How is the character 'Mrs Johnstone' portrayed in the play 'Blood Brothers'?
How is the character 'Mrs Johnstone' portrayed in the play 'Blood Brothers'? In this essay, I am going to explain how the character 'Mrs Johnstone' is portrayed in the play 'Blood Brothers'. At the start of the play the audience are told that she is only twenty-five years old and already has had seven children. This suggests that she is naturally a maternal character, embracing new life and showing her caring personality. William Russell (Russell) may also be hinting at religious rulings against contraception in her life, therefore implying that she is a Catholic. The character 'Mrs Johnstone' is also portrayed as an extremely poor woman. I know this because at the end of the play she says to Mickey (before shooting Edward) 'I couldn't afford to keep both of you'. This shows the readers that she is trapped by poverty and reinforces the idea that it is difficult for her to take care for her children and is ultimately the reason why she gave Edward away to the middle-class 'Mrs Lyons'. Russell suggests that she is 'old before her time'. This indicates that she had to sacrifice any youthful enjoyment and financial security to care for her children - she cannot gain financial security because she is unable to get a full-time job, due to her having to care for the children and the decline in the economy. 'Mrs Johnstone' is also uneducated and Russell implies this through a
Blood Brothers
"Blood Brothers" is a musical by Willy Russell. It is one of the longest-running works of musical theatre in history. The musical has a contemporary nature vs. nurture plot, revolving around fraternal twins who were separated at birth. The twins' different backgrounds take them to opposite ends of the social spectrum, one becoming an Oxbridge-graduated councilor and the other unemployed and imprisoned. Both fall in love with the same girl, with tragic consequences. The play writer, Willy Russell was born a scout in Liverpool. He grew up in a working class family. After leaving school with one O-level in English, he first became a ladies hairdresser and ran his own salon. Russell then undertook a variety of jobs, also writing songs which were performed in local folk clubs. He also contributed songs and sketches to local radio programmes. At 20 years old, he returned to college and became a teacher in the Toxteth area of Liverpool. Around this time he met his wife, Annie, and became interested in writing drama. As Willly Russell was brought up in the working class its not surprising that he left school with just one O - level. Also it's not surprising that he wrote a play write showing the digression of growing up in the working class. "Class" is central to the story as it is a theme that exists throughout the play. Willy Russell has shown the class affects people's lives by
Compare how Willy Russell portrays the two families in 'Blood Brothers' and account for the different reactions of the audience to the Johnstones and Lyons' throughout the play.
Compare how Willy Russell portrays the two families in 'Blood Brothers' and account for the different reactions of the audience to the Johnstones and Lyons' throughout the play. Blood Brothers by Willy Russell is set in Liverpool. The play was first written in the early 1980s and performed to a secondary school in 1982. The play is about two twin brothers who were separated at birth. Mickey stayed with his birth mother, Mrs Johnstone, and Mrs Lyons picked Edward. Seven years later they meet up and perform a blood brothers ritual. When they reach the age of 18 Mickey and Linda are expecting a baby and get married. Edward still likes Linda. Mickey does a job for Sammy and gets put away for seven years; Edward helps and gets Mickey a house and job. Mickey and Edward fall out and it ends with a bloody end. Willy Russell shows that families are very different by small details that you cant pick out but know that they are there. You can see the differences between the two families throughout the play. From the very beginning of the play we can see that the mothers are very different. You can really tell that Mrs Johnstone is a working class lady and she has aged a lot since her first child, people used to say she looked like Marilyn Monroe, 'they said the bride looked lovelier than Marilyn Monroe'. Mrs Johnstone has to work hard to feed all of her seven children, 'It's
HOW DOES WILLY RUSSEL BUILD UP DRAMATIC TENSION AT THE END OF THE PLAY 'BLOOD BROTHERS'
HOW DOES WILLY RUSSEL BUILD UP DRAMATIC TENSION AT THE END OF THE PLAY 'BLOOD BROTHERS'? The play Blood Brothers was set in Liverpool in 1950's. There was a huge difference between rich and poor on those days. Most people were facing poverty in those days. This play is all about a women called Mrs Johnstone and her children. She had twins. She couldn't afford to look after both of them so she gave one away to her employer Mrs Lyons. The play shows the lives of the boys when they grow up and the consequences of the mother's actions. In this essay we will be focusing and analysing 'how tension is created at the end of the play which ends in tragedy. The narrator gives us clues about what is going to happen, which increases tension for the audience. The tension is stretched to the limit when Mrs Lyons shows Edward and Linda to Mickey. This event spurs Mickey on to seek revenge against Edward because he feels betrayed by him and Linda. Mickey reacted by ''comb the town, breaking through groups of people, looking, searching........ going to do''. It shows that he is out of control and he is counting to kill Edward. This is evident when the writer uses the words like searching, looking, desperate.....''. He doesn't even know that what is he looking for or what to do further. The words that the writer uses to show Mickey's agitated mood, heightens tension to the
Educating Rita. How the character of Rita changes.
Critical Essay: Educating Rita. The play "Education Rita" by Willy Russell has a character that undergoes a dramatic change during the course of the play. Rita is a character who changes during the play. It is set in a "Victorian-built university in the North of England, in a book-lined tutorial room." The play is based around Rita White, a hairdresser who is dissatisfied with her work and wants to transform herself. To do so, she goes to an Open University course. The themes surrounding this play are the transformative nature of education, self-discovery and class. In this essay I will show how the writer uses setting and key scenes to show Rita undergoing dramatic changes. One technique the writer uses in the play is the setting. The play is set in a "book-lined tutorial room in a Victorian-built university in the North of England." Rita first arrives like an alien coming from one world to another. We see that she has to overcome obstacles straight away when she struggles to open Frank's tutorial door. "I am comin' in... It's this stupid bleedin' handle on the door." This is symbolic as it means the academic world is not easy to get into. A painting in the room catches Rita's attention. We learn from stage directions that 'Rita is looking at a nude-painting. She becomes aware that Frank is watching her." Rita is not as educated as Frank and describes the painting as
With Reference to Act 1 Scene 4 & Act 1 Scene 7 as a basis, explore how Educating Rita is a play about the clash of Class & Culture
With Reference to Act 1 Scene 4 & Act 1 Scene 7 as a basis, explore how 'Educating Rita' is a play about the clash of Class & Culture 'Educating Rita' is a play that is essentially based around the clash of Class and Culture. Rita, 26-year-old scouse women, is looking to improve her life, to do this she decides to Sign up for the Open University; Rita wants to become a Middle Class Student. Her Husband "Denny" wants Rita to conform to the Working class Expectation and settle down and have a baby. Rita was put with a troubled Middle class tutor who is not satisfied with the middle class life. Act 1 Scene 4 and Act 1 scene 7 show clearly the clash between Class and Culture. Willy Russell, the author of 'Educating Rita', based to play on his upbringing; Willy was a working class child, which was attempting to become middle Class. Willy didn't care about school. Willy was an avid reader; Willy never went out to the theatre to help him with his studies, unlike Rita. Russell enrolled in an O level English literature course and passed it just like Rita enrolled herself for the Open University and worked her way towards being able to make her own choices in life. In act 1 scene 4 and act 1 scene 7 it is shown how hard it is to get an education. The Open University was established in 1969 and when the Open University opened to make it a lot easier for women to find an education no
With close reference to her speech in Act 1 Scene 4, how does Rita represent the views of Willy Russell?
With close reference to her speech in Act 1 Scene 4, how does Rita represent the views of Willy Russell? In this essay I will try to conclude whether Rita can be seen as the voice of Willy Russell. I will look at the views they share as well as the ones they may not. Throughout this essay I will refer to Rita's speech in Act 1 Scene 4 of the play as well as making reference to other parts of the play. Rita makes it clear in her speech that she does not want to follow the life that people do from her working class background. She says the she wants to "break away" from the people that are getting in the way of her progression and that she becomes "stronger comin' here" (the university). This follows on from Willy Russell experience of going on a trip to the factory when he was younger. He tells us how "most of the kids with whom I visited that place accepted that it was their lot to end up in that place", however, like he portrays Rita as not wanting to stick to her premade path of life, he also shows that he didn't feel comfortable with accepting the route his background had made for his life, proving that Rita has expressed his views. Rita's socialist views come through in this speech as she believes that the powerful people in society use their influence to make the working class background believe that they can't be more than they want to. She believes that the national