Mickey Johnstone Profile

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  • Created by: RubyNiamh
  • Created on: 13-07-18 10:53

Personality:Act 1

Personality: Act 2

  • Working Class boy from Liverpool
  • Carefree, Mischevious,Happy
  • His mother is loves all of her children very strongly, but sometimes struggles to cope with them all
  • Mickey feels a strong, family-like bond with Edward, even though they have barely met
  • Jealous of his older brother Sammy, who Mickey looks up to as a type of father figure,suggesting the path Mickey may be driven to go down in adulthood
  • Looked upon differently from a young age due to his background, shown when you compare the policemen speaking to the Lyons and the Johnstones
  • In the abscence of his father, Mickey tries to act like a man
  • Mickey doesn't acknowledge the differences between himself and Eddie, which is pointed out by Sammy, as Mickey only sees Eddies kind nature rather than his background.
  • Mickey and Edward become blood-brothers, symbolising strength of family bonds
  • He always had a close bond with Linda, even though he may not have known his feelings for her himself. From a young age, he felt a need to impress her, which is the same as in adulthood
  • Act 2 starts by showing Mickey as a typical teenager
  • In general though, Mickey is fairly happy at this time, and has some feelings for Linda, but is struggling to understand his emotions, which suggests he may have had some complications with his emotions previously, perhaps due to his childhood issues
  • State schooling is failing Mickey, but there isn't any suggestions that he isn't bright. It seems like his path had been set from an early age.
  • Mickey is reunited with Edward in his teenage years, and Mickey, Edward and Linda spend some of the happiest years of their lives together. You can compare the bliss of childhood and the harshness of adulthood in this part of the play.
  • Mickey gets a job, which he is happy about, as it makes him into a man
  • Mickey getting a job and Edward living for University is the volta of the play, when everything changes
  • Mickey loses his job, which was typical in 1980s Britain. He had previously found out Linda was pregnant so decided to get married, but losing his job dealt a massive blow to the happy life that could have been. These events send him on a downward spiral into crime and depression.
  • His relationship with Edward becomes severed at this point, as Edward life is looking up, and Mickeys is only looking down.
  • He agrees to be lookout for Sammy's robbery attempt, but when it goes badly wrong, Mickey is thrown in Prison, where he becomes addicted to anti-depressants, draining the last of the boy he once was out of him.
  • Mickey doesnt want to accept help as it will threaten his masculinity.
  • Mickey is at rock bottom, and not thinking straight takes a gun to the town hall and points it at Eddie, and shoots him, leading him to get shot himself

Development (Growth & change)

Other information              

  • In act 2, he uncharacteristically agrees to be lookout for Sammy's robbery attempt. Mickey had previously tried to distance himself from being involved in these crimes, showing how society had changed him from the happy,honest man he was previously.
  • Mickey and Eddies mental state seems to reverse in the play, with Mickey originally being very Loud and Carefree, whereas Eddie was more Quiet and Reserved. This changes in act 2 though, where Eddies confidence grows and Mickeys confidence crumbles.
  • Sammy knows not to trust people of better social backgrounds, as he has likely experienced mistreatment and judgement of those from middle classes, where as Mickey has not
  • It is interesting how Mickey and Eddie have the same nature at heart, even though they were brought up in two different households by completely different 'parents'. Suggests that Edward is still Mrs J's 'child' even though he was raised elsewhere
  • Mickey and Eddie end up falling for the same girl, showing how similar they really are to each other

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