Carol is the voice of the children. She shows us how they feel. Through carols character we can see they are vulnerable and helpless, no bright future and probably problems back at home. Carol shocks us when she is on the verge of suicide. It makes us feel sympathy and sorry for the children. they probably won’t be able to live in them big houses Carol talks about with all the trees and plants right near the sea.
Carol doesn’t know many words or how to get people’s attention, but she has learned that tugging on Mrs Kay’s arm will get the comprehensible teachers attention. Carol also uses the local dialect. Carol cannot really pronounce words effectively which Russell uses to show her lack of education. Carol also repeats words like: “y’know” and “miss” due to her limit of vocabulary, she also uses pauses to show an effect and dreams allot.
In the play, the Progress Class are going on a trip to Conwy in Wales. Due to the lack of education Carol doesn’t know where this is which is actually quite sad and emotional, but the audience thinks it’s funny due to Conwy being only about 20 – 30 miles away, and the way that Russell (very effectively) brings humour to this dismal, gloomy part in the play.
The day out is a very eventful one. At first there’s the bus journey. The children are all excited because most of them have never left Liverpool. Some children even said “Do we have to get a boat?” suggesting that some of the kids think u need to cross the river to get beyond Liverpool. There’s smoking on the bus, bullying over seats, cheekiness towards the teachers but generally the children are in upbeat moods. The bus makes a stop at a café. Mrs Kay lets the children enter the shop part alone. They go wild and steal lots of sweets and chocolate. The shop keepers call the children “thieving bastards.” But Russell has constructed the scene it in a humorous way so that we see the funny side and forgive the children.
As mentioned in previous paragraphs, Carol is a bit of a day dreamer and her dreams are very creative like what’s she’s going to do when she leaves school. But due to the hidden message that Russell timidly lays out throughout the play that Carol has a burdened lack of education, she won’t easily be able to get a job that pays well enough for her to make a break away from Liverpool, so her dreams will never become actualised.
The Progress Class visits the zoo before they reach Conwy. Mr Briggs is taking a group around when they come across a pit with a bear in it. In my opinion, the following conversation that Ronson has with Briggs is another way that Willy Russell snidely provides the readers with a sense of knowledge. This knowledge is that the young boy Ronson relates a bear in its pit to their own life. Here are evidential quotations for my thoughts:
First, Andrew shows slight interest in Briggs’ knowledge of this bear and starts to question “An’ could it kill y’, sir?”
To which Briggs sarcastically replies “Well, why do you think it’s kept in a pit?”
Ronson then introduces himself to this conversation with a quote that questions Mr Briggs’ thoughts on this bear pit by stating “I think that’s cruel. Don’t you?”
To which Mr Briggs counters “No, Not if it’s treated well. And don’t forget it was born in captivity so it won’t know any other sort of life.”
Although listening to this teacher of obvious great knowledge of this conversational subject, Ronson still sticks to his theory that it is cruel by confidently stating “I’ll bet it does, sir.”
I think so far in this conversation, Briggs is starting to doubt his knowledge once that Ronson, the under achieving, uneducated pupil starts to make him think more deeply about his thoughts. The conversation then continues when Ronson thinks the bear only kills people because it’s kept in captivity and treated cruelly to get his point across he questions: “Well, why does it kill people then?... It kills them cos they’re cruel to it. They keep it in a pit so when it gets out it’s bound to be mad an’ wanna kill people. Don’t you see?” When I read this point it greatly surprised me, Ronson seems to have a very valid point and a great way of persuading his peers and Mr Briggs into believing this point by the use of rhetorical questions.
Ronson continues with his point with some more added effects of persuasive language when he advances by quoting “it must know about other ways of living, sir. Y’ know, free, like the way people have stopped it livin’.” I think this a very important line in this play, maybe Ronson has so much knowledge of this subject because he feels like the bear does, in the way that it has such a poor and downgraded life, hasn’t ever seen other life before this day, but still senses that there’s better life outside of his area. Mr Briggs then brings the conversation to a halt when he states “Well I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Ronson.” Mr Briggs uses this short sentence because he cannot argue points with Ronson anymore, maybe because it may hurt Ronson as he’s so closely related to this lifestyle, and/or because Ronson is right but Briggs doesn’t want to admit this fact.
At the zoo there is more humour as the children steal animals from the children’s farm. We, yet again, forgive them as the described look of innocence in their eyes make us feel sorry for them once more because they have probably never visited a zoo or even had pets before.
At the castle the children run riot as they have never been provided with such freedom. Mrs Kay just wants to give the children a good day out and in their case, a once in a lifetime opportunity of a good day out but Briggs thinks otherwise. He believes how the children are acting is unacceptable and the whole trip is an “ill organized affair” when infact the trip was organized to give the children freedom.
Mrs Kay decides to treat the children by taking them to the beach. While all of the children are taking advantage of the fun their having today and getting everything they can from it by enjoying themselves, Carol thinks more deeply about the day and runs off to the cliff.
We find out the reason for such a heart stopping moment in the play in Carols and Briggs’ conversation were Carol says emotionally “why can’t I just stay out here, eh? Why can’t I live in one of them nice white house’s an’ do the garden an’ that?” and “It’s been a great day today. I loved it. I don’t wanna leave here an’ go home...” This is where we really get to know Carol She doesn’t want to leave Wales and considers jumping off the cliff because she doesn’t want to go back to Liverpool. During this scene we also see a different side to Briggs. Mr Briggs changes from confrontational to compassionate showing that he finally understands the children. He listens to Carol and he makes us believe he does actually care. He gives her kind words of advice and persuades her therefore helping her from doing something that everyone would regret. A big shot of rapid tension is when Briggs successfully persuades Carol but she slips of the end of the cliff, Mr Briggs swiftly came to the rescue bringing her to safety away from the deadly cliff. After this Mr Briggs surprisingly thought for a treat he’ll take the class to the fun fair.
When they get back to school Mr Briggs turns back to confrontational as Mrs Kay excitingly says “I’ve got some gems of you here. We’ll have one of these up in the staff room when their developed... Don’t worry...I’m not going to let you forget the day you enjoyed yourself.” Mr Briggs couldn’t bare the fact that Mrs Kay has got pictures of him interacting with the pupils and having great fun, maybe this is because he’s worried about losing his respect and discipline at school if people see this, so he persuades Mrs Kay that he’ll print them using the school facilities, saving Mrs Kay money for getting them developed. Instead of printing them Mr Briggs pulls the film out and destroys the films so that there is no evidence of him having fun. So exposing films is symbolic of wiping away the good done. I think this is very selfish of Mr Briggs, the children stated that they had adored this day out and even appreciated teachers for the first time, now all they have left of this trip is memories which will only fade away.
