How do we know the Morrisons are very poor?
There is no toilet inside their house
The children do not have proper clothing
There’s a rat in Granny’s bed
What is the view like from the tenement?
It looks out onto a green hillside with tall trees
It looks out onto a vast ocean
It looks out onto other run-down tenements
How does Maggie humiliate Jenny?
She follows Jenny to the club and shouts to her boyfriend
She stands outside Jenny’s work to see if she can get any unwanted fruit and vegetables
She tries to hug Jenny in front of her friend, Nessie
What has living in poverty done to John?
It has toughened him up and made him fight hard for a better life
It has made him turn to drink
It has beaten him and wounded his pride
How are the women portrayed in the play?
They are generally active
They stay in bed all day
They are weak characters
In what way does Maggie step out of her stereotypical role in the final scene?
She, instead of John, makes the decision to keep Jenny’s money
She asks John to make the dinner
She leaves them all and goes to the pub
How do the stage directions highlight Maggie’s new strength in the final scene?
It says that she laughs at John sarcastically and gives him a look of disgust
It says that she kneels in front of John and weeps
It says that she rises and speaks with uncharacteristic force
Why does John hit Jenny in Act I?
He is angry because he has not been able to provide for her
He is frustrated because she does not do enough housework
Jenny swears at her mother
Why does Alec not kill Isa?
He does not have a knife
He is too feeble and panics when he realises he is hurting her
Maggie walks in and stops him
How do we know that Maggie finds each day a struggle?
She asks Lily to move in and help her more regularly
She moans incessantly to John about how awful it is
She says she must live in the present, taking one day at a time