What is the importance of the narrator in blood brothers?

What is the importance of the narrator in Blood Brothers? One of the most compulsory characters in Willy Russell's 1983 play Blood Brothers is the narrator. He is the main dramatic device and is critical for the audience. He makes the plot constantly flow and explains loose ends throughout the story. As well as being the narrator he plays various minor roles. He sings many songs, which show characters' emotions, and introduce and develop important themes. The narrator's main focus is to explain the story and what's happening. After long sections of speech he will briefly explain what's just happened, in case the actions don't make it clear. He also makes sure you fully understand the story. One example is just after Mickey shoots someone. The gun goes off and straight after the narrator says, "There's a man lies bleeding on a garage floor." This explains someone has just been shot and because you don't see it, you might not have known it had happened without him. He appears to be very omniscient by dropping hints about things that are going to happen in the future. This is one of the many devices he uses, to reveal the plot. The narrator plays many small roles in Blood Brothers as well as being the main character. Some examples are the milkman, Mrs Johnstone's ex husband, the policeman, the gynaecologist and the judge. All of these roles seem to bring negativity and bad

  • Word count: 938
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Educating Rita - Show how Rita has changed and developed during the course of this play.

Educating Rita Coursework. "Found a culture have you Rita? Found a better song to sing have you? No you've found a different song that's all and on your lips it's shrill and hollow and tuneless." My intentions within this assignment are to show how Rita has changed and developed during the course of this play. I will give my opinions and views on the choices that she made. Before continuing I feel it is necessary to look at the text and explain the metaphor "singing a better song". This is used in the play on two different occasions; Rita's mother uses it the first time late one night in the pub after thinking that Rita had given up her university studies. Rita was having thoughts of giving up, and enters the pub to join her family and friends. As she stands in the door way she questions herself "why don't I just pack it in an' stay with them, an' join in the singin'?" She briefly joined in the singing. Rita noticed her mother had stopped singing and was sat there crying. Rita asked why she was crying she replies by saying "Because - because we could sing better songs than those." What her mother is really saying is that Rita is too good for them all and that she should go out get an education and a better life. "A better song to sing." Towards the end of the play Frank uses the same metaphor but extends it by adding "No - you've found a different song that's all

  • Word count: 1788
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The German Job

The German Job By Tom Prendergast I could tell he was aiming bottom left. I just knew by the way he was standing nervously, waiting for the whistle. Putting the shiny white ball on the perfectly marked spot, stepping slowly back, lining up the crucial shot. Everyone silent. Ten other players hoping their schoolboy dreams would come true. Seventy six thousand fans from around the world packed into the Olympiastadion Berlin waiting anxiously for one single kick. Tens of millions watching carefully from houses, pubs and streets and then there was us, ten rows up, right behind the goal with a perfect view of the fear in the taker's eyes, ready to jump up in joy or drop in despair and after coming all this way we needed something special. All that long, hard labour, all of those brainless, dangerous risks and the bits of luck we had along the way, but to get so close to our dream only to be crushed and by the worst possible team, but........... wait, I better tell you how we got here first. My name is Jonathan Francis, also know as John, Jono, Frankie, Francy, Franny, King Kong - don't ask, but most people call me Johnny. I've always had this dream, since I was little enough to kick a ball, to go to a World Cup Final and see England win against the Germans in the final - for obvious reasons, but I always knew that it wasn't going to be very likely with it always being

  • Word count: 2727
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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How does Willy Russell address issues of gender in the extracts from 'Shirley Valentine'?

Task: How does Willy Russell address issues of gender in the extracts from 'Shirley Valentine'? The 1980's was a decade of reform from what was considered the expected roles of society. A major youth society emerged with more youths being independent from their older generations at an earlier age; this is signified by the masses of music written at the time aimed at the youth and the boost in nightclubs. Following the movements of the 70's and early 80's women's rights had been greatly changed; their roles in the work place had been widened, women now could take more senior positions as equals to the men unlike generations before where women would be housewives or be employed work which was seen as appropriately feminine at the time. Similarly roles in the relationships were changing; those women who were now full time worker in powerful positions could no longer look after the children and household as housewives, as was common in previous generations, instead it became more common for marriages and families to be formed late in life, for relationships where the roles of the housewife would be shared between both husband and wife or even for the husband to assume the role as a househusband. It is here in this time where Willy Russell sets his play 'Shirley Valentine'. The play is a monologue from the character Shirley, a middle aged woman, the wife of Joe, a believer that a

  • Word count: 989
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Frank Lampard is one of the best midfielders in English football and an inspiration too many. At just 27 he has won a whole array of awards r

Frank Lampard Frank Lampard is one of the best midfielders in English football and an inspiration too many. At just 27 he has won a whole array of awards ranging from being voted 'player of the month' several times, to his most recent honour of being voted the second best player in the whole of Europe. He has been influenced by football since he was born. Both his father and uncle have been successful footballers along with his cousin, Jamie Redknapp. Franks career started in 1994 when he was signed by West ham of whom his uncle was the manager of and who his father was currently playing for. Unfortunately he did not make much of an impression and so the fans turned against him. Later he was loaned out to Division two's 'Swansea City' for who he played just 7 games and scored only one goal and was later struck with an injury to his right foot which left him out for the rest season. It wasn't until the 1997/98 season that Frank established himself as a rising star, he had returned to West Ham and was a regular in the squad that went on to win the 'InterToto Cup' when he was spotted by the England U21 manager who snapped him up and made him captain of the England U21 squad. He made a total of 19 appearances and scored 9 goals and managed to find a way into a friendly with the full England squad in 1999. In 2001 Frank became unsettled at West Ham after the departure of his

  • Word count: 434
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Superstition and class are the two reasons which the Narrator has suggested could have caused the deaths of Mickey and Edward. He then asks the audience which one is to blame and this is what I am going to find out in my essay.

"And do we blame superstition for what came to pass, or could it be what we, the English have come to call as class" Superstition and class are the two reasons which the Narrator has suggested could have caused the deaths of Mickey and Edward. He then asks the audience which one is to blame and this is what I am going to find out in my essay. The first sign of superstition occurred early on in the book when Mrs. Johnstone spotted a pair of new shoes on Mrs. Lyons table "New shoes on the table, take them off" When new shoes on the table, it is meant to be unlucky. In the very next scene, Mrs. Johnstone find out that she is pregnant with twins, and not a single child. "You're expecting twins". This is considered unlucky by Mrs. Johnstone because she knew "With one more baby we could have managed, but not with two". Mrs. Johnstone believes in superstition and so she can then blame the extra baby on the new shoes being put on the table. This can then be called a cause of the deaths of the twins, because there would only be one baby. This first superstition then leads onto the second showing of superstition. When Mrs. Jonstone says the first quote, Mrs. Lyons learns that Mrs. Johnstone is superstitious. Mrs. Lyons takes advantage of Mrs. Johnstone by inventing a superstition so that Mrs. Johnstone is unable to tell anyone about her giving one of the babies to Mrs. Lyons. "you

  • Word count: 1284
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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The importance of being an individual in Educating Rita and Pygmalion

The importance of being an individual in 'Educating Rita' and 'Pygmalion' Individuality is definitely an important part in both Rita, and Eliza's characters. They both come from a defined social group or class. Rita comes from the common Liverpudlian working class; she lives (at the start of the play) in a small house with her husband Denny. Eliza is more of a street dweller. She is dirty, and lousy, and lives in a tiny flat with no heating or electricity - she can't afford it. Both of the girls seem quite ordinary for their era, but they both seem a little different from there peers. Rita begins to ask questions to herself, like 'who am I' she thinks about the future and in doing so she acts on her ideas, breaking away from what she knows. Eliza does not seem to be thinking about this, her life is too hard. But when she does get to think about her chance, she grabs it, any thing to escape her current status. Early Eliza and early Rita are both quite insecure, Eliza is very low class, and quite insecure, she is struggling to stay above prostitution, she still has her self respect. Rita is in a better state, although she is insecure, she is very naïve, so she decides to join Open University. She is motivated by curiosity, and the questions she was asking herself, like 'is this all there is in life?' In 1971 there where about a million unemployed people in Liverpool, Rita

  • Word count: 1524
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Trip objectives: Collect stories from children in four different schools and gather it all together to produce a book

The diary of a teenager's experience: One week down in Khao Lak to help children tell their stories to the world Trip objectives: * Collect stories from children in four different schools and gather it all together to produce a book to be sold, hopefully, worldwide. * Paint a mural and fence at Pak Weep School Sunday 26th June 2005 The initial plan was to meet up at Bangkok International Airport, Domestic Terminal at 1400 hrs, by the orange chairs near the Check-In counter. A few were early, a few on time, and yes, some were late. No one is perfect. By the time we gathered everyone as a group and made changes to the groups, we were headed towards the check in counter, half an hour after our meeting time. It's the same every time. Pass your bags through the x-ray machine, queue up at the check in counter, and check in. After that simple process, we were slowly heading inside the waiting area in front of our gate. And for once, we didn't have to walk across the whole terminal, not that it's big or anything, but it can be pretty annoying considering Burger King is right at the front. Lucky for us, it was right opposite our gate. Lunch time. Or maybe not. We had two hours free time to do whatever we wished to do. For the majority of us, it meant sitting down on chairs or floors, or even laying down on the floor to chat to friends and play cards. Boarding time was at

  • Word count: 3607
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Look at the Way Tension is Built up in Scene 35. Examine the Characters of Mr. Briggs and Carol Chandler and Explain how Language adds to the Dramatic Effect of this Scene.

Look at the Way Tension is Built up in Scene 35. Examine the Characters of Mr. Briggs and Carol Chandler and Explain how Language adds to the Dramatic Effect of this Scene. 'Our Day Out' is a play by Willy Russell about a school trip. The trip is undertaken by the Progress Class, also known as the remedial/S.E.N class. Mrs. Kay teaches the Progress Class and has organized the trip. "Y' go down there in the week if y' can't do sums or writing. If y' backward like." At the very beginning of the play Carol explains to Les, the lollipop man, what the progress class is. The progress class is part of an inner-city comprehensive school in a rough area of Liverpool. The trip is to Conwy Castle in Wales but has many unscheduled trips going and coming back. The stops include a trip to the zoo, a beach and the fair. The trip has no educational value and as Mrs. Kay says just before they leave "We want everyone to enjoy themselves." Mrs. Kay says this because she knows that the children won't have many days like this in their lives so she wants to make it a good day out for them. The teachers that are meant to accompany the trip are Susan Colin and Mrs. Kay but the head teacher doesn't trust Mrs. Kay and sends Mr. Briggs to accompany them "I don't want to be unprofessional but I get the feeling that she sees education as one long game." The teachers on the trip don't want

  • Word count: 2056
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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A Close Analysis of Act Two Scenes Four and Five, 'Educating Rita'.

A Close Analysis of Act Two Scenes Four and Five, 'Educating Rita'. In Act Two Scene Four, we see Rita coming in late to Frank's tutorial, which leads to a discussion about whether she should come or not at all. In the end of that scene, Frank gives her some poetry to criticise, the author of which turns out to be him. In Scene Five, when Rita bursts into his office unannounced, she tells him that she loves his poetry. This, however, due to Frank's sarcasm, leads to an argument that sees Rita storming out, which leads the audience to thinking that maybe their so called 'relationship' is over. In Scene Four, Frank tells Rita that he called the hairdressing shop, where she worked: '...When you were so late I phoned the shop...The hairdresser's shop. Where you work. Or should I say, worked...' and Rita replies that she now worked in a bistro. Frank then says: 'You didn't tell me.' And Rita replies 'Didn't I? I thought I did. I was telling someone.' This implies that she now tells other people things, whereas before she used to tell Frank everything. He points this out, and Rita seems surprised that Frank cares so much about where she works. This shows dramatic change in their relationship, compared to the beginning of the play when Frank seemed to be Rita's confidante. When discussion moves on to Rita's workplace, Frank makes a reference to a previous character talked about

  • Word count: 1346
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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