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How Are We Made to Sympathise with Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers

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How Are We Made to Sympathise with Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers
Blood brother is a tragic tale about two twins who were parted at birth and as a result, led very different lives. The author, Willy Russell portrays the circumstances in which the twins were conceived, born and parted and also gives us an insight into how society has the influence of shaping individuals according to the classes they are in.
We, the audience are made to sympathize with Mrs Johnston on many occasions varying from the beginning of the play, even before the twins are born to the end of the play, when we learn about their unfortunate death. Although, the narrator is very critical of her at the beginning, I personally think he is wrong to and in this essay I shall try to explain why.
In the play Blood Brothers we see the upbringing of two so called blood brothers, Eddie and Mickey who are bought up in two different lifestyles. Mrs Johnston is the mother of seven children and is already on the way of expecting twins that were to be parted soon after. This is told to us via the narrator, who states, that the mother “stood and watched brother parted from brother”. Willy Russell uses various techniques to create sympathy for the Johnston family. We also need to take into account the language barrier between the two brothers because they have been brought up in two different back grounds and have been taught different principles. Eddie seems to behave in a more socially acceptable manner whilst Mickey is louder.
The play starts of by describing Mrs Johnston’s life and her marriage. The author quotes “that I was six weeks overdue” which makes us the audience feel sorry for her. It also describes the place of marriage which was at the registry office.
“We got married at the registry and had a do”.
This suggests to us the audience that the wedding was nothing too fancy, not too expensive and that the marriage was sudden and unexpectant. She got married because she was expecting a baby, in difficult, circumstances

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