Parents & Children

Test yourself

The Johnstones as a Family

Many view Mrs. Johnstone as an irresponsible mother who can't control her children.

Mrs. Johnstone giving freedom to her children

A good example of Mrs' Johnstone's liberated attitudes towards parenthood is when she allows her children to go to the cinema to see “Nymphomaniac Nights” and “Swedish Au Pairs” (Act Two), both of which are pornographic films which would not normally be considered appropriate for children.
She is also somewhat irresponsible when she makes excuses for Sammy when he burns down the school, blaming the teacher for letting the children “play with magnesium” (Act Two).

Perceptions of Mrs. Johnstone

In the eyes of many people, Mrs. Johnstone gives her children too much freedom and this contributes to their unruly behaviour.
However, there are times when she imposes some boundaries on Mickey, the youngest child in the family.
The then-seven-year-old Mickey is “not allowed to go to the baths”, nor is he “allowed to play with matches” (Act One).

Mrs. Johnstone's neighbours

Mrs. Johnstone’s neighbours celebrate when they find out that the family will be moving away, with one neighbour observing that finally “it’ll be calm an’ peaceful round here” (Act One) when the Johnstones are gone.
This shows that people in the community generally have a low opinion of Mrs. Johnstone’s parenting capabilities.

Mrs. Johnstone not controlling her children

Mrs. Johnstone acknowledges that she might appear “incapable of controllin’ the kids I’ve already got” (Act One), but she also makes it clear that she loves her family very much:
- “I love the bones of every one of them” (Act One).
This creates the impression that Mrs. Johnstone is a good-natured and loving mother who is simply doing her best in the face of adversity.

The Lyons family

Mrs. Lyon has a much stricter attitude to parenting than Mrs. Johnstone. However, the Lyons do not necessarily have a happier family life.

Cracks in domestic bliss?

Mrs. Lyons works hard to present an idyllic picture of middle class decency. We soon find out, however, that her family is far from perfect.
There are several scenes of middle class domestic bliss in the Lyons household:
- For example, when Mr. Lyons gives Edward a toy gun, and when Mrs. Lyons reads the family a story.

Mr. Lyons' absence

But, looking beneath the surface, we see that Mr. Lyons is often absent from family life, seemingly prioritising his career over his family.
This concerns Mrs. Lyons, who worries that Edward is “growing away” (Act One) from his father.

Mrs. Lyons' paranoia

Of course, unknown to Mr. Lyons, this paranoia about their son not being close to them comes from the fact that he is biologically not their son.
Mrs. Lyons’ mental stability also begins to affect the Lyons’ family life as her feelings of paranoia eat away at her.
When Edward swears at her, she responds by hitting Edward “hard and instinctively” (Act One), showing her to have a violent side.

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

Jump to other topics