What techniques does Russell use to present his key characters in 'Blood Brothers'?
The main characters we meet in the musical are:
Mrs Johnstone - The mother of the twins
Mrs Lyons - Persuades Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins
Mr Lyons - married to Mrs Lyons and is unaware that Edward is not really his child
Mickey - grows up with his real mother Mrs Johnstone and the rest of his family
Edward - was given away as a baby to Mrs Lyons
Linda - close friends with Mickey and Edward
Sammy - Mickey's older brother
The narrator - sometimes plays other roles such as the milkman and teacher and sometimes is a mysterious character who comments on the action in the musical
In the Literature exam, you may be asked to write about how a particular character is presented in 'Blood Brothers'.
To achieve a higher mark in the exam, you need to show that you are analysing a character.
To do this you must:
- pick out some of the language/structure/dramatic devices used to present the character.
- consider how the character reflects something about the context in which Russell was writing and in which the musical is set.
In this activity, we will practise analysing the characters in 'Blood Brothers' in this way.
You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.
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What techniques does Russell use to present his key characters in 'Blood Brothers'?
The main characters we meet in the musical are:
Mrs Johnstone - The mother of the twins
Mrs Lyons - Persuades Mrs Johnstone to give her one of her twins
Mr Lyons - married to Mrs Lyons and is unaware that Edward is not really his child
Mickey - grows up with his real mother Mrs Johnstone and the rest of his family
Edward - was given away as a baby to Mrs Lyons
Linda - close friends with Mickey and Edward
Sammy - Mickey's older brother
The narrator - sometimes plays other roles such as the milkman and teacher and sometimes is a mysterious character who comments on the action in the musical
In the Literature exam, you may be asked to write about how a particular character is presented in 'Blood Brothers'.
To achieve a higher mark in the exam, you need to show that you are analysing a character.
To do this you must:
- pick out some of the language/structure/dramatic devices used to present the character.
- consider how the character reflects something about the context in which Russell was writing and in which the musical is set.
In this activity, we will practise analysing the characters in 'Blood Brothers' in this way.
You should always refer to your own text when working through these examples. These quotations are for reference only.
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