Blood Brothers Revision BookletYear 11

Stratton Upper School

In the run up to your exams you should aim to complete at least one revision task a week for

homework. In order to achieve the best possible grade it is recommended that you complete

more than one a week.Remember the assessment objectives!

For your literature GCSE you are awarded marks based on four assessment objectives.

AQA Literature Paper 2Exam Date: 26th May 2017

Exam Length: 2 hours 15 minutesWhat is assessed?

Section A: Blood Brothers – 1 question

Section B: Poetry – 1 questionSection C: Unseen Poetry – 2

questions

AO1: Read, understand and respond to texts: maintain a critical style and develop an informed personal response; use textual references, including quotations, to support and illustrate interpretations.AO2: Analyse the language, form and structure used by a writer to create meanings and effects, using subject terminology where appropriateAO3: Show understanding of the relationships between texts and the contexts in which they were writtenAO4: Use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures for clarity, purpose and effect, with accurate/ spelling and punctuation.

For blood brothers, you must show that you can understand the text and select relevant quotations, that you can identify techniques and discuss their effect on the reader and that you can discuss context in relation to the question asked. You will also be assessed on spelling, punctuation and grammar (AO4).

In this section you will be given a choice of two questions – you only need to answer one.

ContextBecause of its position on the River Mersey, Liverpool was a prosperous seaport in the 19th Century. However in the 20th Century, the seaport became less prosperous and Liverpool became a place of

financial depression, which led to unemployment, strikes and general unhappiness. There was a big gap between the rich and the poor. Unemployment

Blood Brothers was completed two years after Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. She felt that the British Manufacturing industry was uncompetitive and so privatised many publicly owned companies. In the short term, this meant that Britain suffered an economic downturn and unemployment soared. This was especially so in the industrialised working-class areas of the north. The middle classes were less affected than the working class.At the time the play is set factories were shutting down

and the Johnstone family are struggling. At the start of Act 2, Sammy is on the dole and we begin to see how a lack of prospects is affecting Mickey. Being out of work fuels low self-esteem; particularly if a man feels as though cannot support his family.

Views

Blood Brothers is set in Liverpool, between the 1960s and the 1980s. At this time, people disapproved of sex before marriage and this is why Mrs Johnstone has to marry quickly when she falls pregnant.

Education

Although education was free for all, the best education was still largely inaccessible for students from poorer backgrounds. Students who could afford tutors and extra

support would have a much better chance of passing the 11+ exam and attending a grammar school than those who could not get any additional help. Many students did not leave with any qualifications, either because they were deemed not smart enough or because they chose to leave school at 15.

PovertyThere is a clearly established link between poverty and under-achievement at school. Edward is sent to a private, fee-paying boarding school and will take O levels, A levels and go on to university. Mickey leaves school and goes into employment; where he is eventually made redundant. Manual workers were more affected by closure of factories and the scarcity of work connected with the docks.Housing

The majority of working class people in the 1950s and 1960s lived in council houses. These terraced house had many benefits but also many drawbacks. They were cramped and did not have luxuries such as central heating or indoor

toilets. They rarely had gardens meaning that children did not have anywhere to play.

The government decided to move people away from these terraced houses into ‘new’ towns like Skelmersdale. This was in order to improve standards of living for working class people.

In Blood Brothers Mrs Johnstone’s family is helped by their move to one of these new towns; however it’s not enough to change their situation completely. Unemployment still affects the family and for the older children the change comes too late.

Willy Russell

Willy Russell wanted to show us the disadvantages that the poor and working class faced. The failure to succeed in life is not because of a lack of ability, but a lack of opportunity. This can clearly be seen in Edward and Mickey.Russell wants us to ask ourselves whether this is still true in the 21st century.

Context questions:

When and where is Blood Brothers set?

______________________________________________

What is a ‘class divide’?

______________________________________________

What happened when Liverpool became a place of ‘financial depression’?

______________________________________________

How did the government try to improve standards of living for working class people?

______________________________________________

What was the difference in education for working class and middle class people?

______________________________________________

List as much information as you can about education during this time:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Why does Mrs Johnstone have to marry quickly?

______________________________________________

What type of houses did most working class people live in?

______________________________________________

What was the name of the town the Johnstone’s moved to?

______________________________________________

What are the effects of being out of work for a long time?

______________________________________________

What was Willy Russell’s aim when writing Blood Brothers?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Which characters highlight this aim? Why?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Who was Prime Minister when Blood Brothers was completed?

______________________________________________

Write a synopsis of the play below.

Act 1:

Act 2:

List ten key events of the play:

Make sure you justify why they are key events.

Character Profile – Mrs Johnstone

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Mrs Johnstone:

Important quotes that link to Mrs Johnstone:

What other people think of Mrs Johnstone:

Important themes that link to Mrs Johnstone:

Why is Mrs Johnstone important to the play?

Character Profile – Mr and Mrs Lyons

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Mr and Mrs Lyons:

Important quotes that link to Mr and Mrs Lyons:

What other people think of Mr and Mrs Lyons:

Important themes that link to Mr and Mrs Lyons:

Why are Mr and Mrs Johnstone important to the play?

Character Profile – Mickey

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Mickey:

Important quotes that link to Mickey:

What other people think of Mickey:

Important themes that link to Mickey:

Why is Mickey important to the play?

Character Profile – Edward Lyons

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Edward:

Important quotes that link to Edward:

What other people think of Edward:

Important themes that link to Edward:

Why is Edward important to the play?

Character Profile – Linda

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Linda:

Important quotes that link to Linda:

What other people think of Linda:

Important themes that link to Linda:

Why is Linda important to the play?

Character Profile – Sammy Johnstone

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to Sammy:

Important quotes that link to Sammy:

What other people think of Sammy:

Important themes that link to Sammy:

Why is Sammy important to the play?

Character Profile – The Narrator

Appearance/ personality:

Key events in the play that link to The Narrator:

Important quotes that link to The Narrator:

What other people think of The Narrator:

Important themes that link to The Narrator:

Why is The Narrator important to the play?

Character Questions:

Answer the questions below in detail using quotations as evidence. You should write at least two full paragraphs for each one.

1) Mrs Johnstone is described as “a mother, so cruel” by The Narrator in the prologue. Do you think the rest of the play reflects this judgement?

2) How do the Johnstone family and the Lyons family represent stereotypical working class and middle class families?

3) How can Linda and Mrs Johnstone be compared?

4) How does Mrs Lyons’ character change throughout the course of the play?

5) How does Mickey’s character change throughout the course of the play?

6) What impact does the narrator have on the mood of the play?

7) Explain how Sammy influenced Mickey’s life. Do you think Mickey’s life would have been different if Sammy wasn’t there?

Themes in Blood Brothers

Make notes on the ways these themes are presented in the play. Complete the mind map on the next page once you have all your notes. Remember to use quotations and link them to context.

Money and Social Class

Fate and Superstition

Childhood and Growing Up

Friendship

Identity (and upbringing)

Gender

Include: Quotations Events Characters

Motifs in Blood BrothersA motif is a recurrent image, idea or a symbol that develops or explains a theme while a theme is a central idea or message.

There are a few key motifs in Blood Brothers. See if you can explain the relevance of the ones listed below:

Dancing:

Themes in Blood Brothers

Guns:

Marilyn Monroe:

Theme Questions:

Answer the questions below in detail using quotations as evidence. You should write at least two full paragraphs for each one.

1) How does money control some characters and give others power?

2) How are superstitious beliefs shown to be powerful and influential?

3) How are childhood and adulthood contrasted within the play?

4) Is nature or nurture more important when it comes to forming Mickey and Edwards identities? Explain your answer.

5) How do the characters in the play conform to traditional gender roles?

6) At the end of the play Mickey tells Mrs Johnstone that if she had given him away instead of Edward he could have had Edward’s life. To what extent do you think this is true?

Find key quotations for the following points in the text:You are not allowed to take the text into the exam with you so it is important you can remember some of the key events and quotations from the play.

Narrator’s description on Mrs Johnstone 5

Description of Mrs Johnstone 5/6

Mrs Johnstone being poor 6/7

Mrs Lyons wants children 8

Mrs Johnstone on superstition 9

Mrs Johnstone worries about having two new babies 11

Mrs Lyons asks for a baby 11/12

Mrs Johnstone is persuaded by Mrs Lyons 13/14

Mrs Lyons takes the baby 18 Mrs Lyons wants Mrs Johnstone to leave 21

Mrs Johnstone wants to take the baby 22

Mrs Lyons threatens Mrs Johnstone if she tells someone about the pact 23

Narrator on superstition 23

Mickey looks up to Sammy 26/27

Mickey and Edward meet 27/28/29

Mickey and Edward become Blood Brothers 30/31

Sammy’s description of Edward 31

Mrs Johnstone meets Edward 32/33

Mrs Lyons won’t let Edward play with Mickey 35/36

Linda is introduced to Edward 42

Linda and Mickey tell Edward what to say to the policeman 43

Mrs Lyons worries about Edward 45

Mrs Johnstone gives Eddie a locket 50

Mickey describes Eddie 53

Eddie describes Mickey 53/54

The Johnstones move away 56/57

Linda loves Mickey 67/68

Mickey loves Linda 71

Mickey and Eddie are reunited 73

Edward gives Mickey advice about flirting with Linda 74

Mrs Lyons confronts Mrs Johnstone 77/78/79

Narrator describes Mickey, Linda and Eddie growing up 82/83

Edward leave for university 86/87

Linda is pregnant 87

Mickey and Linda get married 89

Mickey loses his job 91/92

Mickey agrees to help Sammy 93/94

Mrs Johnstone explains what happened to Mickey 97

Mickey starts taking pills 97/98

Linda hides Mickey’s tablets 99/100

Narrator describes Mickey 103/104

Mickey threatens to kill Eddie 105/106

Mrs Johnstone tells Edward and Mickey they are brothers 106

Narrator questions the audience 107

Mrs Johnstone is upset by Edward and Mickey’s death 107/108

Exam Style Questions

How does Russell use the characters of Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons in Blood Brothers to explore ideas about class?

Write about: • How Russell presents Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons • How Russell uses these characters to explore

ideas about class.

[30 marks]AO4 [4 marks]

How does Willy Russell present childhood and growing up in Blood Brothers?

Write about: • The ways particular characters change as they

grow up • How Russell presents childhood and growing up by

the ways he writes.

[30 marks] AO4 [4 marks]

How does Willy Russell use the characters of Linda and Mickey in Blood Brothers to explore ideas about gender?

Write about:• How Russell presents Linda and Mickey• How Russell uses these characters to explore

ideas about gender.[30 marks]

AO4 [4 marks]