Character - Role and Purpose Flashcards
What is Jan and Mark’s role at the start of each chapter?
Challenge: What is the Mystery at the start of each act?
They act as narrators, informing the audience about what has happened up to that point in the play. The information given is incomplete so it creates a mystery to engage the audience.
Act 1 - “Dead” (Adam who’s been bullied to death before the play even starts)
Act 2 - “He’s not going” (Brian to the police station to identify the postman as the man who showed his Willy in the woods)
Act 3 - “Cathy found him in the woods” (Adam has been found)
Act 4 - “She’s gone” (Leah left as she knows she can’t stand the guilt of not stopping Adam’s murder)
When Jan and Mark are telling the group what happened leading up to Adam’s initial “murder”, what do Mark and Jan do to lessen the seriousness of the event?
Mark distances himself from what happened and Jan is in denial.
They both blame Adam - “he was laughing harder than anyone”
Jan makes sure everyone knows she went home before the grille incident.
What is Leah’s role on the field talking to Phil?
Leah acts as a Greek Chorus - she narrates the actions of the group through a series of metaphors. This shows she is a MORAL compass in the group.
Explain Leah’s metaphor about the Chimps and Bonobos
“Chimps are evil” they bully one another to gain social status. This is similar to the gang who are constantly choosing “sides” and picking fights with each other to determine who has most power. The leaders are generally violent and threatening:
John Tate: “I’ll bite their face. Or something”
Phil: threatens “We’ll kill you” to Brian if he refuses to go back to the police station. Orders Cathy to murder Adam in Act 3.
Cathy: rumoured to have cut off a first year’s finger in Act 4.
Explain Leah’s metaphor about Happiness
She says happiness is “like nuclear waste or global warming”. This is because we live in a society that doesn’t really want to know people’s problems. It is expected that you’re always happy, so if you’re not you’re considered weird.
The similes mean that pretending to be “fine” all the time is ruining society.
What is the role and purpose of Danny?
He constantly repeats his plans to be a dentist. He represents the “good kids” who have life goals and work hard, but they are actually no better than the rest of the gang. He doesn’t care as much about a murdered peer as he does for his own future and success. Adam’s murder is just an inconvenience to him.
By the end, he can’t handle the guilt and feels like he’s falling into their mouths (dark hole = the grille)
