Willy Russell writes a tragic story about two twins who were separated at birth but were reunited and became best friends as youngsters at the age of seven. However their different backgrounds took them to opposite stages in life. Edward who had an upper-class lifestyle became a councillor and Mickey on the other hand got fired from a factory where he was working and was sent to prison.
They both fell in love with the same girl called Linda. However Linda was Mickey’s wife and was going to be a mother to his child when Edward fell in love with her. When Mickey had come out of prison he had been taken tablets to help his depression. Linda needed love and comfort, but also in order to get Mickey a job and both of them a house of their own she kept on meeting Edward in order to get this. While the pair of them kept on secretly meeting, they had an affair which led to a fatal conclusion.
In the end both the twins die after knowing that they were brothers. Mickey shoots Edward and a policeman shoots Mickey. This refers to what Mrs Lyons had told Mrs Johnston ‘they will both die at the moment they are told that they are brothers’. The important character that pushed Edward and Mickey to death was their mother Mrs Johnston. This is because it was Mrs Johnston who told them that they were brothers. This left Mickey with mixed emotions of anger and jealousy. He thought that he could have been in Edwards’s position, and that he could have wealthy and would have been able to have what Edward had. Edward was shot accidentally. This as because Mickey did not mean to shoot Edward, however although he would of regretted it for the rest of his life; unfortunately a policeman had shot him.
In the plat there are two main characters. These are Mickey and Edward are twins who were separated at birth. The quote ‘gis a sweet’ is said by Mickey which shows that he is a rude boy and does not have any manners. As a youngster Mickey is rude and impolite to others. This is shown by the quote above which is said to by Mickey to Edward. Mickey speaks to Edward in this manner because he is from a working-class and has been taught that he would not get the things that he would want or ask for.
For this reason he asks in a rude manner because he thinks that there is no point in asking polite for things that he would like when he can not get them, so he should ask in an aggressive and rude voice so people may be scared of him and would give him things that he would like. Another reason why Mickey asks in a rude manner is because he has got seven brothers and sisters. This means that because he lives a working-class lifestyle, he has to share his toys and sweets and sometimes would not get anything because he is the youngest.
The quote ‘gis a sweet’ is similar to the quote ‘gis a ciggie’. This is similar to ‘gis a sweet’ because it still shows that Mickey is rude and impolite but it also shows that Mickey is not afraid or shy to ask from others. By contrast, Mickey is the total opposite to Edward. This is because Mickey speaks a language full of slang where as Edward speaks a formal language. ‘Do you know F word’, this is said by Mickey in the play. Edward does not know anything about swears or slang language this is because of his upbringing which was by intelligent and wealthy parents.
On pages 70-71 we know that Mickey has grown up and at the age of 18 he is more mature and responsible than he was as a youngster. This is because he has got a job and has got married and is also expecting a baby. However we find out that Mickey had been fired form his job and has got a pregnant wife. This means that he will not be able to afford things for his baby. This is similar to Mrs Johnston’s position when she was pregnant with Edward and Mickey, she could only afford to keep one of the twins.
In this scene Mickey is shown much more intelligent than Edward because he understands the importance about having a job and providing for the family. This shows that Mickey is more intelligent than Edward because he knows about the real world and knows about having responsibilities, where as Edward thinks that money is nothing a quote to show this is ‘look…look, money money plenty of it’, This quote shows that Edward does not know the importance of money.
Although Edward has studied at university, he isn’t as intelligent as Mickey is. This is because Edward flaunts his money that he has got. As a youngster Edward was a posh and polite young boy. However he was gullible and still is. A quote to show this is ‘I can go and get you some’ this is what Edward says after Mickey asks him for a cigarette. On page 71 we once again see that Edward is gullible. ‘I thought we were blood brothers’, this quote shows that Edward is gullible because he believed Mickey that they were blood brothers when they were youngsters. Also this quote shows that Edward is childish because he still believed that him and Mickey were blood brothers at the age of 18.
Edward is childish and gullible because of his family background and the way he has been brought up. Edward had been bought up to trust people in the story and also because he does not have responsibilities towards his family and worries about being able to afford for his baby he is still childish because he has got a lot of money which gives him a lot of freedom and the power to be able to anything.
