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...
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...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.
that you cant pick out but know that they are there. You can see the
Tobias Wolff’s “The Rich Brother” is a story of two brothers, Donald and Pete. These brothers have very contrasting lifestyles; Pete is a successful businessman with a wife and kids. Donald, on the other hand, is an outcast. He’s unemployed and irresponsible. He lives his life as a vagabond. Despite these facts, the successful brother, Pete, still lacks the self-esteem he desperately craves. Therefore he tries to make his brother, Donald, feel foolish with every chance he gets.
In Tobias Wolff’s 1985 short story “The Rich Brother,” we are introduced to two brothers. According to Wolf, you cannot even tell that they are brothers because of their physical differences, but as the story goes into more detail we can tell that they are different in every aspect. One of the major differences is that one is wealthy and the other is always in need of financial assistance. The older brother, Pete, is a successful real estate agent while his younger brother, Donald, works as a painter whenever he can. The two brothers are very different in their belief about what is valuable. Pete is a man that has worked hard and values what he has acquired. His brother Donald, on the other hand, values sharing whatever he has. Even if giving everything he has leaves him with nothing.
grandmother and spends her childhood raised in relative seclusion in the big house, “'...She will be
“Of one womb born, on the self same day How one was kept and one given
Although in society humans are ranked based on social statuses, by the end of the day everyone is in the same boat. As human nature, people have a tendency of categorizing others and themselves as a way to distinguish separate classes when in reality there really is no difference. The author uses this idea as a way of showing the differences between social classes and how they are perceived to be. Throughout the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the author shows how completely different people’s lives are, yet they always seem to find that one similarity where the boundary line between them does not exist. This creates the idea that everyone ends up seeing the same sunset no matter who they are and what rank they may have in society. As the
She doesn't have a comfortable home and has a world of uncert... ... middle of paper ... ... e easy life, because one family had more money than the other. Eddie got to be a councillor and Mickey a redundant worker.
Louie, Vivian. 2001. “Parents’ Aspirations and Investment: The Role of Social Class in the Educational
know that she has a lot of suitors staying at her house and they all want to
What is discrimination? Merriam Webster, defines it as “the practice of unfairly treating a person or group of people differently from other people or groups of people”. But more generally, why does it occur? Is it because of inherent inferiority, or is it simply conformity? These questions are generally unanswered in today's society, but can be understood through careful analysis of what it means to discriminate. The text, A Class Divided, by William Peters attacks this question through analyzing both sides of the discrimination spectrum (ie. the inferior and superior group) from the perspective children. In response to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Jane Elliott, a third grade teacher in a predominantly white, middle-class
The relationship of brothers usually lasts forever, but in Louise Erdrich’s short story “The Red Convertible”, the relationship of the main characters Lyman and Henry takes a turn. Erdrich takes her audience through the experiences these brothers face and how they must come to terms that their relationship has changed. Knowing that it will most likely never be the same both Lyman and Henry try to fix their relationship until eventually one falls because of the experiences he faced in life. While Lyman may think the red convertible will save his and Henry’s relationship, Erdrich makes it clear that it will not through the characterization of the brothers, the plot of the story, and the symbolism she uses to tell her story.
is an only child; she is rich and would be a good catch for any man of
How would a society mature if it did not advance alongside technology? This is one of the questions impressed upon me while reading an excerpt from American poet and author Robert Bly’s book The Sibling Society. Bly defines a sibling society as a society that is filled with half-mature adults filling the void left by improper role models. They use internet and electronic entertainment as a substitution for the values and convictions that would have been imparted in them by an authoritative figure. Although we have an alarming amount of immature adults, we are not becoming a sibling society due to technology. With the use of technology, recent generations are now growing up with an awareness of the issues in the world around them, helping them
some reason. Later we learn this is because she has had a child out of
Socioeconomic status can be defined in terms of family wealth and assets as well as educational background. For this reason, many comparisons can be made between socioeconomic status and education. Furthermore, academic achievement and the level of education reached by an individual, is determined by socioeconomic status. Research has shown that environmental circumstances and family issues greatly influence a child's future because the impact of the socioeconomic status depends on the level to which an individual becomes successful in life. Research also shows that family conditions can impact a child’s education and their quality of life. For example, being raised in a high-economic culture increases the chances that a child will attend