Literature revision

Monday 22nd May Paper 1: Shakespeare and Post 1914 Literature 1 hour 45 mins

Section A: Macbeth Part a – Extract based (language, structure and form) (30 mins) Part b – whole text (context based) (30 mins) Section B: Blood Brothers or An Inspector Calls (context) (45 mins)

Friday 26th May

Paper 2: 19th century Novel and Poetry since 1789 2 hours 15 mins

Section A: Jekyll and Hyde or A Christmas Carol Part a – Extract based (language, structure and form) (30 mins) Part b – whole text (thematic) (30 mins) Section B: Time and Place (comparison, language, structure and form and context) Section C: Unseen poetry (comparison, language, structure and form and ideas)

Blood Brothers In the first exam, you will be given an option of two questions. You must answer

only one. This question is an essay based question and could be on any of the

characters, events or key themes. You should spend 45 minutes responding to this

question and use PEEFEE (point, evidence, explanation, focused exploration and

effect) in your response. You MUST also refer to your contextual understanding.

This part of the revision guide is organised into three sections:

1. Comprehension revision questions to secure your knowledge and

understanding of the play.

2. Linking text to the context

3. Practice questions

Test your understanding: Comprehension questions

1. Why is the play called ‘Blood Brothers’? 2. Who wrote the play ‘Blood Brothers’? 3. Where and when was the play ‘Blood Brothers’ set? 4. What does the word ‘prologue’ mean? 5. What does the term ‘didactic’ mean? 6. What evidence is there to suggest that ‘Blood Brothers’ is a didactic play within

the prologue? 7. Mrs Johnstone is described as ‘cruel. How far would you agree with this?’ 8. Who was Marilyn Monroe? 9. What did Marilyn Monroe symbolise for women during the 1960s? 10. What comparisons are made between Mrs Johnstone and Marilyn

Monroe on pages 5/6? 11. How do these comparisons help us to create an impression of Mrs

Johnstone at the start of the musical? 12. What basic staple can Mrs Johnstone not afford to pay for at the start of

the play? 13. Why is the choice of item here significant? 14. What evidence other than this is there to suggest the family are working

class? 15. What does Mrs Johnstone promise the kids and how can she make this

promise? 16. What does Mrs Johnstone hope for herself?

17. What does Mrs Lyons say about her house at the start of the play?

18. What does Mrs Lyons tell Mrs Johnstone about Mr Lyons?

19. Why is the house so empty?

20. What does Mrs Lyons do with the shoes she has purchased and how

does Mrs Johnstone react?

21. What similarities and differences are evident between Mrs Johnstone

and Mrs Lyons at the start of the play?

22. Why is Mrs Johnstone anxious about having twins?

23. What does Mrs Lyons suggest?

24. How does Willy Russell use language to show Mrs Lyon’s determination

and Mrs Johnstone’s reluctance?

25. What finally persuades Mrs Johnstone to go ahead with the plan?

26. What does Mrs Lyons force Mrs Johnstone to do to ensure the plan

goes ahead?

27. How does Mrs Johnstone feel about giving one of her sons away?

28. What does Mrs Johnstone tell the kids about the other baby?

29. How does Mrs Lyons attitude towards Mrs Johnstone change once she

has the baby?

30. What does Mrs Lyons ask Mr Lyons?

31. How does Mrs Lyons threaten Mrs Johnstone? 32.

33. Why won’t Mrs Johnstone let Mickey play up the other end?

34. Who does Mickey wish he was like and why?

35. Sweets are used to reveal the immediate differences between Mickey

and Edward. How?

36. How does the verb phrase ‘pissed off’ and the noun ‘dictionary’ connect

Mickey and Edward?

37. What do Mickey and Edward become at the end of their first meeting?

38. What is Sammy carrying with him as he enters the scene on page 25?

Why is this significant?

39. What does Sammy say to Edward and what does this reveal about

attitudes within society at the time?

40. How does Mrs Johnstone react when Mickey takes Edward home?

41. How would you describe the relationship between Mr Lyons and Edward

on page 27?

42. What superstition does Edward bring up in front of Mrs Lyons and how

does she respond?

43. How does Mrs Lyons react when Mickey knocks on the door for

Edward?

44. What does Edward say and why do you think he says this?

45. Mrs Lyons says ‘you see why I don’t want you mixing with boys like that.’

What does she mean by this?

46. ‘You learn filth from them and behave like this.’ What does this

quotation reveal about Mrs Lyon’s attitude to the working class?

47. Cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers dominate the kid’s play. Why is

this?

48. What is the significance of the chorus ‘But you know that if you cross

your fingers / And if you count from one to ten. / You can get off the ground

again, / It doesn’t matter, / The whole things just a game’?

49. What do Linda and Mickey tell Edward about what they say to

policeman?

50. Why is there a tension between the working class and policeman during

this time?

51. What does Mrs Lyons ask of Mr Lyons?

52. Mickey, Edward and Linda are rude to the police officer. What do they

say?

53. How does the policeman interact with the two families and what does

this reveal about attitudes during this time?

54. Edward reveals to Mrs Johnstone that he is moving away. What does

Mrs Johnstone give him and why?

55. What does Edward see on arrival at his new house and why is this

important?

56. How does Edward’s move affect Mickey?

57. Mrs Johnstone learns she is being rehoused. Where is she being

rehoused to?

58. What hopes does Mrs Johnstone have for the move?

59. How do the neighbours react to the news that the Johnstones are

moving?

60. What evidence is there to suggest that despite the move some things

will remain the same?

61. How has life improved for Mrs Johnstone at the start of Act 2?

62. What evidence is there to suggest, however, that it isn’t all plain sailing?

63. The motif of Marilyn Monroe is used again at the start of Act 2. What

does the use of the motif reveal about Mrs Johnstone and Mickey?

64. The motif of dancing is used again at the start of Act 2. What does the

use of the motif reveal about Mrs Johnstone and Mickey and Mrs Lyons and

Edward?

65. Compare the presentation of the relationship between Mrs Johnstone

and Mickey and Mrs Lyons and Edward at the start of Act 2.

66. Where is Sammy heading on page 48? Why is this significant?

67. What does Sammy ask for on the bus?

68. How does the conductor respond?

69. What does Sammy do?

70. How does Mickey react to Sammy’s actions? Why? What does this

reveal about Mickey’s character?

71. Where is Edward hoping to go to university after school?

72. What does the teacher say to Edward and why?

73. How does Edward respond and what does this result in?

74. What impression is given of Mickey’s experience of school?

75. When Mickey answers back, what happens to Mickey?

76. Why do you think Willy Russell has both boys suspended?

77. Where is Edward hoping to go to university after school?

78. What does the teacher say to Edward and why?

79. How does Edward respond and what does this result in?

80. What impression is given of Mickey’s experience of school?

81. When Mickey answers back, what happens to Mickey?

82. Why do you think Willy Russell has both boys suspended?

83. How does Mrs Lyons react to the locket?

84. What is the significance of Edward saying to Mrs Lyons ‘It’s just a secret,

everybody has secrets, don’t you have secrets?’

85. On page 55, what do Edward and Mickey say they admire in each

other?

86. What advice does Edward give Mickey about asking Linda out?

87. When Edward offers to pay for Mickey to go to the cinema, what does

Mickey say? Why is this?

88. How is Mickey’s positive relationship with Mrs Johnstone evident when

he tells her they are off to the cinema?

89. When Mrs Lyons says to Mrs Johnstone ‘You’ve ruined me’, what does

she mean?

90. What does Mrs Lyons offer Mrs Johnstone and how does Mrs Johnstone

react?

91. What does Mrs Lyons try to do?

92. Why is the line, spoken by Mrs Lyons, ‘I curse you. Witch!’ significant?

93. What does the summer sequence reveal about the friendship between

Mickey, Edward and Linda?

94. What is the significance of the line ‘An’ you don’t even notice broken

bottles in the sand’ in the summer sequence?

95. What do we learn about Edward’s feelings towards Linda in the song ‘If I

was that guy’?

96. Why does Mickey have to do overtime?

97. How are the differences between Mickey and Edward becoming more

apparent?

98. What news does Mickey have for Mrs Johnstone on page 67 and how

does she respond?

99. When Mickey goes to work, what letter is he given?

100. Edward returns from university. What do we learn about university life

from Edward?

101. Why does Mickey say to Edward ‘You don’t understand anythin’ do y? I

don’t wear a hat I can tilt at the world’?

102. Why does Mickey throw Edward’s money back at him?

103. According to Mickey, why has his relationship with Edward changed?

104. What does Edward reveal to Linda and what does she say in response?

105. What does Sammy ask Mickey to do for him? Why does Mickey agree?

106. What are the consequences of Mickey agreeing to help Sammy?

107. While in prison what does Mickey get addicted to?

108. How does this addiction affect Mickey both inside of prison and after his

immediate release?

109. What does Linda manage to get for herself and Mickey? How does she

manage to do this?

110. What does Mickey beg Linda for and why?

111. How does Mickey feel about the fact that Councillor Eddie Lyons has

acquired them a house?

112. Why does Mickey say ‘That’s why I take them. So I can be invisible’?

113. What does Linda do after she gives Mickey the pills?

114. Who tells Mickey about the affair between Linda and Edward?

115. Where does Mickey get the gun from?

116. Who does Linda say Mickey is going after?

117. What does Mickey tell Edward he has done and why?

118. Why does Mickey say to Edward ‘how come you got everything…an’ I

got nothing?’

119. What does Mrs Johnstone reveal to Mickey?

120. Why does Mickey say ‘Why didn’t you give me away! I could have

been…I could have been him!’?

121. What happens at the end of the play?

122. Why do you think the narrator says ‘And do we blame superstition for

what came to pass?’

123. Why do you think Willy Russell chose to end the play with the song ‘Tell

me it’s not true’? Think carefully about the words in this song.

Answering the question

Knowledge of the play is critical but your ability to link key moments in the play to

the relevant contextual backdrop is even more important as you are being assessed

on your understanding of context and the link between context and the text in this

exam.

On the next page is a summary of the key contextual details that you need to be

aware of.

Context in Blood Brothers

Class (i) There was a sharp divide in Britain between the working class and the middle class. Lots of working class parents struggled financially. Many found it difficult to afford even basic things such as food, clothes and heating.

I said, I said, look, next week I’ll pay y’… / ‘It’s a pretty house isn’t it? It’s a pity it’s so big.’ ‘it’s lovely son, he’ll be well looked after there. He’ll have anything he wants.’ He’s a friggin’ poshy. No he’s not. He’s my best friend. Your…you’re a fuckoff. You see, you see why I don’t want you mixing with boys like that! You learn filth from them and behave like this. But Mickey…I mean...suppose we get caught…by a policeman.’ ‘Why is a job so important?’ You don’t understand anythin’ do y? I don’t wear a hat that I can tilt at the world.’

Class (ii) There was also a class divide in education. Many middle-class parents could afford to send their children to private school which often led to university and well-paid jobs. By contrast, for most working-class children, university wasn’t an option. They needed to work when they left school to support their families and became stuck in the same low-paid jobs for life.

‘Oh God, Mrs Lyons, never put new shoes on a table…You never know what’ll happen.’ / ‘Oh…you mean you’re superstitious.’ / I curse you. Witch! / it’s a magpie, never look at one magpie. It’s one for sorrow. But I’m not playing now cos I’m pissed off. Fantastic. When I get home I’ll look it up in the dictionary. ‘Talk of Oxbridge’ ‘Modern school is formed – all boredom and futility.’ ‘I’m going away tomorrow…to University’ ‘Mickey, it’s fantastic. I haven’t been to so many parties.’

Class (iii) Liverpool has both working class and middle class areas. In Liverpool, there was a lot of poor quality housing for the working classes, often close to the docks or factories where they worked. The middle classes lived in more affluent parts of the city, with plenty of green space. Skelmersdale was a New Town and many working-class Liverpool residents were rehoused there in the 1960s. Middle-class families also lived in Skelmersdale.

Mr Lyons: We thought a move, perhaps further out towards the country somewhere.. Mrs Johnson: Oh bright new day / We are movin’ away. ‘Ey, we’ll be all right out here son, away from the muck an’ the dirt an’ the bloody trouble.’ ‘Sammy. SAMMY! Get off that bleedin’ cow.’

Family structure The late twentieth century was seen as a time of great social change. During this time, divorce became easier. However attitudes were slower to change and families were still expected to have a ‘nuclear’ structure – mother, father and children. Single-parent families, like Mrs Johnstone’s were less common and were frowned upon. Most families were patriarchal (led by the man). Men would go to work whilst the women would stay at home to care for the children and the household.

‘My husband walked out on me / A month or two ago.’ ‘Mrs Johnstone: Here’s you can’t have kids, an’ me, I can’t stop havin’ them.’ ‘They say I should put some of them into care.’ ‘The house is your domain.’ ‘Mummy will read the story, Edward. I’ve got to go to work for an hour.’

Youth culture Teenagers became a properly recognised age group in the 1960s. Youth culture referred to the behaviour and interests of teenagers, including fashion, music and hobbies and was seen as a period of freedom and potential. Young people also became an important force in protest movements as they believed in their power to shape the future, and started to break away from their parents’ views.

All: ‘I got y’ / I shot y’ / An y’ bloody know I did’ Mickey: ‘Yeh...like y’know when they ask what y’ name is, we say things like, like ‘Adolph Hitler’, don’t we Linda?’ ‘When I passed the Essoldo this mornin’ they were showin’ Nymphomanic Nights and Swedish Au pairs.’ ‘Young, free and innocent, you haven’t got a care.’

Margaret Thatcher Britain was suffering from a recession and unemployment was rising. Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979. She believed that Britain’s traditional industries weren’t economically viable and decided to close them down. The decline of these industries had a huge impact on working-class communities – unemployment was widespread amongst the working classes which meant many people had to sign up for benefits. Unemployment led to an increase in depression and crime rates.

Y’ can’t stop the milk. I need the milk.’ ‘Take a letter, Miss Jones, / Due to the world situation / The shrinking pound, the global slump, / And the price of oil / I’m afraid we must fire you.’

The best preparation for this exam is to practise planning essay responses and then practise

writing them. In your essay response you should write an introduction (short but focused with

response to the question), aim to make 4 key points with quotations and contextual links.

Here is an example of an essay plan I have constructed.

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Mickey (looking at him): You don’t understand anythin’, do ye? I don’t wear a hat that I can tilt at the world. Explore the significance of the relationship between Mickey and Eddie. You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below): Significance of relationship between Mickey and Eddie is in their developing understanding of how class radically alters their chances in life and peoples’ attitudes towards them. Willy Russell purpose.

Point and quote: Link to context: In childhood, Mickey and Eddie’s friendship is formed and is naïve of their differences in class / background as well as the fact that they are related. ‘blood brothers’ But I’m not playing now cos I’m pissed off. / Fantastic. When I get home I’ll look it up in the dictionary. Admiration of the other.

Societal differences between working and middle class. Impact of nuclear family and mother being at home in comparison to Mrs Johnstone who is sole provider for family.

Eddie begins to copy Mickey’s behaviour. ‘You’re a fuck off.’ ‘You see – this is why I don’t want you mixing with boys like that.’

Attitudes towards class and middle class perpetuating social divide. Upbringing significant again – lack of father – Mickey’s role model is Sammy who uses this poor language. Mrs Lyons protective of Edward wants him to be brought up well with manners and respect but because he is an only child / and circumstances, she is suffocating.

Educational opportunities. Edward – ‘talk of Oxbridge’ Mickey – ‘all boredom and futility’ ‘Mickey, it’s fantastic. I haven’t been to so many parties in my life.’ ‘I’d crawl back to that job for half the pay and double the hours.’

Eddie has access to university education. Despite the expansion of higher education in the 1980s, this was still far less common (especially among those of lower social class) than it is now – bringing clear-cut socio economic advantages.

In early adulthood, Mickey struggles with no work, marriage and a child on the way ‘because while no one was looking I grew up. An’ you didn’t because you didn’t need to.’

Liverpool was a thriving area for factories and low paid jobs. Lack of education for Mickey means he accepts low paid job especially with family on the way (repeating cycle)..Margaret Thatcher closed down the factories meaning that unemployment was rife. Mickey needs to provide an income for his family. The pressures on him are significant whilst Eddie has the freedom of a university education and financial support from his family so can enjoy life.

Now practise preparing responses to a range of potential essay questions.

NB: Remember that pretty much all essays can be brought back to the theme of

class as it was Willy Russell’s purpose to educate the masses about the unjust

treatment of those of a lower social class. This is what Willy Russell has said about

the writing of Blood Brothers:

I was brought up as a member of a class whose members were treated like second-

class citizens. I was aware from a very early age of the injustice of it. we were the

ones who went into the mines and factories, who did the manual labour, whose

sensitivities were blunted, whose intelligence was never acknowledged. I lived in an

environment where we were told every day of our lives that we were thick, daft,

stupid and unworthy. My father had been a miner and then worked for ICI. He was

not a party member or a tub-thumping socialist but he was very firmly on the side of

the underdog. He'd often bring home people who were not waifs and strays exactly

but people who had suffered some kind of misfortune. My dad gravitated towards

interesting talkers, and he liked nothing better on a Saturday night than to have a

heated discussion with three or four people on politics or religion. He was part of

that socialist tradition. At eighteen he went to night school because he knew he had

never learned much at school and in fact he became a very good mathematician.

Like many people of his generation his life would have been fantastically different if

he'd been born into my generation or into a different class, which is what Blood

Brothers is all about.

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Narrator: When you’re young, free and innocent and just eighteen. In what ways is freedom important in Blood Brothers? You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below):

Point and quote: Link to context:

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Mrs Lyons: You see, you see why I don’t want you mixing with boys like that! You learn filth from them and behave like this – like a, horrible little boy, like them. But you are not like them. Explore the significance of class in Blood Brothers. You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below):

Point and quote: Link to context:

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Mickey: Just one thing I had left, Eddie – Linda – an’ I wanted to keep her. So, so I stopped taking the pills. But it was too late. Explain the importance of the relationship between Linda and the twins. You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below):

Point and quote: Link to context:

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Mrs Lyons: They say that if either twin learns that he was once a pair, they will both immediately die. What is the significance of superstition in Blood Brothers? You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below):

Point and quote: Link to context:

English Literature Paper 1: Blood Brothers

Question: Mrs Johnstone: They say I should put them into care, but…I love the bones of every one of them. Explore the importance of the character of Mrs Johnstone. You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Bigger picture (forms your introduction – could be a summary of the main points you identify below):

Point and quote: Link to context:

Below is an example of a Level 3 essay on Blood Brothers and the characters of

Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons. Read through the response to get an idea of what

your essay response should look like.

Using the PEEFEE structure will be useful to you here: Point, evidence, explanation,

focused exploration (to include link to context) and effect.

Fundamentally, though within each paragraph you want to

Identify what is learnt (ensuring each point is distinct and focused on the question)

How it is learnt (choosing excellent examples)

Why it is significant (in relation to the question and in supporting our understanding

of context)

Over the next couple of pages, choose two questions from the bank of five on the

previous pages to write a response to. Ideally choose one character and one

thematic question to respond to.

Practice character question

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Practice thematic question

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