Stereotypes in Our Day Out

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Stereotypes in Our Day Out Can Willy Russell be accused of using stereotypes as a means of putting his opinions forward? Throughout the play; ‘Our Day Out’, written by Willy Russell, there is a constant use of stereotypes portrayed in the characters. Stereotypes are standardised characters or a fixed idea of something. Willy Russell used stereotyping as an effective way of putting his opinions forward because he could develop his initial ideas for characters to raise awareness of what Liverpool was like in the 1970s. In my opinion Willy Russell wanted to show the general life of many children in Liverpool in the 1970s and also to show that stereotypes create false views of certain people and are harmful in general. In the text, the main characters are children and teachers in 1970S Liverpool. Teachers are often stereotyped anyway; people presume that they are strict and disliked or the opposite. This contrast is shown with the two characters Mr Briggs, who is rather strict and Mrs Kay who is not. In the play Mr Briggs is often shouting at the children or telling them off: “Never mind what for, just do what you’re told, lad.” This emphasises the point that he is stern. There are no points in the text where Mrs Kay has this attitude directly towards the children. The children in the play are also stereotyped because they live in a rough area and don’t have many opportunities- because of the fact that they live in Liverpool. In the play the children swear and steal, suggesting that they are somewhat deprived; they break the law and are impolite as they don’t know any better and have been brought up in a way which it is natural to do so. They are underprivileged as when they encounter animals at the ... ... middle of paper ... ... he is very caring. I feel that Willy Russell uses stereotypes as a means of putting his opinions forward because stereotypes are so powerful and would make his opinions clear without directly linking them to him. They also make the text more understandable for the reader and intended audience. As a final point, I feel that Willy Russell uses stereotypes to no only make his opinions known but also to show that stereotypes are very powerful and maybe even deter people from using them as they can limit a persons mind, if, for example a child had been told they wouldn’t get a good job it may stop them from trying. Therefore Willy Russell does use stereotypes to put forward his opinions and may also use them to make people think carefully before they make presumptions about someone because of their age, race, job, wealth, beliefs or even their background.

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