Sammy

Sammy: Aggressive and Threatening

Sammy is immediately aware of societal injustice and feels hard done by. In turn he becomes an aggressive and threatening character.

Reaction to Edward

From the outset, Sammy seems to be very aware of society’s class divides, and displays a hostile attitude towards Edward when they first meet, highlighting the key difference between the two twins:
- “He’s a… poshy.” (Act One).

Aggressive as a child

Early on in the play, Mickey describes Sammy as “dead mean sometimes” (Act One), and his tendency to be rough and aggressive as a child is a warning sign of the kind of adult he is set to become.

Betrayed by society

Perhaps Sammy’s aggression comes from the way he is marginalised by society.
He has no father, no prospects of employment, and no money. Russell could be using his character to illustrate what becomes of the people who society tries to ignore.

Sammy: Spiralling Behaviour

As the play develops, Sammy's behaviour spirals and becomes increasingly dangerous.

A role model for Mickey

At first, Mickey admires Sammy’s bad behaviour, singing “I wish I was our Sammy”, looking up to him for his humorous pranks.
Therefore, despite his poor behaviour, Sammy is a role model to his younger brother.

Burning down the school

However, Sammy’s behaviour deteriorates and moves far beyond what one might consider to be innocent mischief. When Mrs. Johnstone sings “our Sammy burnt the school down” (Act Two), she also goes on to defend his behaviour by blaming the teacher for allowing “the silly gets” to “play with magnesium” (Act Two).
This shows that Sammy’s upbringing lacks clear boundaries and that his mother often allows him to get away with things. This could be a reason why his behaviour continues to worsen throughout the play.

The bus incident

Another situation in which Sammy presents very worrying behaviour is the incident on the bus, where an argument over the fare gets out of hand and results in Sammy threatening the bus driver.
Mickey tries to handle the situation in order to diffuse it and get Sammy out of trouble, but this is a sign of what is to come later on, when Mickey will not be able to avoid being drawn in to Sammy’s criminal ways:
- “Sammy, tell him, tell him you’re really sixteen. I’ll lend you the rest of the fare…” (Act Two).

Armed robbery

The final escalation of Sammy’s delinquency is his involvement in the armed robbery which ultimately leads to Mickey being imprisoned:
- “Fifty quid Mickey. Fifty quid for an hour’s work.” (Act Two).

Sammy: Gun Obsessed

Throughout the play, Sammy is very interested in guns. This becomes relevant in the climax of the plot, as Mickey kills Edward.

Childhood interest

From the very start of the play, Sammy has a keen interest in playing with toy guns.
Although this starts off as innocent play, the toy gun symbolises the violence which is to come as Sammy soon intends to move on from toy guns to real guns:
- “It only fires caps. I’m gonna get a real gun soon, I’m gonna get an airgun.” (Act One).

Robbery

Sure enough, Sammy’s toy guns soon become real guns, and the botched robbery in Act Two mirrors the games Sammy and the others used to play as children in a dark and sinister way:
- “You shot him, you shot him.” (Act Two).

Mickey using Sammy's gun

Sammy’s ability to obtain guns becomes a central part of the plot because, in the end, it is Sammy’s gun, hidden under the floorboards, that Mickey uses to kill Edward.

1Context & Author

1.1Context

1.1.1Setting

1.1.2Political Background

1.1.3Education & Work

1.1.4Marilyn Monroe & Pop Culture

1.1.5Family

1.2Author

1.2.1Willy Russell

1.2.2End of Topic Test - Context & Author

2Plot

2.1Act One

2.1.1Overview: Introduction to Mrs Johnstone & Lyons

2.1.2Analysis: Introduction to Mrs. Johnston and Lyons

2.1.3Overview: The Birth of Mickey & Edward

2.1.4Analysis: The Birth of Mickey & Edward

2.1.5Overview: Mickey Playing at Home

2.1.6Overview: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds

2.1.7Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds

2.1.8Overview: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds 2

2.1.9Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Seven-year-olds 2

2.1.10End of Topic Test - Act One

2.1.11End of Topic Test - Act One 2

2.2Act Two

2.2.1Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers

2.2.2Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers

2.2.3Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 2

2.2.4Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 2

2.2.5Overview: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 3

2.2.6Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Teenagers 3

2.2.7Overview: Mickey & Edward as Adults

2.2.8Analysis: Mickey & Edward as Adults

2.2.9End of Topic Test - Act Two

2.2.10End of Topic Test - Act Two 2

3Characters

3.1Mickey

3.1.1Mickey

3.1.2Mickey as a Damaged Adult

3.2Edward

3.2.1Edward

3.2.2Edward 2

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Mickey & Edward

3.3Linda

3.3.1Linda

3.3.2Linda 2

3.4Mrs Johnstone

3.4.1Mrs Johnstone

3.4.2Mrs Johnstone 2

3.5Mrs Lyons

3.5.1Mrs Lyons

3.5.2Mrs Lyons 2

3.5.3End of Topic Test - Linda & Mothers

3.6Mr Lyons

3.6.1Mr Lyons

3.7Sammy

3.7.1Sammy

3.8The Narrator

3.8.1The Narrator

3.9Minor

3.9.1Minor Characters

3.9.2End of Topic Test - Other Characters

3.10End of Topic Sessions

3.10.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

4Themes

4.1Parents & Children

4.1.1Parents & Children

4.2Growing Up

4.2.1Growing Up

4.3Friendship & Brotherhood

4.3.1Friendship & Brotherhood

4.3.2End of Topic Test - Parents, Growing Up, Friends

4.4Fate & Superstition

4.4.1Fate & Superstition

4.5Nature vs. Nurture

4.5.1Nature vs. Nurture

4.6Social Class

4.6.1Social Class

4.6.2End of Topic Test - Fate, Upbringing & Class

5Literary Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure

5.2Tragedy

5.2.1Tragedy

5.3Dramatic Irony

5.3.1Dramatic Irony

5.4Imagery

5.4.1Imagery

5.5Character & Voice

5.5.1Character

5.6Music & Lyrics

5.6.1Music & Lyrics

5.7Accent & Dialect

5.7.1Accent & Dialect

5.7.2End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques

5.7.3End of Topic Test - Literary Techniques 2

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