Mrs Johnson and Mrs Lyons are two very different people, Mrs Johnson hasn’t got much time to spend with her children, and because she is busy working- “I know it’s hard on all you kids, but try and get some sleep. Next week ill be earnin’,” Mrs Lyons on the other hand is over protective and likes Edward to stay with her. She lives in constant fear of Edward discovering the truth.
Class difference in “Blood Brothers” is also seen when Mickey and Eddie meet for the first time aged seven. Their social differences are shown by their language, behaviour of characters and how they react to each other.
Eddie is naïve he has a sheltered life and is carefree, happy “bright and forthcoming.” He is well educated and has a ‘posh’ accent, “super fun, actually” Also he knows what a dictionary is. Eddie talks to Mickey happily despite their differences and with confidence offers a sweet.
Mickey on the other hand is bored, suspicious streetwise and he has learnt to distrust others. He uses slang words and with a strong dialect swears. “Piss off” and he brags that he knows “the f word”. Mickey is suspicious of Edwards friendship and is shocked when given a sweet, he doesn’t understand Eddie’s world, “are you soft?” because “around here y’ have to ask about 20 million times” to get something.
Edward has been brought up in a rich family so he speaks more properly than Mickey- “well, my mummy doesn’t allow me to play down here actually.” Mickey on the other hand doesn’t, he swears more often and uses slang words- “but I’m not playin’ now cos I’m pissed off.”
Neither Mickey nor Eddie are fully aware of social differences between them, they decided to become ‘blood brothers’ despite their differences, “do you wanna be my blood brother, Eddie?” They are drawn together because each sees things in the other they like. Eddie -“you know the most smashing things.”
When Eddie and Mickey are caught by a policeman, about to throw bricks through a window we see the change in the policeman’s behaviour, when talking to Mrs Johnson and Mrs Lyons which also highlights the social differences between rich and poor in the play. The policeman treats Mrs Johnson as an outcast when he talks down to her, he becomes authoritive and threatening, and he describes the incident as “a serious crime.” “Either you keep them in order, misses, or it’ll be the courts for you or worst.” Telling “there’ll be no more bloody warnings.”
Towards Mr and Mrs Lyons he is respectful, he removes his helmet. He recognises the status that wealth brings and acts quite differently. He is nervous and hesitates when speaking, “an er, as I say, it was more of a prank, really.” The policeman uses one phrase which sums up the social gulf between rich and poor, “make sure he keeps with his own kind, Mr Lyons”
By the age of 18 Eddie is a student at university and Mickey is a worker in a factory, and we see their social differences are now much obvious. Each character is trapped by social circumstances and the gulf is widening between them. Their friendship cannot survive because they now lead very different lives. Edward has good career prospects and is at university; he has many more opportunities and enjoys life and his freedom. He enters the stage laughing and joking- “(leaping out in front of them) Mickey… (laughing) Merry Christmas.” This contrasts with the sombre scene before where Mickey is shown loosing his job. Eddie still wants Mickey’s friendship, “I thought we were blood brothers.” Edward has money so he cannot realise what it is like to be without. Mickey has been made redundant, living on the dole, “old before his time.” Due to pressure of supporting Linda and his unborn child he is worn out and depressed. His behaviour is “dejected”; he is unable to share Eddie’s enthusiasm. He uses one word answers and has a bitter tone, “I’m sick to the teeth of Christmas an’ it isn’t even here yet”. Mickey realises the social differences more clearly than Eddie “I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t because …I grew up an’ you didn’t, because you didn’t need to”. Mickey becomes to proud and so rejects Edward’s offer of money, he sees it as a charity, and “money cannot buy a job or a future.”
Edward’s life has turned out fine supported by his wealthy parents and he went to university, but Mickey’s hasn’t gone to plan, and he feels resentment towards Edward’s easy life. Edward just wants to have fun at Christmas but Mickey starts getting depressed and angry because he has no money to support his wife and his unborn child.
Willy Russell develops the social differences further which in turn contributes to the end of the play by showing Mickey’s gradual decline in pressure for money, which leads Mickey to act as look out for Sammy in a garage raid. Mickey spends time in jail, and becomes more depressed and addicted to anti-depressant pills. Edward, meanwhile, becomes a councillor and helps Linda to fix up Mickey with a job, and they have an affair. Mrs Lyons’ jealousy and hatred forces her to tell Mickey.
Mickey confronts Eddie with a gun at a council meeting, bitter and angry- “how come you got everything… an’ I got nothin’?” Anger at the world and his situation makes him lash out, but cannot bring him self to kill Eddie. Mrs Johnson appears and reveals “he’s your brother”. Mickey realises that nothing is different between them, except for their social backgrounds. All the pent-up bitterness and frustration with his life explodes as he realises that “could have been… I could have been him!” Neither Mickey nor Eddie were different except from their different backgrounds. Mickey got the tough life and Eddie got the easy life, because one family had more money than the other. Eddie got to be a councillor and Mickey a redundant worker.
In conclusion, Willy Russell demonstrates class difference through out his play by using two equal boys and putting them in different house holds. Their lives change dramatically because of their class, each of them are treated differently just because of wealth and status. Mickey and Edward’s lives are partly ruled by fate, they have little power to change their lives, and their characters are trapped by social circumstances. The final comment is telling- “And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?” This forces the viewer think about social class and the effect it has on our lives and whether we should allow class differences to effect our treatment of others.
