5.2.1

Tragedy

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Blood Brothers: a Classic Tragedy?

Blood Brothers is generally considered to be a tragedy, but it is important to note that a tragedy is more than just a story with a sad ending.

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A tragic hero

  • A tragedy must also contain a flawed hero: someone who is essentially a good person but, because of faults in their character, ultimately acts in a way which causes his or her own downfall.
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Mickey and Edward fitting the profile of the tragic hero

  • Both Mickey and Edward could be said to fit the profile of the tragic hero.
    • Mickey’s dependence on drugs after his imprisonment could be said to be one of his great flaws, while Edward’s affair with Linda is also a mistake which contributes to his downfall.
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Who suffers more?

  • In the end, however, it is Mickey who suffers the most in the play.
  • While Edward is lucky to be adopted into a wealthy family, Mickey has to suffer the effects of poverty.

Blood Brothers: Not a Classic Tragedy?

However, there are some features of Blood Brothers which mean that it does not quite fit the genre of a typical tragedy.

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Are Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons to blame?

  • For all of Mickey and Edward’s faults and flaws, it could be argued that the real reason for the tragic ending comes from Mrs. Johnstone and Mrs. Lyons’ plan to separate the children at birth.
  • When Mickey finally finds out the truth, he is “almost uncontrollable with rage”, realising that he “could have been him” (Act Two).
  • It is at this point that Mickey shoots Edward.
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Class vs. free will

  • An alternative interpretation could be that, as the Narrator suggests at the end of Act Two, the downfall of Mickey and Edward is not the fault of any individual character, but that it is “class” (Act Two) which leads to their deaths.

Jump to other topics

1Context & Author

2Plot

3Characters

4Themes

5Literary Techniques

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