Narrator Flashcards
(4 cards)
“As Like each other as two new pins […] same self-day”
1 - portrayed them as alike in their nature – they are twins, identical
2 - pins are sharp objects, symbolising how they will hurt each other, foreshadowing how they are perhaps incompatible later in the play
3 - pins rust over time due to external factors such as their environment – their environment showcased as poverty, erode friendship
LINK - they died on the “same self-day”, showcasing how the rich and poor are inextricably bound together
Allows Russel to question whether fate is determined by genetics, or social conditions.
“Do we blame the superstition of what came to pass? Or could it be what we, the English, have come to know as class”
1 - heavily juxtaposes superstition – although many characters believed in fate, their downfall was socially constructed
2 - personal pronoun “we, the English”, directly addresses the audience and forces them to reflect on society that they live in, it is said centre stage to create this effect, it is the audience’s main focus
3 - question, almost rhetorical, reminding the reader that it was class systems that caused their inevitable death. Placed at the end for a lasting effect to be emplaced onto the reader
LINK - “Why is a job so important?”
“Y’know the devils got your number”
1 - A dark force, the devil, is tracking the characters, reminding the reader that the brother’s fate, through the proleptic prologue, is inevitable.
2 - perhaps the devil is the guilt of both the choices of Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons – they cannot escape the choices they made - “Nobody gets off without the price being paid”
3 - devil employs idea of punishments – religious connotations – that attempts to break social class boundaries leads to destruction
LINK - Common motif throughout the play - shws that your actions are always following you
“You can get up off the ground again, [..], the whole things just a game”
1 - captures the kids naive belief that nothing has lasting consequences
LINK - later of the play when Mickey cannot get back of the ground again, due his social status, and is infatuated with pills and living on the dole.
2 - showcases as a child, both Edward and Mickey are in “just a game”, it views them as equals, and perhaps shows that as a kid, class systems are somewhat irrelevant to how you have fun and live a teenage life
3 - as you get older, you realise the hardships, and get to see the “broken bottles in the sand”
4 - for the upper class its just a game, as they are protected, Edward can make mistakes but Mickey cannot - police
