nature verses nurture blood brothers

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Nature verses nature

Blood brothers by Willy Russell

Willy Russell’s blood brothers is set in the 1980s and is about two twins that are separated at birth. Mickey goes to stay with his birth mother Mrs Johnstone who lives in the poor end of Liverpool and is a working class single parent who struggles to feed the 7 children she already has. Eddie the other twin goes to stay with the Lyons family for whom Mrs Johnstone works for. The Lyons family are a middle class rich family who can’t have children.

Both twins were brought up very differently. Eddie was brought up in a quiet respectable family who were well educated and taught Eddie to be polite and kind and to share things with other children such as his sweets. Mr Lyons is also a very wealthy business man who works overseas a lot so Mrs Lyons can afford not to work and still be wealthy. However Mickey was brought up very differently and spent most of his time with his older brother Sammy who doesn't ever share things like sweets he usually just steals things of Mickey and off other people. The difference is obvious when Eddie offers Mickey a sweet which Mickey replies to Eddie saying “are you soft?” because no ones usually gives Mickey things unless they have done something to them first like Sammy sometimes does.

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The class difference between the two twins is also apparent when Mickey asks Eddie if he knows what “the F word” is. Eddie has no idea because he was brought up in a society where no one ever uses illiterate language. Mickey however lives on a rough council estate and hears his older brother and the people around him using illiterate language all the time. Eddie then says he’ll look it up “in the dictionary” something that Mickey has never heard of.

The difference in class is clear when the policeman catches Mickey and Eddie throwing stones at ...

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