English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

Characters in ‘Blood Brothers’ by

Willy Russell
To be used in conjunction with the ‘Context and Themes in ‘Blood Brothers’ guide.

I. Background
EVERY character in this work has to be looked at in the context of class, as that was the writer’s intent- a window into
their worlds using class as a marker, and thus what kind of lives they led. So in your essays ensure you use the terms
‘social class/ identity’ and ‘social/ class divisions’. Also a thorough knowledge of societal issues (see guide on
Themes and Context) is necessary. While it was written in the 1980s, it could have been set any time between the 1960s
and 1980s as the position of women, especially the poor, did not change in that time despite the pop culture ‘revolution’
(see guide on Themes and Context) Always include themes and context in your essays ; especially for the poorer classes
and women ; even if it is a character question, in the exam.

II. Character list in brief

The females: Mrs Johnstone, Mrs (Jennifer) Lyons, Linda, Miss Jones and Donna Marie Johnstone

The males : Narrator (Joe the milkman) ; Mickey Johnstone ; Edward (Eddie) Lyons; Mr Lyons; Sammy (elder
brother to Mickey, long time criminal, dropped on his head as a child) ; the policeman (who finds Sammy, Mickey, Linda
throwing stones) ; Mr Johnstone (absent).

Ideas to consider : Why are there more male than female characters ? (Think about the title : Blood BROTHERS and the
passivity shown by the female characters due to societal expectations) Why is the narrator male and why is he so
unpleasant ? Why is Mr Johnstone not there and why does the fact he ‘s not even there have such a disastrous effect?
(The ‘explanatory’ song in the work, ‘Disappeared Dad’ does not actually say why ; just that he walked out.) NONE of the
men are really ‘there’ for the women in their lives.

III. Characters in depth

 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

1. Mrs Johnstone

● Key words: poverty, superstition, guilt, isolation, powerlessness, instinctive.

● Start of the play: 25 years old; already has SEVEN children and a cleaner for Mrs Lyons. Clearly a ‘maternal’
trope (see further reading) and sacrifices her life for her children, thus generous, kind and loving but not a
strong disciplinarian. When Sammy burns down the school she jokes that it was ‘silly gets playing with
magnesium’ and to her education is not relevant or useful for her or her children.
● Rash (buys catalogue items even though she knows she can’t pay for them) and tries to see the positive, loves
to dance; relies on instinct not logic. So she falls back on superstition when her luck fails (and it often does).
Mrs Lyons relies on this to scare her into complying: ‘If either twin finds out they were a pair they will both
immediately die’ leading her to feel (also fuelled by her guilt) that the twins were cursed.
● Only under the most extreme manipulation did she give up her child. She refused bribes at first despite her
poverty, showing she values people more than material possessions. Her poverty makes it harder to care for her
children (see point 2) even to the point of giving Eddie away.
● She convinces herself (deludes) that things are better than they are (escapism) but also accepts life’s vagaries,
not looking for real explanations (see point 2). She, like all the characters are not black and white, and her
innate goodness is tempered by the harshness of her life.

2. Mrs Lyons

● Key words: isolation, loveless, childless, manipulative, violence, madness

● What little power she has, she uses ruthlessly (she’s richer than Mrs Johsntone but only because her husband
has more money; she’s a woman so has little personal power/autonomy, but still more than Mrs Johnstone as a
poorer woman and single mother) when she forces Mrs Johnstone to give up a child.
● She (and Mr Lyons) cannot have children which reflects on her as a woman, and she lives in a loveless
relationship, with her husband is away for work for long periods. But she too is cold (‘naturally’? Due to not being
loved herself?) and does not show affection. Once she has was she wants, she sacks Mrs Johnstone and even
moves away to escape her actions (and when Mickey and Eddie become friends) using her ‘health’ as the reason
to manipulate her husband into moving.
● She becomes anxiety ridden and suspicious, even violent when her world is threatened, attacking Mrs
Johnstone with a knife when she refuses to be bribed and hating the idea of Eddie and Mickey (‘a boy like that’)
being friends. (Guilt? Fear? Or worry she will lose what little power and control she has?)
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

● She thinks in terms of power, control and class e.g. when she tells Mickey about Linda’s affair; to cause trouble
and pain, not because she thought Mickey deserved to know the truth. People as ‘damaged’ as her often do this,
to make themselves feel better about their lives; using others to get that they want

3. Linda

• Key words: supportive, strong, tomboy (as a child) versus traditional female role as an adult.

A presence in both Eddie and Mickey’s life as a child and an adult, while she has power (but only in a male sense as a
child- tomboy, throws the grenade back, shows no fear of Sammy etc) as a child, she comes into her sexuality but swiftly
falls pregnant early, becomes a housewife- and is following the life pattern of Mrs Johnstone: ‘preparing Mickey’s work
things’ and ‘washed a million dishes’. But she supports Mickey and seems more mature than he. As all the women are
portrayed in terms of the males in the play, so too is Linda, and she is an archetype (see further reading) for conflict
between the twins. They both fall for her as they get older; she marries Mickey but also has an affair with Eddie. When
Mickey finds this out, it pushes him over the edge.

4. Miss Jones

Though she is a small part of the play, the song ‘Take a Letter Miss Jones’ shows her fate is utterly dependent on her
male employer, Mr Lyons. In the song, he makes her write the letter that gives her the sack ! Phrases like ‘sign of the
times’ in the song while relevant (see guide on Themes and Context) feel like an excuse and ‘many years of
experience…blah blah blah…’ is cruelly dismissive on all levels.

5. Donna Marie Johnstone

Like Linda, we can see Donna turn from an individual to a stereotype of a woman, just like her mother, aged before her
time by 18, dressed ‘sensibly’ ; gone are the bright red and green colours of her childhood.

6. Narrator

Introduces the characters but none acknowledge him (like a ghost), and also speaks directly to the audience. He is the
first character we meet and he sets the scene, dressed in black as if in mourning. Provider of tension- ‘broken bottle in
the sand’ predicting danger to come (foreshadowing) warning the audience tragedy will result; reinforces superstition-
‘one lone magpie’, supposed to represent sorrow.

7. Mickey Johnstone
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

• Key words : poverty, anger/violence, depression, prison, (childhood) friendship, death

• The twin his mother kept. He is active : excitable, misbehaves at school and gets suspended, even wild- often
off on ‘adventures’ and pulls pranks ; but shy emotionally, always in the shadow of his older brother Sammy. He
meets his twin aged 7 to the dismay of both mothers.

• Like Miss Jones, he too is fired by Mr Lyons, which led to a cycle of depression and addiction to pills. This self
sabotage escalates after hearing about Linda’s affair and culminates in him getting Sammy’s gun (see Themes
and Context guide), shoots him and the police shoot him in response.

7. Edward (Eddie) Lyons

• Key words : mirror image (see Themes and Context guide), privileged, successful, impulsive

• The twin given away : like Mickey, he is impulsive, but also friendly and generous (maybe he can afford to be, on
more than one level ?) He is drawn to Mickey’s bad behaviour/language as well as Mickey’s flirtations with
danger and emulates/admires him when he was younger. He too is impulsive and neither thinks of
consequences nor has empathy for Mickey’s money woes for he is a successful councillor while Mickey was a
box packer then unemployed. He too is suspended (from boarding school) for not removing the locket (what
does this symbolise ?) given to him by Mrs Johnstone when he moved away. Finally, like Mickey, he too ends up
dead due to being shot, but it Mickey that shoots him.

• They clash over Linda. At first he tries to give Mickey a chance with her instead of him, Mickey cannot express
how he feels, but when Mickey is in prison, he has an affair with her. Like his adoptive mother, he can use people
with little remorse, and sometimes his motives were suspect (when he helps Linda and gets Mickey a job working
for his father) but his nature was not overriden by his cold nurture. Could we argue that Mickey is a product of
nature, nurture, both and/or class (see Themes and Context guide.)

8. Mr (Richard) Lyons

• Key words : remote, absent, wealthy, indifferent to his workers’ poverty/ loss of work

• Only he and Mrs Lyons are given first names out of all the parents, as if they are more important. He, like Mr
Johnstone is (mostly) absent, but because he is making money, not because he’s actually left his wife. He is
away so much that apart from being a money provider, he knows little of what goes on at home, not even the
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

bargain his wife makes over the child. Just like with Miss Jones (and linked by the narrator in the song ‘Take a
Letter Miss Jones’) he feels no guilt or remorse for firing Mickey.

Issues to consider in your essays : how do the characters change and develop ? How much of that was due to class,
gender or (even) fate ?
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

NOW CHECK WHAT YOU KNOW!

1. Which characters were the twins?
a. Linda and Jennifer b. Mickey and Eddie c. Richard and Sammy d. Joe and Mickey

2. Why does Mrs Lyons force Mrs Johnstone to give her one of the twins?
a. She was childless
b. She thought Mrs Johnstone was an incompetent mother
c. To please her husband
d. She was lonely because her husband was away all the time

3. How were Miss Jones and Mickey linked?

a. They were both hated by Mr Johnstone

b. They were both sacked by Mr Lyons

c. They were brother and sister

d. They both used a gun

4. How were Linda and Mickey linked?

a. They were brother and sister

b. They were both in love with Edward (Eddie)

c. They were married and childhood friends

d. They both moved to Skelmersdale

5. Why does Mr Lyons not know where Edward (Eddie) came from?

a. He was with Mr Johsntone in the pub

b. He was talking to the policeman about the school fire

 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

c. He was in his office firing Miss Jones

d. He was away at work so much

6. Which is the most applicable word or phrase to describe Mrs Johnstone?

a. Distant.

b. A source of conflict between Eddie and Mickey.

c. Kind and loving mother.

d. a successful councillor

7. How are Eddie and Mickey similar?

a. Both impulsive, suspended from school, involved with Linda and end up dead
b. Both successful, wealthy, logical and manipulative
c. Both kind, caring, supportive and give all for their children
d. Both employed, happy, empathic and strong

8. How are Mrs Johnstone and Mrs Lyons different?

a. Mrs Johnstone was kind but poor, Mrs Lyons was manipulative and wealthy

b. Mrs Lyons was childless, Mrs Johnstone had nine children

c. Mrs Johnstone was the boss, Mrs Lyons was the cleaner

d. Mrs Lyons was superstitious and uneducated, Mrs Johnstone was cold and calculating

9. What is the most applicable word or phrase to describe Edward (Eddie) Lyons?

a. Caring, quiet and logical

b. Creative, good in school, rich
c. Distant, never at home, unfaithful
d. Privileged, impulsive, successful
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

10. What should you always take into an account when discussing characters in Blood Brothers?

a. Gender.

b. Class

c. Societal and political identity

d. Societal and political division

Answers

1. B
2. A (note the possibility of the other motives, however)
3. B
4. C
5. D
6. C (A is Mr and Mrs Lyons, B is Linda and D is Eddie Lyons.)
7. A (who might the rest describe ?)
8. A and B
9. D
10. All of them ! Never write a character essay without themes and/or context
 English GSCE Literature ‘Blood Brothers’ by Willy Russell © S McCarthy 2016

FURTHER READING :

What is a ‘trope’ ? http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/94634/what-is-a-trope-and-how-does-it-differ-from-a-

metaphor accessed 11:15pm 02/02/16

What is an ‘archetype’ ? http://literarydevices.net/archetype/ accessed 11 :27pm 02/02/16

On ‘what is a motif’ ? http://literarydevices.net/motif/ accessed 8 :26 pm 02/02/16

What is ‘symbolism’ ? http://literarydevices.net/symbolism/ accessed 8 :27 pm 02/02/16

On nature versus nurture http://psychology.about.com/od/nindex/g/nature-nurture.htm accessed 8:24 pm 02/02/16

On the symbolism of mirrors 1 : http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/mirror4.htm accessed

8:29pm 02/02/26

On the symbolism of mirrors 2:

http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/pharos/collection_pages/northern_pages/PD_32_1968/TXT_BR_SS-PD_32_1968.html
accessed 02/02/16 3:14 pm

For commentary on all the songs http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/BloodBrothers accessed 11:01 pm

02/02/16