Boys Don't Cry (context, form and structure)

Question 1

What is the structure of Boy’s Don’t Cry?

Answer 1

• dual narrative, Adam and Dante, even though the story revolves around raising a child

Question 2

Context for Sexuality?

Answer 2

-1. notable increase in acceptance of homosexuality in recent years
2. LGBTQ movement holds regular gay pride events across the country
3. During the latter part of the 20th century and early 21st century made discrimination on the basis of sexuality illegal
4. In 2014 legislation passed to allow same sex marriage
5. Leading up to the publication of the novel, there were a number of notable homophobic assaults and murders in the UK

Question 3

Context for Single parents

Answer 3

1. Single parent families more accepted in the 21st century then 20th
2. Single parent families make up nearly a quarter of families with dependent children in the UK
3. 90% of the single parent families with dependent children are led by women
4. At the time the novel was written, the UK had the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe

Question 4

Context for Race

Answer 4

1. In the 1970s and 1980s, black people in Britain were victims of racist violence perpetrated by far right groups (National Front)
2. Discrimination of the basis of race has been an offence in British law since 1976

Question 5

Context for education

Answer 5

1. Rise in number of young people going to university. 1960s it was 4%, now its closer to 50%
2. Black students historically perform worse at A level, with lowest percentage achievement of all ethnic groups

Question 6

Context for the Welfare state

Answer 6

1. System where the state provides support to its citizens
2. Government expenditure is intended to improve societal areas, such as education and employment
3. The stigma of ‘living off the state’

Question 7

What is the form of Boys Don’t Cry?

Answer 7

• Bildungsroman novel, Literary Realism

Question 8

What are the conventions of a Bildungsroman novel?

Answer 8

• deals with the formative years of the main character
• the psychological development and moral education
• usually ends on a positive note

Question 9

What are the conventions on the genre of Literary Realism?

Answer 9

• focussing on the working/middle class families
• focusses on mundane or ordinary things