Leave Taking: Character Quotations (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Key word or phrase to memorise: “dirt” and “escape”

What the quotation means:

Although Enid left Jamaica for a better future, she does not feel fulfilled because of how hard her life has been in England

Theme:

Unbelonging and identity

• Enid speaks this line after discovering that her mother has died

• Enid is describes her Jamaican home metaphorically as the “dirt”

• “Dirt” has connotations of poverty:

  • It thus implies that Enid’s social status was low, and that she comes from simple, rural home

• She is portrayed as mocking the idea that she has escaped poverty:

  • In actuality, leaving the rural “dirt” of Jamaica has not led to happiness

  • Here Pinnock suggests that the Windrush generation often were let down by their experience of Britain

  • Enid implies that her former community in Jamaica, though poor, was more fulfilling: “in a way they less poor than us, they have each other” (Scene 8)

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“It isn't easy”, “nobody” and “screaming”

What the quotation means:

Enid finally expresses her emotions and feelings about England which leads to a greater connection with her daughter

Theme:

Unbelonging and identity

• This quote occurs at the end of the play when Enid is talking to Del about what it’s like to live in England

• This is one of the first times in the play she has been open with her emotions and is therefore a key turning point

• Prior to this scene, Enid is presented as struggling to express her feelings about Britain, her life and how she is treated by others:

  • She finds that “it isn't easy” for her to express her emotions

• Here, the repetition of “nobody” and “screaming” creates the sense that she is almost bursting with emotion, overwhelmed and unable to fully articulate herself:

  • Pinnock portrays the pain and isolation caused by discrimination 

  • Even now, she prefers to safely distance herself from her feelings by using the pronoun “you” instead of “I” or “me”

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“beating” and “monster”

What the quotation means:

Del never knew the truth about her mother’s abusive relationship with her father because Enid had always tried to protect her daughters

Theme:

Family

• Enid is presented as having endured domestic abuse; she received “beatings” from her husband:

  • In this scene, Del may symbolise wider society in the 1980s

  • She doesn't want to contend with the harsh realities that can lead to family breakdowns, and would rather turn a blind eye

  • She also does not want to accept that her beliefs about her father were wrong

• Enid had no choice but to leave her husband, and is not a “monster”:

  • Here, Pinnock challenges the idea that single mothers were selfish, which was a common misconception in the 1980s

  • Indeed, Enid shows selflessness and bravery by choosing to leave her abusive husband

  • She takes on an enormous financial burden and endures considerable social stigma

  • Brod’s use of the emotive word “beating”, with its violent, plosive “b” sound, encourages us to feel sympathy for her

• Enid is presented as being reticent with her daughters; this leads to her daughters not fully understanding her:

  • The noun “monster” has connotations of disgust and malevolence

  • This implies that Del has the wrong impression of her mother because her mother does not discuss her feelings, or her past

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“Police, Miss Mai” and “the shame” 

What the quotation means:

Enid tells Mai that Del's behaviour in the past has caused Enid shame

Theme:

Family

• Enid is unaware that Del is currently living with Mai, and may be able to hear the conversation

• The disjointed speech in “Police, Miss Mai”, creates the sense that Enid is struggling to articulate the words because she is so horrified:

  • This suggests that Del is uncontrollable and reckless, but also implies that Enid finds Del’s actions and behaviour difficult to talk about

• Enid states that the relief that Del only got a “caution” did not reduce the emotional impact on her; she says, “she get a caution, but the shame”:

  • Enid clearly sees Del’s failings as her own: Del committed a crime, but Enid feels the intense shame of it

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“hunting”, “lowest of the low” and “bowing” 

What the quotation means:

Del rebels because of the societal discrimination she has faced — something that she doesn’t believe that her mother understands

Themes:

Family; Unbelonging and identity

• The verb “hunting” alludes to the idea of police as predators and implies that Black people are treated as innocent prey: 

  • Del clearly believes that the police are actively trying to intimidate Black people

  • The police symbolise the moral and social views of the public at large; this implies that discrimination is widespread

• Del describes being treated with contempt at work:

  • Her manager treats her as though she is “the lowest of the low”

• Del is portrayed as mocking her mother, implying that she is oblivious to the discrimination that she and other Black people endure:

  • The contrast between “hunting”, which suggests malice, and “bowing”, indicative of reverence, creates a sense of irony

• To survive in a society with prevalent discrimination, Enid is forced to appear submissive and must tolerate disrespect:

  • In Scene 8 Enid tells Del that she is painfully aware of how her children are mistreated by society

  • Del’s description of her mother, a Black woman, “bowing” has connotations of the historical slavery of Black people in Britain

  • Del’s language suggests that attitudes towards immigrants have not changed since the time of slavery

Key word or phrase to memorise:

 “like black ants”, “give up” and “Clairvoyance”

What the quotations mean:

Del is highly intelligent with strong intuition and a natural gift for Obeah, but she suffers from dyslexia and does not believe in herself

Themes:

Unbelonging and identity; Education

• Del is presented as intelligent and intuitive:

  • Mai suggests that she has the “clairvoyance” to be an Obeah

  • Del demonstrates these talents in this scene by reading Mai’s palm and learning about her heart condition

• Mai describes Del’s experience with dyslexia when she uses a simile to explain Del’s reading difficulties: “words run across the page like black ants”:

  • This leads her to “give up” with education

  • Here Pinnock suggests that some students are unable to reach their potential at school because of a lack of understanding and support  

  • Mai has the potential to excel in Obeah, though, an education tied to her culture

• These lines give the audience a deeper understanding of Del’s character:

  • Until now, her rebellious behaviour has been connected only to the mistreatment that she has suffered as a young Black woman

  • Here, Pinnock reveals that Del has also been let down by the education system

  • The education system did not understand her, bullied her, and wasted her natural talents

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“search for myself in them books” and “never there”

What the quotation means:

Viv is frustrated by studying texts that don’t resonate with her experiences as a young Black woman

Themes:

Education; Unbelonging and identity

• Viv has been demotivated by the narrowness of the curriculum:

  • The personal tone, created by the fact that she metaphorically injects herself into this line injects poignancy

  • Here Pinnock criticises the lack of racial diversity in the English curriculum

• Her suggestion that she is “not there” in the books that she studies for English has a double meaning:

  • She does not see young, Black, working-class women like herself represented in the texts that she reads

  • She can no longer see herself enjoying, or feeling engaged with, her English studies

  • This line foreshadows her later decision to go to university to study Black Studies

• She suggests that education makes her robotic: “I know the answers, pat me on the head and they come tumbling out”:

  • Here Pinnock seems to criticise the rigidity of school assessments

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“what will she do?”

What the quotation means:

Viv is scared of failing her exams, but is less concerned about herself and more concerned about her mother

Theme:

Education; Hope and aspiration

• This line shows that Viv is impacted by the enormous pressure that Enid puts her under to do well:

  • Contextually, this reflects how immigrants of this generation prioritised education as a means of assimilation

  • Viv’s concern also suggests that she hopes that she can eventually use her educational qualifications to provide for her hard-working mother

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“(Holds her hand out)”

What the quotation means:

Del has underestimated Mai, and is surprised to be caught out when Mai realises that Del has tried to steal a charm from her

Theme:

Education; Family

• Mai is presented as having strong intuition and clairvoyance; she is able to understand people and predict their behaviour:

  • This suggests that some African traditions and customs are superior to Western ideas, which contrasts with the views of the English in the late 1980s

• Pinnock uses hands as a versatile symbol for human interaction throughout the play, and hands are involved in powerful moments at the very start and very end of the play:

  • Scene 1 ends with Mai holding out her hand as an accusation, creating a moment of conflict

  • Scene 8 ends with Del holding her mother’s hand, representing their shared emotional healing

Key word or phrase to memorise:

“hard on my boy”, “save him” and “hell”

What the quotation means:

Mai is trying to encourage Del to understand Enid’s situation; Mai uses the strained relationship between herself and her son as an example of a mother using tough love to try to protect their child

Theme:

Family

• Mai uses a personal relationship which mirrors that between Enid and Del to show Del that Enid does care about her and that’s why she is so “hard” on her:

  • Enid is trying to “save” Del; she knows how hard life can be and wants her daughter to be tough and ready for the tough world she will face

  • This is one of the reasons that their relationship rekindles at the end, showing the power of understanding

• Like Enid, Mai understands that England is not perfect but does not want to admit this because there is nowhere to “escape” to:

  • The contrast between “escape” and “hell” creates a conflict between desire and reality, reflects her son’s frustration

  • Mai’s story represents the plight of second-generation immigrants who are part of two worlds but do not feel as though they belong in either