This is England = Characters

Question 1

Woody =

Answer 1

• Woody represents the positive, inclusive side of working class yout subculture which is rooted in friendship and acceptance
• His group focus on music, community and style rather than politics
• Woody is confident and not aggressive gently bringing Shaun into the group helping him find his self worth without agression or indocrination
• Woody shows his moral stand refusing to align with Combo’s rascist views

Question 2

Combo =

Answer 2

• Combo is defined by his rage and indoctrinates Shaun into a violent and racist ideology
• Combo represents toxic masculinity which is built on dominance, violence and emotionless
• He twists his pain of working class life into a far right ideology blaming immigrants for his economic hardships
• His version of Englishness is about purity, tradition an dexclusiom

Question 3

Shaun =

Answer 3

• Grieves his father who was killed in the Falklands War and lives with his mother in a run-down working class town. He is bullied and alienated which makes him desperate for belonging which makes him vulnerable
• He finds acceptance in Woody’s group which give him confidence and acceptance however he is pulled into a darker ideology of identity based on the protection of his father’s identity
• Shaun craves the father figure and affection but quickly internalises the hate and violence of the ideologies
• Shaun rejects these ideologies and a version of England which is hateful and broken