Leave Taking: Context (AQA GCSE English Literature)
Revision Note
Written by: Helen Cunningham
Reviewed by: Kate Lee
Leave Taking historical context
The Windrush generation
Jamaica became a British colony in 1707 and remained under British rule until its independence 1961, meaning that many Jamaicans felt a sense of affiliation with Britain:
The British colonial government created events like Empire Day, which happened annually, where people in Jamaica celebrated being part of the British Empire
Britain was often known as the “mother country” by Jamaicans
Jamaicans often learned about Britain in school; they were brought up to see England as luxurious and as a paragon of civilisation
In 1948, people from the Caribbean were given the right to work and live in Britain; this led to an increase in migration between 1948 and 1970 and this generation of migrants became known as the “Windrush generation”:
This generation was named after the first ship which took people from the Caribbean to England, the HMS Windrush, which arrived in England in 1948
After arriving in the UK, the Windrush generation soon discovered that they were not considered British by many people in Britain:
This was crushing: their identities were undermined, and they often faced racist attacks
In many places, there was a fear of immigrants; some British-born people felt that they were taking over their country:
Enoch Powell, a popular Conservative politician, famously voiced these xenophobic and racist fears in his 1968 “Rivers of Blood” speech
In order to cope with discrimination, the Windrush generation often formed close-knit communities
The systemic discrimination against the Windrush generation has been highlighted recently by the Windrush scandal in 2018:
Seventy-three people who legally had a right to be in the UK were deported because the Home Office had not followed procedure properly; even more lost their right to use the NHS and to be employed in the UK
How this links to Leave Taking | |
Windrush | The characters Enid, Mai and Brod symbolise the Windrush generation in the play. Their attitudes towards Britain, and their treatment by British nationals, mirrors that of real-life immigrants. |
Integration | Jamaican reverence for Britain — and the desire of Jamaican immigrants to be accepted — is reflected in the ways that Brod describes how “all my life I think of meself as British”, and the importance that Enid places on trying “to fit in” (Scene 2). |
Attitudes towards immigrants | In Scene 2, Brod is anxious about being deported. He believes that immigrants will never be accepted, and tells the story of Gullyman, who was still racially abused despite “always correcting people” to try to sound more English: “don't say warter man. say worter”. |
Britain in the 1980s
There were huge changes in Britain in the 1980s; Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister in 1979:
Economic conditions for working-class people worsened substantially under Margaret Thatcher, at the start of her premiership
There were increasingly hostile attitudes to single mothers, people on benefits and teenage mothers:
In the press, there were claims that many people were getting pregnant so that they could get a council house
The unemployment rate which had been around 2% since the end of World War II jumped to 10% in 1987
Child poverty rose from 15% in 1980 to 30% in 1987
How this links to Leave Taking | |
Attitudes to single mothers | The characterisation of Enid and Del is a direct response to the social attitudes towards single mothers and teenage pregnancies during this period. Pinnock’s depiction of Enid as a hard-working single mother, and the reasons given for why she left her abusive husband, refute the kinds of lazy stereotyping that was so prevalent in social attitudes towards women at the time. |
The effects of these attitudes | Pinnock also demonstrates how some of these hurtful stereotypes can be assimilated by their victims: Del seems to want to believe the worst about her mother in Scene 7, even when confronted with Brod’s story about Enid’s marital breakdown. She also echoes the kinds of racist attacks endured by real women in Enid’s position when she tells her mother that the “council put you on the top of the list when you pregnant” (Scene 5). |
Leave Taking social context
The Black experience of Britain in the 1980s
Black people were frequently subjected to racist insults and demeaning language:
There were often signs in hotels and other accommodation that stated “No dogs. No Blacks. No Irish”
In 1963, many people boycotted Bristol buses as they refused to hire Black and Asian people. This became known as the Bristol Bus Boycott
The police often discriminated against Black people
The Black community faced discrimination in the workplace, at school and in the media
Black people were often turned away from clubs because of the colour of their skin:
This meant that many went to “blues parties”, where someone would host a party in the local community, typically for people who could not attend clubs and bars without discrimination
Sound systems were often used at these types of parties:
When Enid says that she has been “following that sound system for years” she may be referring to one of these parties
However, there were some developments; there were more anti-racist activists and Black politicians finally were elected to the House of Commons in 1987:
The hybrid identities of second-generation immigrants meant that they tended to integrate more easily into society more easily than their parents were able to
Immigrants often prioritised education as a way to improve their children’s standard of living
How this links to Leave Taking | |
Mistreatment of immigrants | In Scene 2, Del makes several references to the mistreatment of Black immigrants, including the attitudes of the police, whose “vans hunting us down”. She also attacks her mother for allowing herself to be mistreated, citing a time when Enid, who had been “dressed up” for a hospital party, was obliged to clean up vomit. |
Racial abuse | In Scene 7, Brod describes the far-reaching consequences of racism when he tells Del about her father’s abusive behaviour, which he describes as a direct result of the discrimination that he endured. He also gives several examples of the racial abuse suffered by Black people, including Gullyman and Del’s father being offensively labelled with discriminatory terms in Scene 2 and Scene 7 respectively. |
Hybrid identity | Viv and Del symbolise the second-generation immigrant experience, and represent aspects of British and Jamaican culture. Viv yearns to visit Jamaica, but also ultimately recognises the value of her UK education. Del, meanwhile, has embraced many aspects of life in London, including the party scene and her sexual independence — but she also represents the continuation of the Obeah tradition. Here Pinnock explores the fact that people can feel a national identity with more than one nation. |
Jamaican culture and language
Jamaicans often speak Patois in everyday conversations:
Characters, especially first-generation immigrants, are shown to speak in Patois:
The Windrush generation often used language that they associated with British people; some stopped trying to “fit in” when they realised they were rejected by society
A common motif in the play is Obeah women and practices symbolising defiance, spirituality and a rejection of Western ideas:
Obeah women bring people together and resolve issues in a spiritual way:
This allows Pinnock to demonstrate the power of connection, empathy and acceptance, rejecting the notion that Western practices are superior
The story of the Maroons is significant in the play:
Brod describes how Nanny of the Maroons was able to “bounce bullets” off herself which killed British soldiers who were trying to colonise the island (Scene 2)
Colourism (or shadeism) was prevalent in Jamaica:
Lighter skin was seen as more desirable and those with darker skin were often discriminated against
How this links to Leave Taking | |
Patois | Brod, Mai, and Enid speak in a broad Patois. This reflects their Jamaican origins and the division between them and British natives, but has other effects as well:
|
Dialect | Unlike first-generation immigrants, both Viv and Del speak in a south-east London dialect to symbolise how their experience is different from their mother’s. |
Leave Taking literary context
The realist form
Realist plays are generally reflective of real life, and intended to be relatable for the audience. Leave Taking adheres to the following conventions of the realist form:
Convention | In Leave Taking |
1: Characters speak in ways that represent the speech patterns of people in real life | The older generation speak in the style of Jamaican Patois, while Vic and Del — second-generation immigrants — speak in a south London dialect. The difference between these two speech styles represents how their experiences and education differ, but also evokes the way that immigrants feel the need to fit into their adopted society. |
2: Costumes and settings usually accurately depict the real world | The play makes several references to typically 1980s items such as sound systems, creating the sense that the play is rooted in reality. While there are only two locations in the play, both are grounded in immigrant culture: Enid’s council home evokes the housing often assigned to single mothers in the 1980s, but her insistence on cleanliness reflects the immigrant work ethic. Mai’s flat, on the other hand, is full of the kind of spiritual paraphernalia associated with Caribbean Obeah. |
3: Realist theatre often includes believable characters, often from working- and middle-class backgrounds, who experience everyday events | The realist form is especially effective during times of great social change and protest because audiences want to see their real-life struggles represented on the stage. Like many Windrush immigrants, Pinnock’s characters are shown to be torn between a desire to fit into their new home and a clear nostalgia for Jamaica. Meanwhile, their accounts of life in working-class Britain frequently make explicit references to the realities of the racism and discrimination that were so pervasive in the 1980s. Pinnock’s realist form therefore helps the audience to connect with the story, enhancing its emotional impact. |
Source
Pinnock, W. (2018). Leave Taking. NHB Modern Plays.
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