Blood Brothers Flashcards
1
Q
Nature vs Nurture Quotes
A
- “As like each other as two new pins”
- “You learn filth from them and behave like this, like a, like a horrible little boy, like them. But you are not like them”
- “I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t, because while no one was looking I grew up”
2
Q
“As like each other as two new pins”
A
- prologue - audience understands connection due to nature/genetics at start - see it tested throughout play, challenge NvN debate
- simile emphasised by rhyme boys are naturally similar
- idiomatic expression ‘like two new pins’ emphasises boys’ innocence + similarities, unspoilt, foreshadows negative influence of nurture (upbringing)
3
Q
“You learn filth from them and behave like this, like a, like a horrible little boy, like them. But you are not like them”
A
- Ed naturally drawn to Mick - inevitable, Mrs L can’t defy nature to keep apart
- Ed’s upbringing sheltered (nurture)
- pronoun ‘them’ divides classes, Ed’s upbringing isolated him from natural family
- adjectives ‘filth’ + ‘horrible’ reinforce Mrs L’s strong negative judgments on working-class
- verb ‘learn’ Mrs L’s attitude to nurture - believes in impact of upbringing - wants to stop this
- Mrs L hypocritical attitudes of upbringing (nurture) - aware of differences between social classes
- challenges Conservative perceptions of time - achievement from effort, regardless of class
4
Q
“I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t, because while no one was looking I grew up”
A
- desperate tone highlights isolation, feels unsupported + hopeless
- pauses in dialogue - serious tone, not really seen before - childhood gone
- ‘I wish’ + ‘But’ chasm between dreams/reality
- alludes to how nurture influences outcomes of individuals
-Ed reminds Mick of blood brother bond - alludes unwittingly to natural connection + shows immaturity - dismissive tone “blood brother stuff” shows bitterness towards Ed stemming from different upbringings
- Mick’s harder upbringing less sheltered than Ed’s middle-class upbringing (nurture), creates barriers in relationship
5
Q
Social class quotes
A
- “Don’t you know what a dictionary is?”
- “It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me”
6
Q
“Don’t you know what a dictionary is?”
A
- shows difference between Ed’s/Mick’s social class
- Ed, in middle-class family, surprised at Mick being unfamiliar with dictionary, shows Ed has sheltered life
- Mick’s working-class family depicted as less educated than Ed’s, highlights contrasting childhoods
- shows how the twins’ future is influenced from early age due to social class
7
Q
“It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me”
A
- Mick’s low self-esteem after losing job shown through frustration towards Ed - now needs more help, not just sweets + cigarettes
- alludes to Ed’s better financial position due to middle-class upbringing
- although Ed is generous + kind-hearted, Mick starts finding help demeaning, contributes to following violent actions
- criticises, via Mick’s mental deterioration + low self-esteem, emotional + psychological effects of social class system
8
Q
Superstition and fate quotes
A
- “There’s shoes on the table an’ a joker in the pack/“Someone broke the lookin’ glass … Now y’ know the devil’s got your number, y’ know he’s gonna find ya”
- “They say…they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, that they shall both immediately die” + “I curse you. Witch!”
- “And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?”
9
Q
“There’s shoes on the table an’ a joker in the pack/“Someone broke the lookin’ glass … Now y’ know the devil’s got your number, y’ know he’s gonna find ya”
A
- narrator uses rhyming songs throughout play - reminds audience tragic event’s origin - superstition
- rhyme alludes to supernatural qualities of superstition + fateful consequences
- songs have chant-like, sinister tone
- songs refer to devil - connotes supernatural as evil
- delivers lines from background + in dark lighting - creates ominous atmosphere
- links superstitious beliefs to tragic consequences
- rhymes sound like voice of public
- colloquial ‘ya’ associated with dialect of working-class public
- Mrs J, believes in superstition - asks Mrs L to remove shoes off table
- suggests lack of education
inked to superstitious beliefs - criticises this- Mrs J’s superstitious belief causes deaths of twins
- narrator used to remind audiences debts will have to be paid - all actions have consequences
10
Q
“They say…they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, that they shall both immediately die” + “I curse you. Witch!”
A
- pronoun ‘they’ refers to general public
- involves audience to challenge perceptions
- Mrs J superstitious + working-class so doesn’t question Mrs L
- shows vulnerabilities of lacking education + low self-esteem
- made-up superstition depicts Mrs L as deceitful/manipulative
- Act II - mental deterioration of Mrs L shows erratic behaviour towards Mrs J when challenged
- cements Mrs L as an unsympathetic + hypocritical character
- irony Mrs L using superstitious language after mocking Mrs J due to superstitious nature - shows hypocrisy
- Mrs L’s deceit leads to twins’ deaths - criticising lack of accountability related to superstitious beliefs
11
Q
“And do we blame superstition for what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class?”
A
- rhyming lines summarise themes at end of play, helping emphasise messages of fate + social class
- pronoun ‘we’ illustrates narrator’s role as one of the public - helping bond narrator with audience, suggesting social + communal responsibility to address issues raised in his words
- rhetorical question directly addresses audiences
- 2 RQs stress each theme to the audience
12
Q
Violence quotes
A
- “Till the day they died, when a mother cried/My own dear sons lie slain” + “You won’t tell anyone about this, Mrs. Johnstone, because if you do, you will kill them”
- “Mrs Lyons has opened the knife drawer, and has a lethal-looking knife in her hand”
- “You can get up off the ground again / It doesn’t matter / The whole thing’s just a game” + “I’m gonna get a real gun soon”
13
Q
“Till the day they died, when a mother cried/My own dear sons lie slain”
A
- narrator introduces theme of violence at start of play to show its impact on story - play will end with deaths of sons
- emotive imagery shows grief of mother crying to convey tragic consequences of violence
- foreshadowing the tragedy this way helps audience grasp key themes
- ‘slain’ refers to murder - links mothers to murder at end of play
- Mrs L suggests Mrs J will ‘kill them’ if she does not abide by the superstition, hinting at their involvement in the murder
- pauses in Mrs L’s dialogue give line sinister tone - foreshadows violence to come
14
Q
“Mrs Lyons has opened the knife drawer, and has a lethal-looking knife in her hand”
A
- stage directions represent silent pause in scene - creating tension
- links violence with feelings of powerlessness + mental deterioration
- Mrs L resorts to violence when she can’t control situation
- shows middle-class mother resorting to violence when powerless, Mrs J, with challenges far greater, remains calm throughout play
- challenges stereotypical perceptions linking working-class to violence
- suggests violence related to individual circumstances or nature, not social class
15
Q
“You can get up off the ground again / It doesn’t matter / The whole thing’s just a game” + “I’m gonna get a real gun soon”
A
- Act I - narrator tells audience children’s game isn’t real, children can get up after being shot
- games the children play lead to attitudes which underplay real violence
- foreshadowing hints at the real violence of Act II - Mick commits armed robbery + shoots Ed
- shows negative male influences of Mick’s childhood lead to violence - looks up to aggressive Sammy, tries to impress friends by saying he wants real gun
- links innocence of childhood games with real violence
- criticising typical childhood games involving pretend warfare
- stage directions reference children becoming “bored with genocide” when game stops
- challenges normalisation of violence, suggests children grow up to see it as a game
