“I’m just not good enough for you, Barbara …If you want to give me the engagement ring back – I’ll understand.”
To me this shows that he just wants the ring back. Barbara shows that she does not care and wants to marry his nether the less. He then says to her…
“I’ll never lie to you again. Never, I promise…. Darling, There is one thing. I have got a Grannie.”
“I believe you.”
“Only she’s not blind. She’s not very well, though. She’s upstairs sleeping. She might have to have her leg off.”
This is funny as he just promised that he would never lie to her again and he tells her the lie that his Grandmar may have to have his leg off. To me this shows that he does not love her at all. He then tries to put ‘passion pills’ in her drink this shows us that he is just engaged to her so that he can get into bed with her. We also see that he gets frustrated with her when the pills are not working.
“Have an orange.”
“Billy, snatching the bag from her, throws it down and oranges spill out across the floor.”
“You and your bloody oranges!”
To me it is obvious that the only reason he is with Barbara is to have sex with her. I say this because what other reason would he have, to try and spike her drink with the passion pills. I find the part of act one where Billy tries to ‘come on’ to Barbra very funny. This proves that Billy is only marrying her so that he can have sex.
“Would you think it wrong of me to have – feelings?”
“(Briskly and firmly) I think we ought to be married first.”
At the beginning of act we see Barbara telling Billy’s parents about Billy and her being engaged. Billy’s farther, Geoffrey, reacts like he does with any news about Billy being good or bad, which is to insult him.
“I don’t believe in long engagements – but I don’t mind waiting.”
“You’ll wait till bloody Doomsday if you wait for that sackless article. He’s not had a shave yet.”
In this scene I see Geoffrey in a very different light, he still insults Billy a lot but we also see him act like a farther. He takes Billy aside to talk to him. In my opinion this side of Geoffrey shows that he is not a bad Farther and that he is just trying to get the best for his son.
“She’s not – you haven’t got her into trouble – I mean, there’s nothing like that about it, is there?”
“No …No – ‘course not.”
“Billy looks across at his farther and we feel, for a moment, that they are about to make some point of contact.”
“Well, that’s something, anyroad. I suppose she’s all right. Just with you not saying anything, that’s all.”
“Yes.”
This I feel shows that Geoffrey is making some effort towards Billy but yet Billy is replying very blankly. I think that he is some what alienated by his farther acting so earnest so he acts very arrogant. I also think that he does not like taking advice off Geoffrey as he has been insulted by him for so long. The discussion between Billy and Geoffrey turns nasty quickly when Billy shouts at his Grandmother.
“Just a minuet, Grandma …”
“(Ignoring him) You can do as you like, I said. Only, I said, don’t come running back to me when you can’t manage. I said you’ll have it to put up with …”
“(Completely exasperated) For Christ’s Sake Belt up!”
“(Losing his temper completely) You what! (He moves across the room and grabs Billy by his Shirt) You what did you say? What was that? What did you say?”
Not only did a large row occur between Billy and his farther the outcome ended in Billy’s Grandmother falling unconscious.
“Mrs Fisher…”
“(Ignoring Barbara) He wants to get into the bloody army, that’s what he wants to do”
“Yes, and you want to get into the bloody army as well.”
“Mrs Fisher. I don’t think Billy’s Grandma’s very well.”
“Alice, Geoffrey and Billy turn and look at Florence who is sitting slumped in her chair”
As a result of Geoffrey and Billy arguing Florence passed away. Although she was very ill anyway the reader must feel that this situation would not have happened if Billy had not been lying to Barbara and got engaged to her and if he had told his family sooner that he was.
Billy’s second meeting with Rita in act two is to have a lot of consequences than his first. This scene shows us what Rita is like and how desperate she wants to be married. Billy does not really do much in this scene it is more his mother and Barbara. When Billy does try and do something he is almost shouted down by Rita who insults him and his family but I feel that Billy does act very calmly given the situation. I can’t see what Billy could have done as he has gotten him self into a predicament which he could not get out of by simply lying.
“Rita, I don’t think you’ve ever met my mother, have you?”
“No, but she’ll know me again, won’t she? Come on, you and your stinking jewellers. I’m not daft, you know.”
“(Shocked) We’re not having this! Where does she think she is?”
The scene seems to go on a lot like this with Rita not showing any sign of leaving. Rita insults Billy’s mother and then turns to Barbara and then the truth that Bill had been ‘two timing’ them both comes out. Barbara is as naive as always to that fact that Rita ahs been ranting off about the ring. Personally I find the way that Barbara act’s very funny.
“Have you been untrue to me, Billy? I’ve got to know. ”
“(Imitating her) Oooh, have you been untrue to me, Billy! Get out of your pushchair, baby face. (To Billy) You’re just rotten, aren’t you? You are – you’re rotten, all through. I’ve met some people in my time, but of all the lying, scheming … anyway, you gave that ring to me. ”
This quote shows both of the girl’s qualities, how naive Barbara is and how much Rita wants to married. I think that Rita wants to be married to Billy so much for two reasons really. The first being that she wants the security of a husband, something to fall back on. Also I think that she just wants to be married as it may have been popular.
I think that Billy returned home instead of going to London with Liz for several reasons. I don’t think that he wanted to leave his mother on such a sore note as her mother had just died and then she would have lost contact with her son. Also I think that he must have felt guilty about his Grandmothers death and probably blame him self for it, so the least he could have done would have been to go to the funeral. Throughout the play I don’t think that it was just Billy’s fault things turned out the way that they I did. I think that Billy’s farther must take some of the blame as we see in scene three that Geoffrey has been insulting Billy since he was just nine years old. This surely must have had an effect upon Billy’s attitude.
I think that some of Billy’s lie are fantastic and that he can manipulate people so very easily, especially women. Yet I find some of his lies entertaining I feel that some of them are very stupid and that he surly must have know that they would one day turn up and backfire on him. But yet I feel this made it more entertaining as he would constantly lie so recklessly. In some ways I can relate to how Billy use’s his fantasy world as a way of escaping from his everyday life as we all want to get away some times. The problem with Billy was that he used his lies as way of making his life a bit more enjoyable.
The most dramatic scene where Billy’s lie’s catch up to him must be when he is arguing with Geoffrey. Although no knows that he is actually lying it was these lies which in effect caused his grandmas death and cause a lot of tension between the family. I also think that the scene where Rita stormed in the Fisher’s house showed a lot of tension from Billy’s lies.
