

Principles and sacrifices made to defend those principles is a key theme of “The Winslow Boy”. Many sacrifices were made by the major characters, some out of choice, while others had sacrifices forced upon them by more powerful characters. Terrence Rattigan makes the audience wonder if they would be prepared to make such sacrifices to uphold the Truth. While the postal order that Ronnie was expelled for was only worth a few pounds, Arthur trusts his son is telling the truth and the Navy has made a mistake. He is willing to go through extreme hardship to defend his son on the principle that “an injustice has been done”.

Arthur sacrificed the financial security of his family, his health, his relationship with his wife Grace and his son Dickie. He also lost the some of the respect of his social circle during the case who felt that, with war looming, Arthur’s challenge to the Navy over such a small sum was trivial in comparison. For example, relationships were sacrificed with John Watherstone’s father who thought Arthur was, “Making a huge fuss about nothing.” Arthur says, “I’m tired of being gazed at from the street while eating my mutton, as though I were an animal from the zoo.” The audience would feel distressed and surprised...