Blood Brothers Flashcards
Blood Brothers context points
- Britain in decline
- Willey Russell
- education
- council housing
Blood Brothers - Britain in decline
- 1980s - 25% unemployment
- Thatcher - successful from hardwork, circumstance irrelevant
Blood Brothers - Willey Russell
- working class family - nurse mum, factory dad
- night classes to get degree
- writing - working class problems
Blood Brothers - education
- secondary modern - failed 11+, practical skills
- grammar - pass 11+, O levels
- private - paid, uni
Blood Brothers - council housing
- after WW2 - Liverpool replaced houses
- government moved people to country (Skelmersdale) - lack of opportunity
Nature vs Nurture Quotes
- ‘You learn filth from them and behave like this’
- ‘I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t’
‘You learn filth from them and behave like this’
Ed & Mick → Naturally drawn, Mrs L can’t stop it
Nurture → Ed sheltered
‘Them’ → Divides classes, isolates Ed
‘Filth’ → Mrs L’s anti-working-class views
‘Learn’ → Mrs L believes nurture shapes fate, tries to stop it
Hypocrisy → Knows class differences but clings to nurture
Critique → Challenges Conservative idea success ≠ class
‘I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t’
Desperate Tone → Feels isolated, unsupported, hopeless
Pauses → Serious tone, childhood gone
‘I wish’ + ‘But’ → Gap between dreams/reality
Nurture’s Impact → Shapes individual outcomes
Blood Brother Bond → Ed reminds Mick, shows natural connection + immaturity
“Blood brother stuff” → Dismissive, bitter due to different upbringings
Nurture’s Divide → Mick’s tough life vs. Ed’s sheltered one, creates barriers
Social class quotes
- ‘Don’t you know what a dictionary is?’
- ‘It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me’
‘Don’t you know what a dictionary is?’
Class Difference → Highlights gap between Ed & Mick
Ed’s Surprise → Shocked Mick doesn’t know dictionary, shows sheltered life
Mick’s Upbringing → Working-class, less educated, contrasts Ed’s childhood
Future Shaped Early → Social class decides their paths
‘It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me’
Mick’s Low Self-Esteem → Frustration at Ed after losing job, needs real help
Ed’s Privilege → Better financial position from middle-class upbringing
Generosity vs. Pride → Ed kind, but Mick resents help, fuels violence
Class Critique → Mick’s decline shows social class harms mental health
Superstition and fate quotes
- ‘Now y’ know the devil’s got your number’
- ‘they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, that they shall both immediately die’ + ‘I curse you. Witch!’
‘Now y’ know the devil’s got your number’
Rhyming Songs → Link tragedy to superstition
Supernatural Rhyme → Fate, eerie tone
Chant-Like & Sinister → Reinforces superstition
Devil References → Evil, supernatural
Dark Lighting → Ominous atmosphere
Public Voice → Rhymes reflect beliefs
‘Ya’ → Colloquial working class
Mrs J’s Superstition → Removes shoes, lacks education
Criticism → Belief causes twins’ deaths
Narrator → Warns all actions have consequences
‘they say that if either twin learns that he once was a pair, that they shall both immediately die’ + ‘I curse you. Witch!’
‘They’ → Public, involves audience, challenges views
Mrs J & Class → Superstitious, doesn’t question Mrs L
Vulnerability → Lack of education + low self-esteem
Mrs L’s Manipulation → Creates superstition to deceive
Act II → Mrs L’s decline, erratic when challenged
Mrs L’s Character → Unsympathetic, hypocritical
Irony → Mocks superstition but uses it, shows hypocrisy
Mrs L’s Deceit → Leads to twins’ deaths, critiques lack of accountability
Violence quotes
- “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”
“Till the day they died, when a mother cried My own dear sons lie slain”
Violence Theme → Introduced early, shows impact on story, leads to sons’ deaths
Emotive Imagery → Conveys grief, shows tragic consequences of violence
Foreshadowing → Helps audience grasp key themes
‘Slain’ → Links mothers to murder at play’s end
Mrs L’s Threat → Suggests Mrs J will ‘kill them’, hints at their involvement in murder
Pauses in Dialogue → Adds sinister tone, foreshadows upcoming violence
“Mrs Lyons has opened the knife drawer, and has a lethal-looking knife in her hand”
Stage Directions → Silent pause creates tension
Violence & Powerlessness → Links violence to mental decline
Mrs L’s Violence → Uses violence when unable to control situation
Mrs J’s Calmness → Remains calm despite greater challenges, contrasts Mrs L
Class Perception → Challenges stereotype of working-class violence
Violence & Circumstance → Suggests violence depends on individual, not class
“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”
Act I → Narrator reveals children’s game isn’t real, can get up after being shot
Games & Attitudes → Games trivialize real violence
Foreshadowing → Hints at Mick’s armed robbery and shooting Ed in Act II
Mick’s Influences → Aggressive role models like Sammy lead to violence
Childhood Games & Violence → Links innocence with real violence
Critique of Games → Criticizes childhood games with pretend warfare
Stage Directions → Children “bored with genocide” when game ends
Violence Normalization → Challenges idea of violence as a game for children
