GCSE-ready- Home
- Lessons
- GCSE & IGCSE English Literature
- Blood Brothers: themes and context
Blood Brothers: themes and context
🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.
Russell's musical asks a big question: is it fate or social class that decides our lives?
Class and nature versus nurture
The twins are genetically the same, so their different lives show the power of upbringing and money.
Edward's education and wealth give him chances Mickey never gets.
Edward's education and wealth give him chances Mickey never gets.
Superstition and fate
Mrs Johnstone is superstitious, and the Narrator keeps warning of fate.
At the end the Narrator asks whether superstition or class is to blame, and the play suggests class.
At the end the Narrator asks whether superstition or class is to blame, and the play suggests class.
Context
The musical was first staged in 1983 in Liverpool. It is set from the 1950s or 1960s to the early 1980s.
The early 1980s saw high unemployment, especially in the north, under Margaret Thatcher's government. Russell is from Liverpool and wrote about working-class lives.
The early 1980s saw high unemployment, especially in the north, under Margaret Thatcher's government. Russell is from Liverpool and wrote about working-class lives.
Why does Russell make the brothers twins?
- Twins share the same genes.
- Only their upbringing is different.
- So their different outcomes must come from class and environment, not nature.
Answer: To prove that upbringing and class, not birth, shape their lives.
Themes: social class, nature versus nurture, superstition and fate, friendship, and violence. Context: 1983, Liverpool, unemployment under Thatcher.
Check you have got it
Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.