Our Day Out

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                                   GCSE Coursework English Literature

                                                    Our Day Out!

This play is called Our Day Out. It is about a school trip with a progress class to Conway castle in Wales.

 

These children are from an inner city school in a deprived part of Liverpool. Along the way the children get into trouble due too bad behaviour. Mrs Kay is the main teacher for the progress class she is shrewd, relaxed and realises that these children need lots of attention and encouragement. However Mr Briggs (who has been asked by the head teacher to go along) is one of the strictest teachers in the school and has little sympathy for, or understanding of the progress class. He also has a very different attitude towards education compared to Mrs Kay. Mr Briggs strongly believes that the children need to be disciplined and thinks that Mrs Kay is more like a ‘mother rather than a teacher’. In 1970’s when Willy Russell wrote the play there was a lack of money, lots of unemployment, economic recession, erosion of manual and unskilled work, poor education and prospects. Willy Russell uses the conflict between the teachers to show how the education for these children is regarded and also how society has failed these pupils. What we have to remember is that this play is based on reality and that Willy Russell used to teach in Liverpool schools. He wants us to look at the pupils and think why they do bad things, such as smoking, stealing and swearing, so he shows us situations where the children begin to find out about the better things in life, but shows that they are also unattainable for them. To do this he uses dramatic techniques by using dramatic scenes that have a story beneath them. An example of this is when they all go to the zoo and the children steal the animals and hide them in their jackets on the bus. This shows that the children have the potential to look after these animals and other things and want to, but do not have the opportunity in their lives.

     

Carol is the most disadvantaged pupil she has poor vocabulary and communication skills, these reflect her poor background and lack of education. She also has a short memory and seems confused and mistaken about Wales and many other things.

   

Scene one shows that Carol is the most disadvantaged child in the progress class. She shows up ready to go on the school trip wearing her school uniform, this also doubles a street outfit and her Sunday best. She is eating half a sandwich and for a bag she has a supermarket carrier bag. Carol then tries to cross the road without the aid of the lollipop man, who stops her and is very surprised to hear she actually wants to go to school. An example of her short memory is when Les (the lollipop man) asks where she is going on her school trip and despite been excited about going she cannot remember.

   

On page thirteen when they are leaving the city Carol shows her lack of vocabulary by pausing constantly and using vague words. For example- Carol: “Isn’t it horrible, eh, miss.” Mrs Kay: “mm?” Carol: “Y’know ….. all the thingy like. The dirt an that, (pause) I like them nice places.” The way she speaks and describes things and the way she places words in sentences sounds humorous and makes her sound dumb. This makes me have sympathy for her because it shows real deprivation. Other quotes that make you feel sorry for Carol are when she says to Mrs Kay- “If I started to work hard now and I learned how to read, eh? Well d’y’think I’d be able t’live in one of them nice places?” This makes me sympathise for her as does Mrs Kay who knows that there is hardly any chance that she will be able to achieve any where near as much, this is because she has no basic skill. Mrs Kay: “Well you could try, couldn’t you, love. Eh?” This is Mrs Kay’s reply. This shows that she wants Carol to feel like she can talk to her and wants Carol to never give up on life. The tone of the language is of a soft kind-hearted one. Mrs Kay purposely does not add to Carols hope of her dream because she does not want Carol to feel like she is failing, or that she should give up. Mrs Kay then goes on and links Carols arm. This shows that she really cares for the children and possibly even sees Carol as a sort of friend. I think Willy Russell uses Carol to portray the lack of education and opportunity there is around the children.

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In scene twenty-two the class have all gone to the zoo for a bit of fun in the spare time they have, Ronson, Mr Briggs, Andrews and two of the girls are gathered around the bears. They are all discussing the bears. Ronson talks about the bears as if they are human. You can compare the bear’s situation to his. For example- if you consider it as a metaphor: the pit is Liverpool and the bears are children who know that there is something better out there and go wild when they are released from captivity! ...

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