Blood Brothers Essay Example for Free (#7)

Blood Brothers Essay In the three plays I have read by Willy Russell, all of them are linked by the fact that they all contain an aspect of social inequality. Russell uses humour in all these plays to show serious messages, mostly through stereotypes. In every play there are two very contrasting social groups, each figure-headed by certain characters in the stories. For example, in Blood Brothers, Mickey figureheads the working class society like Rita does in Educating Rita, and the children do in Our Day Out. Whereas Eddie figureheads the middle class society in Blood Brothers, Frank does in Educating Rita, and Mr. Briggs does in Our Day Out. We found that the people from the working class backgrounds were all very broad scoucers, who tended to use slang words such as â€Å"ciggie† and â€Å"chippie. † They were what you would call a very typical stereotype of a broad liverpudlian. Most of them had problems aswell. For instance, Mickey in â€Å"Blood Brothers† has family problems because he has many older siblings which means he gets a lot of hand-me-down clothes and gets bullied by his older brother Sammy who breaks his toys. Rita in â€Å"Educating Rita† has many conflicts with her husband Denny who doesn’t want her to carry on with her tuition from Frank. She wants to be educated so that she can have choices. As the play progresses and Rita becomes more educated she begins to make her own decisions, she moves out of her house, ends her relationship with Denny and says â€Å"I might even have a baby† The people from the middle class backgrounds however were made to look rather different. Eddie in â€Å"Blood Brothers† doesn’t have to share his toys with brothers or sisters like Mickey does, and his mother doesn’t have to worry about financial problems because they have quite a lot of money. The men that were from the middle class backgrounds (Mr. Briggs and Frank) both wore suits and seemed to be well educated, living a comfortable lifestyle. This society of people in the stories tended to speak more formally using words such as â€Å"What in the world is being off one’s cake? † Eddie is brought up to speak correctly and not use colloquialisms. In â€Å"Blood Brothers† Micky asks him what a dictionary is and Eddie replies â€Å"It is a book which tells you the meaning of words. † I think Russell makes the social classes seem so very different to one another in each play, so that when they come together there is a lot of humour, but also a lot of tension between them because neither social class really understand each other. This forms a rich and poor type of scenario for all three plays. In â€Å"Educating Rita† Frank is a rich lecturer and Rita is a poor university student who has bad problems with her husband at home. In â€Å"Our Day Out† there is a similar contrast between Mr. Briggs the, well-spoken teacher, and the children who come from a poor, run-down area. These rich and poor scenarios are serious messages that Russell conveys in all three plays. Interestingly enough though, it is the people from the middle class backgrounds that turn out to be the most strange of the two societies. Frank in Educating Rita has a drink addiction, yet has a comfortable lifestyle and is on a stable income. Mr. Briggs doesn’t like the children at the school where he works because they are less fortunate than himself, he says â€Å"most of them were rejects on the day they were born. † Eddie’s adopted mother in Blood Brothers, Mrs. Lyons, is supersticious and unhappy. Quote: â€Å"The shoes! The shoes! On the table! Get them off! Get them off! † Frank and Mr. Briggs are in many ways the same, they both wear suits and dress smartly, they both have similar lifestyles and they both have some sort of problem (i. e. the drink and the hatred for people less fortunate than him). This is where I think that Blood Brothers is different, it doesn’t contain a male character as old as Frank or Mr. Briggs who appears often in the story. Whereas the conversations between adult and youth in the other stories are mainly comical, like in Our Day Out when the two lads are caught smoking at the back of the bus, in Blood Brothers they are more intense. I think Blood Brothers on the whole is more intense. In Blood Brothers Russell uses a narrator drifting in and out of the play at certain times, saying daunting things about the scene that has just happened, or is going to happen. I believe this represents the devil and is a good way of creating an eerie tension, because he moves to different places on the stage in the play, and you never see his whole face or body, he is always in the shadows. There are no narrators in the two other plays but dramatic devices also take on the form of dramatic irony. In â€Å"Blood Brothers† this is shown by the two twins not knowing they are twins, when they first become friends. Later in the story when they find out they were born on the same day â€Å"That means we can be blood brothers† the audience can see what is happening, they are going to eventually find out that they are real brothers, and there will be a big disaster because of this. â€Å"Our Day Out† shows dramatic irony when the bus driver is told the children can’t afford sweets or lemonade â€Å"lemonade never touches their lips† but when the driver turns around they all are munching on chocolate bars! Later on their journey the bus stops at a sweet shop and the audience sees the shopkeepers talking about raising the prices of the goods in their shop â€Å"Can I help inflation? † The audience now know that the shopkeepers are going to raise their prices, but the children don’t. The children get their revenge for being ‘ripped off’. They all squeeze into the shop and each time the shopkeepers turn their backs to collect more sweets from the shelves, the kids pocket anything in front of them. The two shopkeepers are oblivious to the stealing taking place until the coach leaves and they realise no money from the till has changed hands â€Å"Thievin’ little bastards! † shouts one of the shopkeepers. Russell also uses the influence of song in â€Å"Blood Brothers† and â€Å"Our Day Out† to show the mood and feelings of the characters as the play progresses. At the beginning of â€Å"Blood Brothers† Mrs. Johnston is seen dancing in a pub singing a song with the lines â€Å"Oh we went dancing. † in the chorus. As the play continues she occasionally sings this line but at a tempo which reflects the mood of the play itself. In â€Å"Our Day Out† the songs are cheerful and uplifting â€Å"We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car. † The themes of the three plays are all linked in many ways. As I have said before, social inequality connects all three, another is the fact they are all set in and around Liverpool with some of the characters in each play speaking with a very broad Liverpudlian accent. Finally, the last one is that they all contain an aspect concerning death. I. e. In Blood Brothers, Mickey and Eddie, in Educating Rita, Rita’s flatmate tries to commit suicide, and in Our Day Out one of the pupils called Carol also attempts to kill herself â€Å"Try an’ get me an’ I’ll jump over. † I believe that Willy Russell features the aspects of social inequality, hatred, death, abuse, love, irony and humour in each play because he knows they have a hard-hitting impact on the audience. Also I think it is because at some time in his life he has been affected significantly by them and so, involves them in something which he can express his feelings and emotions at. Writing. Blood Brothers. (2017, Sep 23).

International Joint Venture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Joint Venture - Essay Example The partnership could be short term or temporary such that it ceases to exist after meeting its goal such as in case of projects. Some of IJV partnerships are long-term and last for longer periods. During the formation of joint ventures, the firms or companies combine their assets, which could be in material form or intangible such skills as well as technological knowledge. Joint ventures help in licensing, franchising as well as in export of company products. This paper focuses on why companies choose to enter into an international joint venture, reasons why international joint ventures fail and things that can be done to increase the success rate of International Joint Ventures. Types of Joint Ventures Joint ventures take different forms depending on objectives of the partnering companies. Some companies may decide to co-operate through signing of contract. This is for example viable if a small company wants to form collaboration with another larger company to enhance sale and dist ribution of certain products. A good example is the Joint venture between Tata motors and Fiat, which has been discussed under the reasons for formation of joint ventures. The joint venture helped Fiat market its diesel engines. Another type of venture entails coming up with a new joint company where each partner has a specific number of shares to enable division of expenses and profits. This option works best when the business venture involved is a long term or short-term contract. Another partnership option is complete merging of the firms involved in the partnership. When deciding the type of joint venture to get into, it is crucial for the partners to understand the responsibilities of each party as well as the risk involved in the venture. It is also important to seek legal advice in making the decision of the appropriate venture. A legal agreement should also be signed between the partners to specify on sharing of income or assets in case of failure of the venture (Gutterman, 2002, p.32-35; Yan and Luo, 2001, p.181-183). Why Companies Enter Into International Joint Ventures Companies enter into partnership for various reasons. The major reason for companies entering into International Joint ventures is for economic reasons explained by a number of theories, which include transaction cost economics, resource-based theory, transaction-value theory, real options theory, and increased returns theory (Gutterman, 2002, p.168-173; Yan and Luo, 2001, p.233-236). Transaction cost economics is a theory formulated by Williamson, which assumes that formation of IJCs helps in outsourcing since accessibility of resources such as revenue and services, becomes easier. The firms are able to exchange technological ideas and new business ideas while the market range is also expanded. An example is the Tata Motors and Fiat joint venture, which was formed to manufacture cars from both Tata and Fiat at a reduced cost. In this joint venture, Tata motors buys diesel engines fro m Fiat. On the other

Muscles Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Muscles - Research Paper Example When the muscle needs to relax, an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase breaks down the existing acetylcholine that is in the synapse which terminates contraction. The sarcoplasmic reticulum ceases production of calcium II ions and immediately begins reuptake of the pre-existing ions. The muscle is then returned to its original shape via movement of muscle fibers. (2)Both systems are vital to our structure and our movement. The skeletal system is the support frame for our entire body. In some cases it encases vital organs (ie skull is to brain as rib cage is to intestines). However, the musculature in our body allows for vital functions to be carried out such as heart rate for blood pressure, movement of food for digestion as well as serving an important motor function as well. Muscles are attached to almost every part of the skeletal system. Without the skeletal system, our bodies would collapse under the weight of the muscles and without the musculature, we would not be able to carry out vital functions in our bodies as well as have locomotion. (3)The extensor carpi radialis was what allowed Ann to reach for the box on top of the refrigerator. This happens through muscle passively lengthening.