Although Edward has studied at university, he isn’t as intelligent as Mickey is. This is because Edward flaunts his money that he has got. As a youngster Edward was a posh and polite young boy. However he was gullible and still is. A quote to show this is ‘I can go and get you some’ this is what Edward says after Mickey asks him for a cigarette. On page 71 we once again see that Edward is gullible. ’I thought we were blood brothers’, this quote shows that Edward is gullible because he believed Mickey that they were blood brothers when they were youngsters. Also this quote shows that Edward is childish because he still believed that him and Mickey were blood brothers at the age of 18. Edward is childish and gullible because of his family background and the way he has been brought up. Edward had been bought up to trust people in the story and also because he does not have responsibilities towards his family and worries about being able to afford for his baby he is still childish because he has got a lot of money which gives him a lot of freedom and the power to be able to anything.
On pages 70-71 Edward enters the scene as being a happy and cheerful character.
Edward acts childish by putting his hands over Mickey’s eyes ‘Guess who’ this shows that he is childish but is also excited and happy about Christmas. I think that Edward should run towards Mickey, quickly put his hands over Mickey’s eyes and shout this and say it in a ‘father Christmas’ voice. This would show that Edward is in a good mood and is very excited about Christmas.
By contrast, Mickey on the other hand should have a quieter voice to show that he is upset and depressed. He should turn around to see it is Edward and say ‘Father Christmas’ but should say it without looking amused. When Edward says ‘Mickey... Merry Christmas’
To make the fact that he is happy and cheerful obvious he should walk around in a fast speed and look around him self while he is talking to Mickey about him being in university. Edward should also look down at the pavement or look up into the sky. This would give an impression that he is trying to imagine his friends at university. I think Mickey should look un-amused at Edward and then turn his head so he is not facing Edward. Mickey would do this so then the audience can see that he is upset and depressed because he has not got any money.
When Edward says ‘Come on then… I’m back where’s the action, the booze, the Christmas parties and the birds’ this quote would be said in an exited voice. To show that Edward is excited I think he should be jumping and walking around. However after Edward says this Mickey should look mad and not excited as Edward is. I think he should show hi anger by shouting at Edward and saying to him ‘you… you’re a dickhead’, Mickey should say this after Edward asks him ‘Mickey what’s wrong’,. Edward would look confused and unsure why Mickey is behaving like this with him.
Edward leaves the stage upset and hurt. This is because Mickey is gets really annoyed with Edward because he jumps up and down on the stage. Another reason why Mickey gets really annoyed with Edward is because he mentions the party and thinks that there is going to be one because Mickey told him that ‘I’ll have a Christmas party and booze and birds all ready for you when you come back’. In the story Mickey could not afford to have a party because he spent his money on his wedding with Linda.
Apart from being naïve and childish Edward is also unintelligent, this is shown by the quote ‘why is a job so important’. Edward says this by looking at Mickey with a confused look.
In this play the main theme of the play is class. The theme has been shown throughout the play and is very important particularly on pages 70-71. The theme first shown is the story when Mrs Lyons hires Mrs Johnston as a cleaner in her house. Mrs Lyons lives in an upper-class lifestyle where as Mrs Johnston, who live in a workers-class lifestyle. Mrs Lyons is given respect by others because she is a rich and wealthy woman. This is why Mrs Lyons thinks that it is all right to say to Mrs Johnston ‘Give one to me’. This refers to her asking Mrs Johnston for one of the twins because Mrs Lyons cannot have any children. Also Mrs Lyons ask Mrs Johnston for one of her twins because she comes to know that Mrs Johnston would not be able to keep them both, therefore she think it is alright for her to ask for a baby from Mrs Johnston. Mrs Johnston is not educated like Mrs Lyons, which allow Mrs Lyons to lie to Mrs Johnston and tell her ‘all your children will be taken away by the social’. This quote also shows that Mrs Lyons can give orders to Mrs Johnston because she is wealthy and has got plenty of money. This gives her power. The quote shows that Mrs Lyons can give orders to Mrs Johnston and expect her to get whatever she wants.
Mrs Lyons says this to Mrs Johnston when Mrs Johnston regrets her decision and wants her child back.
Also because of class Mrs Lyons says ‘Give one of them to me’. Mrs Lyons says this to Mrs Johnston when she is told that Mrs Johnston will be having twins but cannot afford to keep them both. This shows that Mrs Lyons can give orders to Mrs Johnston because she is wealthy and has got plenty of money. This gives her power. The quote shows that Mrs Lyons can give orders to Mrs Johnston and expect her to get whatever she wants.
Also another part of the story where class is important is when Mickey, Edward and Linda get into trouble as youngsters with a police officer.
The policeman notices that Linda, Mickey and Edward are chucking stones through a window. The policeman immediately went over to the three of them and asked them what they were doing. Mickey and Linda were terrified when the policeman approached them. However Edward answers the policeman’s questions with by telling him unbelievable things such as ‘waiting for the ninety-two bus’ and telling the officer that his name is ‘Adolph Hitler’. This is because Edward was brought up to trust and believe people. In this situation Edward believes Mickey when Mickey tells him that he always misbehaves when a policeman arrives. To impress him Edward tells the policeman things that Mickey would say according to Edward. However, literally Mickey would not misbehave in front of a policeman.
In this part of the scene it is Edward who misbehaves with the policeman but Mickey and Linda are the ones who get into trouble. This is also because of class. The policeman told Mrs Johnston ‘He was about to commit a serious crime love’ and ‘You don’t want to end up in court again now do you?’ This shows that the policeman has not got any respect of manners for Mrs Johnston. The policeman also judges Mrs Johnston and makes the prank that they have done sound more serious than it is.
However when the policeman goes to see the Lyons, as he enters their house he takes off his helmet and approaches them with a totally different manner. He tells them ‘it was more of a prank really; I’d just dock his pocket money if I was you’. This shows that he has got respect for the Lyons, which is because they are rich and wealthy. Mr Lyons offers the policeman a glass of scotch, which is a bribe for the policeman in order for him not to make it sound serious.
The ways that the policeman treated both the parents are completely different. One reason that he treats the parents different is because Sammy, who is Mrs Johnson’s son, has committed crimes in the past. Another reason why the policeman treats the parents in a different way is because Mrs Johnston comes from a working class lifestyle. Because she is form a working class lifestyle this shows that Mrs Johnson has not got a lot of money, which gives her no power over anything. Also because Mrs Johnson is from a working class lifestyle this shows to the policeman that she is not intelligent and did not get any education like the people who have upper-class lifestyles. Because Mrs Johnson is not educated like the Lyons the policeman takes an advantage of this and says ‘he’s committed a serious crime love’. However because Mr and Mrs Lyons are both highly educated he tells them that ‘it was more of a prank really’.
In the story class affected both Mickey and Edward. Because of class they both became enemies. This is because it leads them to different paths in life. Edward who is from an upper-class background and is able to go to university. On the other hand, because Mickey is from a working-class lifestyle he is not able to go to university instead he has to grow up quick in order to get a job in a factory at the age of 18.
On pages 70-71 we knew that Mickey had gotten married to Linda who was pregnant and had got fired from his job while Edward was at university. We see on pages 70-71 that Mickey is depressed and stressed.
When Edward comes back from university he acts childish in the scene ‘guess who’ Mickey replies to him ‘Father Christmas’. Both these quotes show that Edward is childish. By contrast, it shows that Mickey is mature because in the scene he does not look amused. The reason why Edward acts like a child is again because of class. He is from an upper-class lifestyle which allows him to still act like a child because he does not have any responsibilities or any worries abut starting a family or having a job where as, Mickey had to grow up quick because he is from a working-class which makes him poor. Mickey is has got responsibilities about starting a family and having a baby. Mickey also has got worries about finding a job because he has gotten fired from his job, which makes things worse for him because he is newly married, and will be having a baby, who he will not be able to provide for without having a job.
Edward asks Mickey ‘why is a job so important’ this shows that he doesn’t understand what a job means to people and why it is important. Edward says ‘look..look money, money plenty of it’ This quote shows that Edward can flaunt his money about and give it to Mickey as if it is nothing. This shows that he doesn’t know the importance of having money and thinks that money does not have to earn money whereas Mickey thinks it is important to earn money rather than just have it handed to you for nothing.
In the play Mickey and Edward use a complete different language. Mickey uses a ‘slang’ language where as Edward uses a ‘formal’ language. This is because they are both from different backgrounds. Mickey is from a working-class lifestyle where as Edward is from an upper-class lifestyle.
Willy Russell has made Mickey a character that uses slang language because of the way he was brought up and because of his background.
In the play Mickey would say ‘piss off’ and ‘dick head’. This is type of language that Mickey would use in the play. Willy Russell has used this type of language to make the play sound more realistic to the audience.
By contrast, Edward uses a complete different language compared to Mickey. This is because Edward comes from an upper-class background. Because of class Willy Russell has given Edward a formal language to speak through out the play.
Mickey teaches Edward swears such as ‘fuck off’. However because Edward speaks a formal language he does not know ho to use it. An example of using it properly is ‘Just fuck off’, however because Edward has not been taught how to use it he says ‘Mummy you’re a fuck off’. This shows that he does not know how to use it appropriately also Edward has been bought up without socialising with people who swear, there for he has been bought up without knowing or learning swears from his friends.
In the play Mickey says ‘gis a ciggie’ this shows that Mickey is rude. The audience or the reader can tell by using the language that Mickey is rude and impolite. Also because of the use of language the audience know that Edward is polite ‘pardon’. This is something that Mickey would not say. This is because he has been bought up by not getting things that he would want or would have to share the things that he would get with his seven brothers and sisters.
Further more, as both, Mickey and Edward grow up, at the age of eighteen it is shown in the play that Mickey has not changed as much as Edward has with his language. Edward is influenced by Mickey and learns how to swear and use slang. A quote to show this is ‘go shag the vicar’ this quote shows that Edward uses a bit of rudeness. However it is still quiet posh, this is because if Mickey was to say this he would use a much ruder word than ‘shag’ in this line.
At the age of 18 Mickey’s language has not changed as much as Edwards, this is because he still uses slang language through out the whole of the play.
In conclusion I think that this play was important because it shows the differences between classes and shows how important class.
Because Edward was from an upper-class background he was able to afford whatever he wanted, he was also able to get a better education and go to university.
However Mickey’s life was completely different compared to Edwards. This is because Mickey is from a working-class background which means that he could not get the things that he wanted, however if he was to get the things he wanted he would often have to share them with his brothers and sisters. Also, because Mickey was from a working-class background him or his family had no respect ‘you could go to court for this missus’.
It is shown in the play that as Edward and Mickey grew up, at the age of 18 they both led different lives because of class. Edward was studying in university where as Mickey worked in a factory making cardboard boxes. However when Mickey got fired from his job he had a lot of responsibilities and worries about his future. This was because he had gotten married to Linda, who was pregnant. This shows that Mickey had worries and responsibilities towards his family. On the other hand, Edward did not because he had money which gave him power. This meant that he was able to do anything that he wanted.
In the play it is shown that people from working-classes did not get better educations in schools and also they did not get a chance to go to university. This was because going to university cost a fortune for people who lived in a working-class lifestyle.
It also shows in the play that people who lived working-class lifestyles got jobs when they left school. This was because they had to get jobs in order to provide for their families.
I think the play tells us that class is important in Britain. This is because it shows that which ever people are form upper-class backgrounds they are respected by other and have got power where as people who are form working-class backgrounds they are not respected at all, also they can be fooled or mistaken because they are not highly educated as rich people.
I recent times I think this has only changes slightly. This is because people who are from working-class are still treated the same as upper-class children. This is because they are highly educated and can go to university if they wish to and become someone who is highly educated and respected.
However I think that this has only changed slightly because some people from working-class backgrounds are treated different from people who are from upper-class backgrounds. An example of this would be that if a pop star and a factory worker are living in the same hotel, the hotel would make sure that the pop star would be comfortable in their room and would keep on checking if they needed anything or if they had any problems. However they would not be giving the same treatment to the factory worker as they would be giving to the pop star. This is because of class.
There fore I think that class has only slightly changed in Britain.
