On Being The Youngest.
On Being The Youngest "I hate being the baby!" That's a common statement one hears all too often. I'm the youngest one in my family,and the only girl among two brothers at that. Quite a number of my friends are the eldest among their siblings, and from what I've heard from them, their little sisters and brothers are probably just a few years away from the friendly neighbourhood psychiatrist. What with all the abuse, it's a miracle how they avoid becoming physically and emotionally retarded. ( sorry guys, I just had to stand up for those poor kids!). However, I firmly believe that every cloud has a silver lining, even if it's not always visible. Being the youngest, we do gain a few vital skills to survive in this dog eat dog world. In the process of getting pinched, slapped, punched, and kicked around by our older siblings, we develop a strong retaliation mindset that keeps us from being obliterated by our demented siblings. You decapitated my Tropical Swimsuit Barbie ? Look, your Hot Wheels were so hot, they melted! Undoubtedly, my brothers have suffered the wrath of my active self-defence mechanism more than once. Even if I fail to get back at them physically (I'm just a gentle, innocent girl, okay?), I generally make sure they pay by spiriting away their beloved possessions. It's amazing how many nooks and crannies one can find in a standard double- storeyed house. Sure,
Blood Brothers-What is the importance of Linda as a whole.
'What is the importance of Linda in the play as a whole?' This essay is based on the importance of Linda and her role in Blood Brothers as a whole. Linda has a very vital role in this play as she is part of the two main characters Mickey and Edward's dream. At the beginning of the musical Linda wasn't shown much as she was a minor character at that moment, however during the middle Willy Russell brought her in as an important role that had to be introduced for the two dreams to take place. Linda is also a very vital character in this musical because she is the major cause of Mickey and Edward's death, and Linda is also the link loved by both men. This musical was set in the 1950-1960s, one of the reasons why Willy Russell wrote this musical, was to show the contrast between a working class woman and a rich woman, he cared very much about the woman rights and Willy Russell used this musical to support his belief. Linda was one of those whom to be a working class woman, she is portrayed a poor, uneducated and a hard working woman. Willy Russell invites us to judge Linda for ourselves and encourages us to give out our own opinions about her. Linda is such a significant character to Blood Brothers as what we see in her is a assertive and loyal woman and comparing Linda to all those stereo typical ladies that have an affair, Linda is nothing like
Neither mother is without guilt. How far would you agree with with this statement about the mothers in Willy Russell's 'Blood Brothers'?
Blood Brothers Essay Neither mother is without guilt. How far would you agree with with this statement about the mothers in Willy Russell's 'Blood Brothers'? The story introduces us to the situation of twin boys separated at birth and they grow up in different controlled environments. They both live a different life and have the same tragic fate and die. "You do know what they say about twins, secretly parted don't you ... that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, they shall both immediately die." This was a predicted unofficial superstition that comes true. Mrs Johnstone is the main character. We meet her at the begging of the play and discover that her husband has left her. She already has seven children and has an extremely difficult life. Mrs Johnstone can be regarded as guilty for a number of reasons. One such reason is that she buys more things then she can afford, "When I got me job, I thought I would be able to pay." Mrs Johnstone explains. Mrs Johnstone also accepts Mrs Lyons plan to give a child to her, Mrs Johnstone agrees. Mrs Johnstone can be called a lair as she lied to all her other children about one of the twins. She tells them one of the twins has died, "He's gone up to heaven love." Another guilty deed Mrs Johnstone did was her lack in discipline she had for her children. She didn't punish her children when they did something wrong. If
Response phase - as part of our Drama Portfolio we were asked to study the play 'Blood Brothers' and re-enact parts of the production.
RESPONSE PHASE As part of our Drama Portfolio we were asked to study the play 'Blood Brothers' and re-enact parts of the production. Firstly, as a class we read the play/novel of Blood Brothers written by Willy Russell. The play is basically about two brothers, both separated from birth. One child was given away to a middle/upper class family and the other was kept in the natural family of a lower class. The two brothers meet up and become 'blood brothers' by the joining of their blood, both not knowing they are real brothers. Numerous encounters put the boys in trouble and bring them closer together until an event whereupon they become estranged. Mickey Johnstone(the poorer of the pair) shoots Eddie Lyons (the richer man) following an argument about the woman, Linda, who is married to Mickey. Mickey discovers that Linda and Eddie have been conducting an affair without him knowing. The play is set in the heart of Liverpool. Mickey is a typical Liverpudlian and is attracted to the upper class lifestyle that Eddie leads. Eddie is also attracted to Mickey by the 'cool' words and funny nature of the boy. Eddie likes the funny stories that Mickey tells and when they first meet he laughs for hours after listening to the witty but not always true tales. I enjoyed the play as it was enthralling and exciting in most places and therefore gave us the opportunity to
Directing a production of the final scene of Willy Russell's 'BLOOD BROTHERS'
GCSE English Post 1914 Drama Coursework Directing a production of the final scene of Willy Russell's 'BLOOD BROTHERS' In this piece of coursework, I am going to describe how I would direct the final scene in the play 'BLOOD BROTHER'S' written by Willy Russell's. I will use all aspects of theatre such as characterisation, mood, themes, and dramatic techniques. Furthermore, I will write on how I want the actor to say their lines (softly, slowly, desperate etc.), what kinds of lighting I will use (spotlights, faded, colours, shadows etc), how the actors should move (stance, position, movement, body language etc) and on the music and sound effects (volume, atmosphere etc). This play was written in Liverpool in 1914 although it is set in London 1914. Russell does seem to have the intention to discuss class divisions, which seems to be one of the themes of the play. Throughout the whole play the classes are affecting the two brother's relationships greatly. I believe that Russell's done a great job of successfully blending in comedy and tragedy, as thought the play, life is seen as a joke to Mickey and the play ends as a tragedy. At the time when the play was being written, there was a lot of class divinisation going around in Liverpool, which could have been, the cause for Russell to also add it in to his play. In the final scene, Mickey questions Edward whether he is having
What is Willy Russell telling us about class and society in 1980(TM)s Britain in the play Blood Brothers and how
What is Willy Russell telling us about class and society in 1980's Britain in the play Blood Brothers and how? Blood Brothers is a play by Willy Russel set in the 1980's which brings forward several issues about them time period, for example the split between social class and the high unemployment rate. In my opinion this is an interesting play which keeps the readers attention throughout with a dark end. The narrative revolves around twins that were separated at birth and grow up together being friends and not knowing the truth about their past, the play has a narrator which is very much a fundamental element in the play, he reveals in the opening scene that should the twins ever find out the truth they will both die, which adds to the tension and dramatic irony throughout the play which I will discuss later on. Throughout the story Russel is telling us about class and society, about how different the two ends of the spectrum are that if your poor your treated like your poor and if your rich your treated like a higher class human being. One way that Russel shows us the difference between the two social classes is a technique called cross cutting, this is showing once scene and then after it showing an almost opposite of this, Russel uses technique throughout the play however one main scene is when Micky, Eddie and Linda are caught by a policeman throwing stones at
Blood brothers by Willy Russell Analyse how Russell presents the brothers first meeting act one p22-27 what does the meeting reveal about the social and historical context of the play and how does it prepare us for the rest of the play.
Blood brothers by Willy Russell Analyse how Russell presents the brothers first meeting act one p22-27 what does the meeting reveal about the social and historical context of the play and how does it prepare us for the rest of the play. One of the reasons that Willy Russell created this play to show us the difference in class difference that existed in Liverpool at the time 1980. He shows the difference by showing us the contrasting lives of both of the mothers and boys. Mrs Johnstone has a hard life having to work hard for a living and Mrs Lyons has an easy life and this also applies to the boys Mickey lives a hard life and Edward lives an easy life. He shows us that education, living conditions, housing and wealth can be affect someone's class and social background. This is shown by their education is different Edward's education is better than Mickey this is shown by Mickey not knowing what an dictionary is I know this because he says "course I do it's a, it's a thingy innit which implies that he doesn't know what it is". Willy Russell is the author of the play 'Blood Brothers'. 'Blood Brother' is set in Liverpool which influences the storyline of the character Mickey's family live in a rough area of Liverpool then go on to move away from there house and go to live near his brothers family Edward. The setting of the play influence the way Mickey speak he has a
Who does the audience blame most for the deaths in
Who does the audience blame most for the deaths in "Blood Brothers?" Willy Russell was inspired to write the play Blood Brothers when he looked at his own life. He takes the starting point as twins at birth to write the play. I feel that the twins actually represent the two life styles he had during his life. When he was young his life wasn't that luxurious, he was known as a failure at school; I think this represents Mickey. Although he was a failure he had one passion, writing, he went to college and became a famous play writer. He got a lot of money and he became rich. I think that this part of his life represented Eddie. The play starts as The Mother has twins, as she cannot handle it she gives one of her babies to Mrs. Lyons her employer. Mrs. Lyons is worried that The Mother may go back on the deal, she makes up a superstition that if the two brothers find they have both been separated at birth they will both automatically die. They live their certain ways, but they become friends and make a blood brother pact "I will always defend my brother." They are not always the best of friends as they meet Linda, who Mickey marries but gets very jealous as she hangs around with Eddie. This leads into hatred on Mickey's side and leads to him threatening to kill him. But who is to blame for this? What makes this show so brilliant is that there are very few main
How is it possible that two people grow up together in the same family background and conditions, yet turn out to be strangers?
Priyanka Shah Professor Hunt HSS 099 November 2002 How is it possible that two people grow up together in the same family background and conditions, yet turn out to be strangers? How is it possible that two people who have lived together for many years are strangers to each other at the end? In Sonny's Blues, two brothers - the narrator and Sonny, grows up together in Harlem, fall apart as they grow older, and live completely different lives. In Lullaby, Ayah feels that Chato, her husband, has remained stranger to her even when they have spend forty years together, facing all the hardships and sufferings given by life. In Sonny' Blues, the narrator is the older brother who is conservative, determined, and a kind of family person. Sonny, who is his younger brother, is carefree and undecided about his future plans. It is sometimes very difficult to understand how two people coming from the same background live life completely opposite from each other. As the narrator and Sonny grow into adults, one moves towards "success" and the other moves towards failure. Once when their mother was dead, their lives completely changed. The narrator wants Sonny to finish his school and think about his future seriously. After knowing Sonny's plans to play jazz music, the narrator is surprised and annoyed. His conservative thinking and definition of success makes him unable to understand
Blood Brothers- How does Russell display to his audience the ways that class affects his characters?
How does Russell display to his audience the ways that class affects his characters? Willy Russell's musical, Blood Brothers is an entertaining story, written with didactic intent. At first look, it is about two twins who are separated at birth, and then become 'blood brothers' and best friends, until both of their lives end in tragedy. At the end of the play, the narrator leaves us with a question hanging as the explanation of the tragedy that occurs- "And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have came to know as class?"- Page 82 Russell's' intent is to show his audience how class effects peoples everyday lives, and causes problems in society. He does this by showing us an extreme situation using identical twins; just to show us how two people born exactly the same in every way are affected and changed by the social class system. The play is about two families who Russell uses to represent the two different sides of the class system. He shows us how they face different problems in everyday life and how what class you are in, affects the life you live. Russell also sends the message through this play that money cannot buy everything and cannot always bring love; as Mrs Lyons finds out with her 'son' Eddie. The play also makes the audience realise how other classes are often ignorant of other classes' issues, and are naïve of