What connections are there between "Anansi" and "Billy Liar"?

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What connections are there between “Anansi” and “Billy Liar”?

The plays “Anansi” and “Billy Liar” were written in very different times. Anansi was written in 1992 and is set in 1790 on a ship travelling from Africa, wheras Billy Liar was written in  and is set in an industrial north England town in 1960. The main connection between the two plays is the feeling of being trapped and having a lack of control between the two main characters and the similar methods they use to escape this.

 In “Anansi” the escaping character was the ‘girl’; she was being shipped to an unknown land to be sold into slavery and had no control over the situation she was forced into. In “Billy Liar” the character with a lack of control was ‘Billy Fisher’; Billy has frustrated ambitions and feels the environment in which he lives is holding him back. The ‘girl’ in “Anansi” escapes through the stories about a cunning spider, originally told to her by an old woman with whom she is tied. The old woman encourages her to let her imagination run away, we can see this when she says, “Don’t tie yourself up with words like impossible”. The character of Billy Fisher escapes through his daydreams which he often slips into, he is encouraged by one of his girlfriends, Liz. Billy and Liz dream of growing up together, and sharing a house, in which they will create a room where Billy is Prime Minister, and Liz is Foreign Secretary; "when we go into it, through the door, that’s it, that’s our country". Both characters deal with their issues by creating an imaginary world, which they can control and adapt to any purpose.

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Although this could seem delusional and foolish, it benefited both the characters and gave them freedom. The girl in "Anansi" escapes the cruel world she has been forced into, it confirms that her mind is still free; "what part of you stays free when your arms and legs are tied?". The stories of Anansi also help the girl to realise that even the seemingly weak and helpless people can win against the 'more powerful' characters that appear to be very threatening. An example of this is when Anansi overcomes the Tiger, "what do mean? Answer me, or I'll pull ...

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