Blood Brothers Key Quotations edexcel 2-Post-1914-Literature

Key Quotations

Remember, the assessment objectives explicitly state that you should be able to “use textual references, including quotations”. This means summarising, paraphrasing, referencing single words and referencing of plot events are all as valid as quotations in demonstrating that you understand the play. It is important that you remember that you can evidence your knowledge of the text in these two equally valid ways: both through references to it and direct quotations from it. 

Overall, you should aim to secure a strong knowledge of the text, rather than rehearsed quotations, as this will enable you to respond to the question. It is the quality of your knowledge of the text which will enable you to select references effectively.

If you are going to revise quotations, the best way is to group them by character, or theme. Below you will find definitions and analysis of the best quotations, arranged by the following themes:

• Nature versus nurture

• Social class 

• Superstition and fate

• Violence

Nature versus nurture

Nature versus nurture is one of the most prevalent themes within the play and challenges ideas related to personal and social responsibility. Throughout the play, Willy Russell presents the contrasting experiences and consequences relating to Mickey and Edward’s separate childhoods by demonstrating the influences of both genetics and upbringing.

“As like each other as two new pins/Of one womb born, on the self same day” – The Narrator, Act I

Meaning and context

• At the beginning of Act I, the narrator tells audiences that the twins are connected by nature, with the same natural mother

• The narrator uses an idiom to compare shiny and identical new pins with the two baby boys

Analysis

• This line, delivered in the prologue, ensures audiences know the depth of connection between the twins, due to their nature and genetics

• By telling audiences this at the start, it allows them to watch this connection tested as the play unfolds; this challenges the nature versus nurture debate

• The comparison of new pins with the twins is emphasised by the rhyme, highlighting the theme of nature (genetics) 

• Here, Russell emphasises to the audience that the boys are naturally similar

• The idiomatic expression: like two new pins, emphasises the boys’ innocence and similarities: he implies they are unspoilt, foreshadowing the influence of nurture (upbringing)

“You learn filth from them and behave like this, like a, like a, horrible little boy, like them. But you are not like them”– Mrs Lyons, Act I

Meaning and context

• This line is delivered in Act I by Mrs Lyons to Edward

• She refers to Edward playing with Mickey, Linda and the other working-class children

• Mrs Lyons is suggesting that if Edward mixes with these children from another class, he will be influenced negatively by them

• She tells him he is different to the working-class children

Analysis

• When Edward is naturally drawn to Mickey, Russell suggests nature is a factor in our identities

• Russell suggests the inevitable connection of family: despite Mrs Lyons’s desperate attempt to keep the twins apart, she is unable to defy nature

• Russell suggests Edward’s upbringing (nurture) is sheltered: Mrs Lyons is anxious to keep him separated, not only from his twin, but from working-class children

• Mrs Lyons’s use of the pronoun, “them”, divides the classes, showing Edward’s upbringing as isolated from his natural family

• The words “filth” and “horrible” suggest Mrs Lyons’s strong negative judgments on the working-class

• Russell shows Mrs Lyons’s attitude to nurture: that she believes in the influence and impact of upbringing, when she tells Edward he will learn from the children

  • Russell shows Mrs Lyons as a mother with hypocritical attitudes about upbringing (nurture), suggesting she is aware of differences between the social classes

  • This challenges Conservative perceptions of the time which suggested anyone, regardless of class, had the ability to succeed

“I wish I could still believe in all that blood brother stuff. But I can’t, because while no one was looking I grew up” – Mickey, Act II

Meaning and context

• The relationship of the twins becomes strained in Act II: when Edward returns from university, confident and secure, Mickey has just lost his job at the factory

• Mickey refers back to the moment they became blood brothers when they were eight years old (unaware they are really twins)

• Mickey tells Edward that his different upbringing made him grow up faster, facing more challenges than Edward had to face

Analysis

• Mickey’s desperate tone highlights his isolation: he feels unsupported and hopeless 

  • Pauses in Mickey’s dialogue suggest a serious tone

  • His language, “I wish” and “But”, suggests the chasm between his dreams and his reality

  • Here, Russell alludes to the way nurture influences outcomes for individuals

• Edward reminds Mickey of their bond as blood brothers, alluding unwittingly to their natural connection and showing his immaturity

• Mickey’s dismissive tone about “blood brother stuff” suggests a bitterness towards Edward stemming from their different upbringings

• Russell suggests that Mickey’s harder upbringing is less sheltered than that of Edward’s middle-class upbringing (nurture), and this creates barriers in relationships

Social class

The musical, Blood Brothers, explores the influence of social class on an individual’s ability to determine their own future. The play presents the twins’ tragic lives from birth to death, presenting the influences of both privilege and discrimination on the families’ emotional and physical well-being. 

“Don’t you know what a dictionary is?” – Edward, Act I

Meaning and context

• This line comes from Act I: Edward asks Mickey a question

• Edward has just met Mickey, aged eight, and is surprised at Mickey’s lack of vocabulary

Analysis

• This line shows the difference between Edward’s and Mickey’s social class 

• Edward, in his new middle-class family, expresses surprise at Mickey’s swear words and that he is unfamiliar with a dictionary, depicting Edward’s life as sheltered

• Mickey’s working-class family is depicted as less educated than Edward’s, highlighting the contrasting childhoods

• Russell shows how the twins’ future is influenced, from an early age, due to social class

“It used to be just sweets an’ ciggies he gave me” – Mickey, Act II

Meaning and context

• This line is from Act II, when Mickey is struggling to pay his bills after losing his job

• He is referring to the way Edward has helped him financially since they were young

• Here, Mickey refers to how Edward’s situation is even better now they are adults

Analysis

• Mickey’s low self-esteem after losing his job is expressed through frustration towards Edward: now he needs even more help, not just cheap sweets and cigarettes

• This line alludes to Edward’s better financial position due to his middle-class upbringing

• Although Edward is generous and kind-hearted, Mickey begins to find his help <span class=”popovers” data-content=”Belittling or showing a lack of respect” da