Leave taking

• Key themes that your moments should cover


  • Identity- belonging and displacement
  • Outsiders/prejudice
  • Family- particularly mother/daughter relationships
  • Marriage and relationships
• Moment


  A notable point in the text within which something changes, develops or is revealed
• Quotation banks


  • Pp.20-23: Enid takes her daughters to visit Mai; Del is cynical about the Obeah tradition
  • Key themes: Identity, Family
  • Quotations and analysis
• Enid's simplification of Del's behaviour


  Simile suggests that Enid is criticising a lack of control from Del, foreshadowing later patterns concerning Enid's extreme need to control and the anger which she has had to repress
• Mai's question


  Quickly identifies one of Del's central problems (her dyslexia which catalysed her exclusion from education and opportunities is later revealed), thereby emphasising Mai's insightfulness and instinct, compounded by the stage direction that Del is put 'at ease' within the context of Enid trying to use Mai to control her
• DEL: 'Can't have a bath without her poking her nose through the keyhole.'
• DEL's dismissive, light-hearted colloquialism


  'mumbo-jumbo' and expletive emphasises their dismissal of the traditions; assertive 'don't believe' emphasises her denial of this
• Mai holding her hand out

  The charm, please.
• Irony of Del being entirely dismissive of the practice and traditions and then stealing the charm reflects a subconscious curiosity regarding the traditions; the subconscious nature of this emphasised through the subversive act of stealing and that this is the final point of the scene following her repeated dismissals</b>
• Mai's perception is again revealed, although the soft tone of the accusation continues the beginnings of her supportive relationship with Del
• Enid cleaning the flat in preparation for the pastor's visit


  • Symbolises her extreme need to sanitise and control their home and therefore identity
• BROD: 'I'm not used to wearing a tie. Feel like the devil a strangle me.'
• Brod's comic simile criticising the tie


  Establishes his strong dislike of the order which Enid represents as she continues to clean on the stage
• Brod's stronger use of patois

  Further establishes his difference from Enid
• Enid's metaphorical 'map'


  Emphasises the extent to which Brod's life has been defined by alcohol
• BROD: 'Last time me sober me think me dead an' gone a hell.'
• Brod's simile


  Emphasises his sense of unhappiness through the extreme notion of not being intoxicated as being like 'hell'
• Brod's imagery of Enid's past in Jamaica


  Connotes a freedom and lack of restraint which contrasts with Enid's current desperation for control on the stage
• ENID: 'I don't dream about back home because this is my home.'
• Enid's authoritative statement


  Furthers her stubbornness/denial concerning her place in England; her denial of 'dream[ing]' further places her apart from the characters who think of and yearn for a different life (particularly Viv)
• BROD: 'Call me a alien. As if me live the last thirty years on the moon instead of on this blasted estate.'
• Brod's metaphor


  Exaggerates the cruelty of his treatment in juxtaposing the way in which Britain was viewed whilst living in his homeland; hyperbolic comparison to living 'on the moon' a metaphor for the extreme isolation he feels from British society
• Brod's anthropomorphism of the island


  A metaphor for the wider relationship with its people and Britain; repetition of the vampiric imagery emphasises the extreme cruelty with which the island has been treated
• Brod's metaphor of Gullyman's behaviour


  Foreshadows the inevitability of a later fall; drama emphasised by two word sentence; 'wouldn't see you' highlights Gullyman's ignorance
• Brod's graphic imagery and juxtaposition


  Emphasises the horror of Gullyman's treatment
• Brod's metaphor of Gullyman's heart and mind


  Emphasises the powerfully destructive force of his mistreatment in England; the metaphorical 'heart' and 'mind' emphasise both his emotional and mental torment
• Brod's simile


  Emphasises the extent to which the notion of Englishness is embedded within them; the lightness of the image emphasises the artificiality of the 'stamp'
• Brod's short sentence and emphatic tone

  Emphasise the power and pride he thinks should be associated with heritage; juxtaposes the previous image of the superficial stick of rock
• Enid's questioning and assertive tone


  Highlights her denial of the crises of identity felt by either of her children; the assertive 'they know...' echoes Del's similar claim earlier in the play, ironically highlighting how tenuous this claim is for both Enid and Del
• Viv standing and reciting the English poetry


  Creates tension on the stage through the physical act of 'stand[ing]', which emphasises the belief that an English education can lead to improved prospects and by doing so further creates a distance between Viv and her mother scrubbing on the floor
• Enid's reaction to Viv's recitation


  Reveals Enid's increasing awareness of the problems with the hopes she had for Viv's education, emphasised in the stumbling ellipses and repetition
• Enid's rhetorical questions


  Highlight the lack of any other support systems for her; her question of 'Who listen...?' echoes wider references to Enid not being heard
• Brod's colloquial 'in my day'


  Creates a sense of longing; metaphor of 'throwing yourself' emphasises a sense of freedom and joy; the 'edge of life' suggests a lack of concern about facing consequences or repression
• Brod's repeated active verbs


  Continue the nostalgia for a sense of freedom; metaphor of feeling the 'spirit flame' emphasises the lost power of past spirituality (contrasting the influence of the pastor), the passionate characteristic of this emphasised by the image of the 'flame'
• Enid questioning Brod's drinking


  Elucidates further Brod's reasons for drinking as Enid echoing the metaphorical 'fire flaming' again emphasises the loss of a passionate community and spirituality
• Brod's criticism of the uptight pastor


  Reflects Brod's wider beliefs about the power and passion of the people of Jamaica
• Enid laughing 'despite herself'


  Reveals a shared sense of enjoyment and she and Brod enjoy in the memories of the church, linking to the motif of sound and communication
• The stage directions of Brod 'feel[ing]' the music


  Clarifies the powerful personal connection; intensity of the 'heavy dub' makes this more powerful on the stage
• Enid and Brod dancing together and separately


  Emphasises that the music provides for them both connection and a chance for powerful independence and autonomy
• Viv entering and leaving the room


  Emphasises this dancing as a private and tender moment of expression which is particularly out of character for Enid; this demonstrates Viv's knowledge of a different side of Enid's character, part of her development in eventually rebelling against the education system