Blood Brothers - CHARACTER STUDIES

Mickey Johnstone - FULL STUDY

Mickey is one of the twin brothers, raised in poverty by Mrs Johnstone. He’s witty + full of energy in childhood, but becomes disillusioned + broken by adulthood. His life reflects the impact of class + lack of opportunity.

“I wish I was our Sammy.” - Repetition + childish syntax - demonstrates Mickey’s early feelings of inferiority + desire to be more grown-up / respected like his older brother. Sets up a theme of aspiration vs reality. Childhood, class, family.

“You don’t understand anything, do y’? I don’t wear a hat that I could tilt at the world.” - Metaphor - highlights the difference between Mickey + Edward’s worldviews. The “hat” symbolises privilege + confidence. Mickey feels small + defeated. Class divide, identity, friendship.

“I could have been him!” - Short exclamatory sentence - emphasises the bitterness of fate + inequality. Mickey realises that their destinies were swapped at birth due to class. Fate + destiny, class, injustice.

Edward Lyons - FULL STUDY

Edward’s Mickey’s twin, raised in wealth + privilege by the Lyons family. Naive but good-natured, he doesn’t fully grasp the harsh realities of working-class life.

“Why…why is a job so important?” - Rhetorical question, repetition - shows Edward’s innocence + detachment from economic struggle. Highlights class ignorance. Class divide, naivety, privilege.

“If I was like him, I’d know all the right words.” - Internal monologue, conditional clause - reflects Edward’s admiration for Mickey, but also a lack of understanding of Mickey’s reality. Friendship, identity.

“I thought, I thought we always stuck together.” - Repetition of “I thought” - Suggests Edward’s emotional immaturity + his failure to understand how social + economic pressures fracture friendships. Friendship, betrayal, class.

Mrs Johnstone - FULL STUDY

Mrs Johnstone is a struggling working-class mother. Warm + loving, she’s a tragic figure who sacrifices her own happiness for her children.

“With one more baby we could have managed.” - Optimistic tone - shows her maternal instinct + hopefulness despite poverty. Contrasts w/ Mrs Lyons’ fear of motherhood. Motherhood, poverty, sacrifice.

“He wouldn’t have to worry where his next meal was comin’ from.” - Colloquial language - reflects Mrs Johnstone’s realist view of hardship. Her dialect also roots her in the working class. Class, sacrifice, family.

“Tell me it’s not true.” - Repetition, song motif - her grief in the final song encapsulates the tragedy of the story. It’s cyclical, echoing the idea of fate. Fate + destiny, tragedy, motherhood.

Mrs Lyons - FULL STUDY

Mrs Lyons is Edward’s adoptive mother. Initially composed + wealthy, her paranoia + guilt eventually consume her.

“You gave your son away.” - Accusatory tone - Mrs Lyons tries to rewrite the narrative to maintain power. Shows manipulation + psychological pressure. Class power, manipulation, motherhood.

“They say that if either twin learns that he was once a pair, they shall both immediately die.” - Superstition, foreshadowing - she uses superstition to control Mrs Johnstone, but it also ironically predicts the ending. Fate + destiny, power, class.

“You’re not the same as him. You’re not, do you hear?” - Repetition, imperative - desperation to maintain the illusion of class difference, revealing insecurity + possessiveness. Class, control, fear.

The Narrator - FULL STUDY

The narrator serves as a moral conscience + an omniscient observer. He links scenes + reinforces themes, particularly fate, guilt, + inevitability.

“There’s a pact been sealed, there’s a deal been born.” - Rhyming couplet, foreboding tone - highlights the idea of an inescapable fate. The pact echoes a Faustian bargain. Fate, superstition, tragedy.

“The devil’s got your number.” - Repetition, metaphor - suggests a looming doom; the devil symbolises guilt + inevitability. It becomes a haunting motif. Guilt , fate + destiny, superstition.

“Did you ever hear the story of the Johnstone twins?” - Direct address, cyclical structure - introduces + ends the play, reinforcing fate + tragedy through storytelling. Storytelling, fate, inevitability.