Mrs Johnstone Full Text Essay

Question 1

Paragraph 1 key quotes Mrs J

Answer 1

‘He told me I was sexier than Marilyn Monroe’ - shows she is gullible and easily manipulated
‘By the time I was 25 I looked like 42, with 7 hungry mouths to feed and one more nearly due
‘My husband, he walked out on me’ - her husband has abandoned her with no support

Question 2

Paragraph 2 key quotes Mrs J

Answer 2

‘It’ll be the courts for you’ - noun ‘courts’ shows how the working class are treated by the middle class
‘Or worse, won’t it’ - tag question ‘won’t it’ shows the controlling, patronising tone Mrs Lyon’s speaks to Mrs Johnstone in

Question 3

Paragraph 3 key quotes Mrs J

Answer 3

‘We’re a right pair, aren’t we, you an’ me?’ - colloquial speech with irony of ‘pair’ because they literally are a pair
‘Locket’ - she is naturally maternal by giving things to him
‘Keep it a secret, eh’ imperative shows the motherly control

Question 4

Paragraph 4 key quotes Mrs J

Answer 4

‘Wherever I go, your there behind me’ - Mrs Lyons is paranoid
‘I don’t want your money’ - Mrs Johnstone is more aware of her spending habits
‘I’ve made my life out here’ - Mrs Johnstone is now standing her ground and isn’t being manipulated anymore

Question 5

Paragraph 5 key quotes Mrs J

Answer 5

‘Don’t shoot him, he’s your brother’ - representing the hopelessness of trying to change destiny
‘I couldn’t afford to keep both of you’ - showing how she is trying to justify the inevitable