Blood Brothers

Question 1

Which decades is ‘Blood Brothers’ set in? What does the playwright use this to show?

Answer 1

1970s and 1980s. Willy Russell uses this to show the reality of Liverpudlian life in the era.

Question 2

Who became Prime Minister during the time that ‘Blood Brothers’ is set and rapidly changed British traditional working-class life? what were the consequences of their actions?

Answer 2

Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 and privatised much of Britain’s manufacturing industry, where many people and their forefathers had worked for years. Widespread unemployment ensued. In Liverpool, where a large proportion of people were shipbuilders, up to 25% — 70,000 — of people were unemployed, which lead to mass poverty. The Johnstones, and Mickey’s redundancy in particular, show the real-life impact of this.

Question 3

What does Russell use the play to explore?

Answer 3

The consequences of poverty and unemployment. He was writing from first-hand experience as he was Liverpudlian.

Question 4

What is the definition of ‘act’?

Answer 4

A section of a play (or opera).

Question 5

What is the definition of ‘audience’?

Answer 5

A group of spectators or listeners.

Question 6

What is the definition of ‘chorus’?

Answer 6

In Ancient Greek theatre, a group of actors who act as one to explain events.

Question 7

What is the definition of ‘colloquial’?

Answer 7

Suitable for informal speech or writing.

Question 8

What is the definition of ‘depravation’?

Answer 8

A lack of something, especially in relation to poverty.

Question 9

What is the definition of ‘dramatic irony’?

Answer 9

When the audience are aware of something that the characters are not.

Question 10

What is the definition of ‘emotive language’?

Answer 10

Language that tends to arouse emotion.

Question 11

What is the definition of ‘foreshadowing’?

Answer 11

Showing or indicating events before they happen.

Question 12

What is the definition of ‘tragedy’?

Answer 12

A serious play in which the hero is destroyed by a personal failing in adverse circumstances.

Question 13

What is the definition of ‘irony’?

Answer 13

Mildly sarcastic use of words to imply the opposite of what is said.
An odd or amusing situation that is the opposite of what one expects.

Question 14

What is the definition of ‘juxtaposition’?

Answer 14

Contrast

Two opposing things put side by side

Question 15

What is the definition of ‘metaphor’?

Answer 15

A figure of speech in which a term is applied to something it does not literally denote in order to imply a resemblance.

Question 16

What is the definition of ‘playwright’?

Answer 16

An author of plays.

Question 17

What is the definition of ‘recession’?

Answer 17

A period of economic difficulty when little is bought or sold.

Question 18

What is the definition of ‘rhyming couplet’?

Answer 18

A pair of successive lines wherein the final words of each rhyme with one another.

Question 19

What is the definition of ‘social divide’?

Answer 19

The division of society into unequal strata.

Question 20

What is the definition of ‘song’?

Answer 20

Music for the voice.

Question 21

What is the definition of ‘stage directions’?

Answer 21

Instructions in a playscript for technical production aspects.

Question 22

What are the most important themes of ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 22

Nature versus nurture.
Violence.
Growing up.
Fate, superstition and control (or lack thereof).
Class and social injustice.
Friendship.

Question 23

Why is nature versus nurture an important theme in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 23

Splitting the twins shows how environment can have a huge impact on life chances. Despite being poorer and less able to provide, Mrs Johnstone has a natural maternal instinct; Mrs Lyons, on the other hand, has a lot of money and privilege but seems unable to show easy maternal love. This impacts the boys and ironically drives Edward towards Mrs J.

Question 24

Why is violence an important theme in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 24

Mickey is exposed to violence from a young age in the games he plays.
Sammy is frequently violent, which eventually leads to Mickey going to prison.
Mrs L also becomes violent due to her mental state and violently threatens Mrs J.
When Mickey finds out the truth, he becomes violent and shoots Edward.

Question 25

Why is growing up an important theme in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 25

The twins’ childhoods are juxtaposed throughout to show how childhood experiences can be different but yet similar. The mothers react to growing up in different ways — Mrs J has experienced it before, but Mrs L is very protective. The Act II montage demonstrates this transition, as Mickey realises that some have to grow up more quickly than others, due to circumstance. The play shows the impact of choices, both ours and others’, on us.

Question 26

Why are fate, superstition and control (or lack thereof) important themes in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 26

Structural features are used from the offset. We are told how the story will end at the beginning — no escaping fate.
Play considers how one decision can affect fate — Mickey realised that Edward’s life could have been his.
Mrs J is highly superstitious at the beginning and Mrs L manipulates her, but her paranoia gradually takes over as the plot progresses and she becomes superstitious also.
The Narrator asks us whether superstition or class was to blame for the blood brothers’ fate.

Question 27

Why are class and social injustice important themes in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 27

Playwright juxtaposes upbringings to demonstrate class injustices. Accents, vocabulary and costumes are used to show class divide. Education is shown as a key dividing factor — Edward’s guarantees university and a good life, whereas Mickey’s is largely pointless and reduces life chances. The Narrator asks whether superstition or class was to blame for the blood brothers’ fate.

Question 28

Why is friendship an important theme in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 28

Edward + Mickey form class-bridging friendship, which is destroyed by Edward’s inability to understand financial pressures and their associated problems, which divides them once again. Linda is loyal to Mickey throughout until he is unreachable, at which point she betrays him.

Question 29

What are the key symbols and motifs in ‘Blood Brothers’?

Answer 29

Guns.
Edward’s locket.
Marilyn Monroe.

Question 30

Why are guns key in ‘Blood Brothers’? what do they represent?

Answer 30

They are shown to be harmless toys that are part of children’s games, but they gradually become more mischievous as Mickey, Linda and Edward play with an air gun and are reprimanded by police. Finally, Sammy’s robbery gun puts Mickey in prison and kills Edward.
They represent:
Violence
Growing up (childhood — games, adolescence — air gun, adulthood — robbery gun)

Question 31

Why is Edward’s locket key in ‘Blood Brothers’? what does it represent?

Answer 31

Mrs L wants to see the secret inside the locket; ironically, she has a bigger secret. The locket also draws Edward closer to his birth mother, even though secret relationship that is unbeknownst to Edward.
It represents:
Secrets
Motherhood’s power

Question 32

Why is Marilyn Monroe a motif in ‘Blood Brothers’? what does she represent?

Answer 32

Mr J was attracted to Mrs J because she resembled the film star, but she was replaced when she aged — a tragedy, just like Monroe’s life. 
She represents:
Sexuality
Vulnerability
Secrets
The tragic life of Mrs J

Question 33

Who is Mrs Johnstone?

Answer 33

She is a single-mother former cleaner w/ nine children. She is desperate to provide and often struggles, yet she constantly regrets her decision to give Edward away.

Question 34

Who is Mrs Lyons?

Answer 34

Middle-class, infertile woman that is desperate for children. She is lonely — Mr L is often away on business trips — but lacks maternal warmth. Mrs L hatches a plan to raise one of the twins because she is cunning.

Question 35

Who is Mickey?

Answer 35

The twin who gets the ‘short straw’ in life. He demonstrates how our life chances can determine who we become.

Question 36

Who is Edward?

Answer 36

The twin that was given away. He is privileged — private school + uni; nevertheless, he never experiences the maternal kindness that Mickey knows.

Question 37

Who is Mr Lyons?

Answer 37

A wealthy, middle-class businessman. He possesses no understanding of his wife’s desperation for a baby nor her deep paranoia for Edward. He also shows little-to-no care for his employees during the unemployment crisis.

Question 38

Who is Linda?

Answer 38

She is Mickey’s friend who falls in love with him. She stands up for him but his decline pushes her to the limit and she feels trapped by the life she has created.

Question 39

Who is Sammy?

Answer 39

Mrs J’s son who is older than Mickey. He is a violent bully who gets more violent as the play progresses. At first, Mickey looks up to him, but he becomes a threat.

Question 40

Who is the Narrator in Blood Brothers?

Answer 40

The Narrator stays on stage throughout and comments on/narrates events. They ask the audience to speculate about who is the blame for the play’s events, which highlights the need for moral contemplation and conversation around social class and injustice in general.

Question 41

Give some adjectives to describe Mrs Johnstone.

Answer 41

Warm
Poor
Naïve
Struggling
Caring

Question 42

Give some adjectives to describe Mrs Lyons.

Answer 42

Wealthy
Cunning
Lonely

Question 43

Give some adjectives to describe Mickey.

Answer 43

Chaotic
Stubborn
Depressed

Question 44

Give some adjectives to describe Edward.

Answer 44

Naïve

Jolly

Question 45

Give some adjectives to describe Mr Lyons.

Answer 45

Dismissive
Cold
Unsympathetic

Question 46

Give some adjectives to describe Linda.

Answer 46

Fun-loving

Loyal

Question 47

Give some adjectives to describe Sammy.

Answer 47

Violent

Mean

Question 48

Give some adjectives to describe the Narrator.

Answer 48

Omniscient

Omnipresent