Slab boys Themes Quotes Flashcards
Dreams and reality quotes
“Giotto was a slab boy”- famous painter who was in once in same position as a slab boy motivates Phil to keep going.
“Hector could’ve been a pretty good designer by now”- reality is hec is good but held back by P and Sp
“S’ only half eleven” - P driven by dreams of becoming an artist so much that he focuses too much in his future but the reality is he needs to put the work in now
“In the slab room man and beast for nigh on sixty years “ - Phil shared story about Joe Mcbride oldest ever slab boy, hec and Sp rely on securing a desk and have no further aspirations were as Phil wishes to be an artist
“Who knows? Depends if they take to your features…. How many desks are free …how the boss is feeling ….. what the Berlin situations like”- Sp has accepted that to get his dream of becoming a designer the reality is there is no true guarantee of getting a desk
“At least I still am one” Sp shoots back at P during dispute at end when P calls Sp slab boy sarcastically- shows P dreams of thinking he’s now above Sp but reality is he’s jobless
“Soon as I’ve got a good wee bank book I’m showing that swine the door”- Sadie hoped to get enough money to support herself and get out of an unhappy marriage
“There’s a real world out there some of us have to live in it”- jack
“I’m not other people jack”- Phil
Shows that jack is in tune with reality and knows that he has to work his way through to achieve his dreams whereas Phil thinks he’s alive everyone and his dreams will just happen for him
Mental illness
“Must’ve been some other looney”- sparky denying knowledge of P mum to curry - looney highlights lack of understanding of mental illness as it’s so serious yet slated back then
“Abject bloody misery.. lights out half 7 … no wireless, no comics, no nothing “ highlights how harsh and terribke treatment of mental illness was in 50s as Phil gives account of his mums experience
“First week tied to a rubber mattress, next 5 to a generator” “that’s shocking”
1) highlights poor treatment again
2) Sps jokey response shows how mental illness wasn’t taken serious then and how the SB use it as a coping method
“What’d you know about razor blades and pubble wardes and row upon row of gummy caderers all watching you stumble in with your lucozade and excuses”- shows horrible experience of having a mentally ill famiky member in 50s
“D’you think going off your heads catching” - Phil has moment of vulnerability as he releases his behaviour could be an early sign off it
“Forty bennies crushed up in their cornflakes”- sad reality that they coildjt treat mental illness only way was to severely drug patients.
“Took the string out of his pyjamas trousers tied it round his neck and strung himself up in the kitchen pulley”-hec trying to commit- shows mental illness all around and affects several
Role of women
“As soon as ivegot a good wee bank book I’m showing that swine the door” - shows pay gap as Sadie needs to heavily save to be able to support herself without a man
“Every SB dream” referring to lucile- objectified for her looks
“Quit talking riddles if you’ve smfn to say spit it out”- L is strong and dismissive of P and Sp child like behaviour, instantly cuts through and stops their banter
“Lucille Bentley… woman of the world…. Fling out ur men” - L doesn’t believe in the typical stereotype back then off relying on or needing the finnancial support of a man and is so confident she thinks she can do it all herself
“He’s a dwarf for gods sake” L is confident and a bit of a bulky as she rejects Hec, knows she deserves better
“Leave my beautiful wean alone, you pair of hooligans “ Sadie takes pm a maternal role and protects him from P and Sp abuse
“As if I didn’t have enough on my plate… women” - jack - the women have little respect from the men
“They’re not all like that for gods sake” - Sadie hates men where as Lucille still has faith
Humour / bullying
“He’s a dwarf for gods sake” hec picked on by L
“Plooky chops”njack slagged by P and Sp for his skin conditions
“That’s shocking” after hearing about p mum hooked to generator- uses humour to help P a coping method
“I’ve seen more up to date clothes on a garden gnome” - bullying hec due to lack of fashion
“That’s cos ur a tube hec”
“Acne yellow””bile green” - p and sp use the names of horrible colours to insult jack die to the colour of his acne
“You’ve got trouble drawing water from that tap over there”- curry slags Sp for lack of artistic talent
“I’ve tied him to the radiator” p goes too far
“Right Alec this here is what we call a sink, SINK”
“Alec”
Age and youth
“Things were a damned sight different in my day”- c beleives the new youthful gen r spoilt
“Who wants to get to your age” L can’t put herself in Sadie position and wants to love her whole life young, hasn’t yet thought that she will turn old
“Soon as ivegot a good wee bank book I’m showing that swine the door” despite Sadie sage she still has aspirations to achieve
“Giotto was a slab boy” p realises he’s still young and has so much time to achieve big things
“Couple years in the forces would smarten your ideas up a bit” C beleives youthful gen lack discipline and a military regime would help them gain it
“Is this what wingate gave up his last gasp for” - C insults SB as a comrade of his died fighting that they might have a future and he believes they’re wasting it
“How’d they fire it from chip baskets”- due to SB young age not experienced war making them unappreciative and making jokes of C service
Attitudes to authority
Whose permission do I need - P be,Ives he doesn’t need C permission to arrive late from art school
Couple of years in the forces would smarten your ideas up a bit - c beleives military procedures would orovude the SB with more respect for authority abive them
Plonk chops- slagging Jack despite him beinga superior in their workplace
“I’ll be expecting some smart grinding from this department in the future” immediatelyafter being promoted Hec shows new authority of SB
how’d they fire them from chip baskstes ? - Sp shiws lack of respect to Curry despite him being their boss
“More like a restroom for retired beatmecks” - curry insults SB as they have no respect for authority and do little work
Social inequality
“Rabbit hutch with concrete floors” Philemon extreme poverty riddled childhood
“That’s more than 3 of us put together” Alan instantly making more than SB combined due to his background of class and his dad
“You’ll get a hernia lugging that about son”- Sb joke about Alan’s materialistic things that they’re too heavy and will cause damage as they’re jealous
“Mr farrell….. Mr Mac” biys use a parody impression of the upper class to slag Alan while showing him Slab room
A right talented pair of buggers - c only impressed when he thinks it’s Alan’s folio, shows c determines persons status purely on class
Are you sure u can get ur dads MG- L only goes to dance with Alan die to his wealth and dads car
“The John neilstome”
“Must be some kind of blood relation”
“Stayed onto get my highers”
