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
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
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