Class Differences in Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell Essay -- Blood Br

Willy Russell creates a play to show us the class differences that existed in Liverpool in the 1980’s. He does this by showing us the contrasting lives of the two boys and their mothers. Mrs Lyons has an easy life and Mrs Johnston has a hard life and has to work hard to earn a living. The same applies to the boys as Mickey has the hard life and Eddie has the easy life. Willy Russell also shows us that education, living conditions, housing and wealth can be affected as a direct result of your class and social background. This meant that the people from working class backgrounds had a harder life because they didn’t have the same opportunities. During the 1980’s a lot of people were made redundant because mills and factories closed down, reducing the number of jobs. First on stage is Mrs Johnston, the stage directions describe her as ‘thirty, but looks sixty’. This tells us that the she looks withered and old because of all the strenuous work she has to do. Russell helps us to realise her desperate situation in many ways. One of the ways he does this is by telling us she has seven kids. Although she is a young woman she is old in appearance. As a single mum she has to cope with the pressures of bringing seven children up on her own. One of the ways this is shown is when kid one says ‘Mam. The baby’s crying. He wants a bottle. Where’s the milk?’. After this her other three kids start complaining about them not having enough to eat. When the mother starts singing you can tell that she is trying her best to make the kids happy but doesn’t have the money to do so. She tries to reassure them by saying ‘Next week I’ll be earning, there’ll be loads of stuff to eat’. She is dreaming about the food but deep down sh... ...ife because it affects your job opportunities if you have a poor education. For example someone with an A* has a better chance then someone with a D of getting the job if they applied for the same job. If you go to a private school you have a better chance of passing because there are fewer students so the teacher can help you more because there is more time. In the end it depends on your class which determines whether you can go to a private school or not. If you’re from a rich family you can got to a private school and you will have a much better chance of passing your exams. But if you’re from a poor family then you will have to go to a government school and you will have less chance of passing. It also depends on your hard work and not the school you attend because if you are truanting and you go to a higher achieving school then you will still fail.