Leave Taking: Key Theme Quotations (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Leave Taking: Key Theme Quotations

Here, we will analyse key quotes grouped according to the following themes:

• Unbelonging and identity 

• Hope and aspiration

• Family 

• Education 

Having an extensive knowledge and understanding of the play will mean that you are able to answer any question that comes up in your exam to a high level, with quality evidence.

Unbelonging and identity

In Leave Taking, Pinnock explores the themes of feeling out of place and the discrepancy between a person’s understanding of their own identity and how it is viewed or interpreted by others.

What the quotation means

• Brod's lines reflect his sentiment towards the British government's treatment of him

• He expresses a sense of injustice, feeling that his identity has been stripped away with his citizenship

Analysis

• This suggests that the treatment of Brod by the British government has changed how he perceives his own ethnic identity:

  • The simile “as if I was on the moon” suggests that the government sees Brod as a kind of “other”, epitomised by the use of the noun “alien” 

  • However, in reality, he has been on the “estate” for “thirty years” 

  • This juxtaposition of perspectives highlights the disconnect between how Brod's identity is perceived by the authorities and his own experience

• Brod's statement about no longer feeling British suggests that the discrimination faced by the Windrush generation impacted their sense of belonging in the UK

• This experience of discrimination is at odds with the colonial narrative of being British, leaving many feeling disconnected from the very identity they had been taught to embrace

Paired quotations

What the quotations mean

• The first stage direction describes Brod entering Enid’s house at the start of Scene 2

• The second stage direction comes later in the same scene

Analysis

• These quotes demonstrate that the character of Brod needs a comfortable space to escape the pain and sadness caused by the discrimination against immigrants in the outside world:

  • His loosely-hanging tie might suggest his feelings of unbelonging, indicating the toll that the discriminatory society has taken on his appearance

  • It may also symbolise that he no longer wants to try to fit in by caring for his appearance

  • Enid’s flat provides a place of solace for Brod, allowing him to be himself and feel comfortable, in contrast to how he feels in the wider British community:

    • Groups in prejudicial societies often tend to form small communities, in order to obtain a feeling of belonging

    • Notably, Brod gets along well with both Enid and her daughters; the sense of community that he creates in the household reaches both the older and younger generations

Hope and aspiration

Leave Taking explores the hope conjured up by migration, education, and family. However, the play also examines the impact when these hopes and aspirations are undermined or shattered. 

Paired quotations

What the quotations mean

• The first quote is spoken by Enid as she recalls her and her husband's aspirations for their life in Britain

• The second quote is spoken by Brod; it shows the reality of life in England and how negatively it affected the couple

Analysis

• These quotes show the contrast between hopes of England and the reality of it, exposing the duality of hope and disillusionment:

  • The contrasting images of “big shots” and “black monkey” represent the enormous difference between their immigrant dream and the cruel reality of racism in England

  • The adjectives “bitter” and “tired” emphasise the damage that racial abuse caused Enid’s husband:

    • It is as though the abuse that he endured made him less of a person

  • Despite their hopes for a bright future, the discrimination Enid and her husband faced in Britain led to the breakdown of their marriage:

    • Being abused turned Enid’s husband into an abuser himself: he inflicted the pain that he felt upon his wife

Family

Pinnock explores connections that offer comfort and a sense of belonging, as well as the rifts that can develop within families due to societal pressures and unresolved issues. The play presents the complexities of familial bonds and their lasting impact on people. 

What the quotation means

• This is an example of Del looking out for the best interests of her sister

• Viv has skipped her English exam because she was unhappy with the curriculum

Analysis

• Del does not want Viv to follow her path:

  • Del cares deeply about her sister’s education, and is highly aware of Viv’s intelligence and potential:

    • This moment is especially powerful because of how it relates to Del’s own failed education

    • Without anybody to support her or recognise her reading difficulties, Del was unable to succeed in school and began to rebel

• Del is so vehement about Viv doing well she even tries to physically “push” her out of Mai’s bedsit:

  • This demonstrates the importance of family in looking after each other’s best interests 

  • This also shows Del treating Viv with the same kind of tough love that Enid later admits to using on Del (Scene 8)

  • The implication is that Del and Enid are not as different as Del would like to believe

What the quotation means

• These lines are spoken by Enid to Del at the end of the play and reveal the difficulties she experienced in her relationship with her own mother

Analysis

• This highlights the long-lasting impact of poor family relations:

  • This is shown by the repetition of “she never says a word”, as it demonstrates the emotional impact of this event

  • The repetition of the pronoun “she” creates an accusatory tone, which demonstrates the anger and frustration she feels towards her mother as a result:

    • The pronoun “she” replaces the affectionate term, “Mooma”, which implies how distant Enid became from her mother

  • These lines are especially heartbreaking because of Enid’s mother’s death in Scene 3:

    • Part of Enid’s sadness comes from the fact that this family rift can never be healed: she will never be able to speak with her mother again

• These lines make the eventual reconnection between Del and Enid all the more powerful:

  • Because Enid and Del were finally honest with each other, this mother-daughter relationship has a chance to heal, unlike that between Enid and her mother

Education

There is a generational divide between attitudes towards education. Enid highly values education for her daughters, firmly believing that “They can't take your education away from you” (Scene 2). In contrast, Del initially rejects formal education, highlighting a conflict between traditional values and the perspectives of the younger generation. 

What the quotation means

• When Enid tells Viv to say who she is, she replies with this poem ‘The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke:

  • It suggests that her mother wants her to feel English and not Jamaican

  • It also reveals the way that her education has emphasised the white, male, pre-Windrush English experience

Analysis

• This implies that Enid is trying to make Viv feel English through education:

  • Viv’s rebelliousness in the play is a reaction to this, highlighting that people cannot be made to feel a way that they do not

  • The lines also highlight the irony of Viv’s situation as a second-generation immigrant:

    • Although she is forced to learn the words of this poem, her Jamaican heritage and family life proves that England is not solely responsible for the way she has been “shaped” 

• Viv’s ability to recite words from the poem demonstrates that her education has focused on English experience rather than diverse perspectives:

  • It suggests a lack of encouragement for original thought and can therefore be read as a criticism of the rigidness of the English curriculum

  • Even Enid, who wants her daughter to be “breathing English air”, is uncomfortable with how it makes her daughter sound:

    • As Viv speaks, stage directions reveal that Enid is “not quite sure how to take this”

Source

Pinnock, W. (2018). Leave Taking. NHB Modern Plays.