Bellshill academy

‘Bold Girls’ by Rona Munro

National 5 Unit of Work

By the end of this unit, you will have a firm understanding of Rona Munro’s play ‘Bold Girls.’ This unit of work will also prepare you for completion of the textual analysis section of the final examination.

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Understanding the Play 2-3

Characterisation and Relationships 4-8

Symbolism and theme 8-13

The Role of Men 14

Practice Papers 1-3 15-21

Contents

Brief Summary

Rona Munro’s ambitious play ‘Bold Girls’ explores the lives of four women living in Belfast during a period of extreme political turmoil.

Marie, Cassie and Nora have had to adapt to life without their men who have been killed or imprisoned because of their political activities. They each find escapism in carefully constructed domesticated lives which are seemingly immune to the danger of the world outside. Marie finds strength in the memory of her loving relationship with her deceased husband Michael; Cassie escapes through her dreams of physical escape and through memories of her father while Nora focuses all of her attention on constant redecoration of her home.

Deirdre is very different from these characters. While they evade the truth, she consciously attempts to discover it. This is despite her obvious exposure to the harsh realities of life in Belfast at this time. Her presence transforms life for each of these characters as they are forced to confront long concealed realities.

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Understanding the Plot

Success Criteria:

By the end of this lesson, I will have a clear understanding of the sequence of events in the play and will be able to explain why some events are more significant than others.

Relationships between the main characters

Copy the following diagram into your jotter and complete it by identifying the relationship between the characters above each arrow. We will explore the nature and development of these relationships later in our next lesson.

Marie Nora

Martin

Sean

Michael

Deirdre Cassie

Joe

Sequencing Activity

Seventeen events from the play are listed below. Arrange them into the order in which they occurred in the play: (It may help to write down which scene they belong to first)

- Cassie tells Nora of her plans to leave and discovers the theft of her £200.- Deirdre finds a knife and uses it to destroy Nora’s peach polyester.

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- Cassie tries to convince Marie to join her at the club.- Cassie tells Marie that she is dreading her husband’s release from jail.- Deirdre tells Marie she is Michael’s daughter.- Marie wins a chance to play ‘The Price Is Right.’- Marie invites Deirdre to stay for breakfast.- Cassie tries to attack Deirdre after the waitress tells her she seen her in a car with a man.- Deirdre asks for shelter in Marie’s home.- Cassie accuses her mother of causing her father’s premature death.- Nora criticises Cassie’s behaviour and dress. Cassie thinks she is being treated differently from

her brother Martin.- Deirdre steals Marie’s clothes and Cassie’s money.- Cassie tells Marie she had an affair with Michael. Marie throws her out.- Marie remembers her wedding day.- Cassie tells Marie she is desperate to escape and will even consider leaving her children behind.- Marie destroys her enlarged photograph of Michael using Deirdre’s knife.- Nora tells Cassie she should appreciate the fact that her husband was not violent.

Think/ Pair/ Share- Important Events

Some events in a text are of huge significance while others are of secondary importance.

What makes some events more important than others in a text?

Discuss this with your partner and agree on three possible reasons why an event might be of particular importance. Be prepared to share these with the class.

Storyboard

Which eight events in ‘Bold Girls’ would you say are the most important?

Add these in chronological order to your storyboard (you may use the earlier sequencing activity to help you).

Plenary

Put a star in the box which you think represents the most important event in the play.4

In your jotter, explain fully why you think this event is particularly important.

Characterisation and Relationships

Success Criteria:

By the end of this lesson I will:

-Have a deeper understanding of the personalities of the main characters.

-Be able to trace the ways in which the relationships between the main characters develop.

-Have demonstrated my ability to work as part of a successful group and will have presented my findings to the class.

Starter- The Role of Deirdre

Deirdre plays a number of significant roles in the play. Copy the diagram at the bottom of page 95 and consider the ways in which she is different from the other female characters in the play.

Characterisation

Characterisation is employed by the writer of any text as a way of directing our opinions of each character. Character is revealed in a number of ways:

- Appearance- Personality- Actions- How they speak to other characters and what they say- Thoughts and feelings- Opinions shared by other characters- The way the character is treated by others

Task

Each group will be presenting on one of the main characters and their relationship with another character.

Each group will complete the following:

- A character profile- A poster summarising the key information they have discovered- A relationship profile

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- A poster summarising their findings about this relationship- A presentation which shares their finding with the class

COMPLETE YOUR CHARACTER AND RELATIONSHIP PROFILES IN PEN SO THEY CAN BE PHOTOCOPIED FOR THE CLASS.

Character Profile

Name ____________________________________________________________________________

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Biography

Observation Evidence (Quote) Analysis

Observation Evidence (Quote) Analysis

Observation Evidence (Quote) Analysis

What are our first impressions of this character? Why?

Does our opinion change? Why?

Relationship Profile

We are studying the relationship between _______________________ and ____________________________.

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Relationship at the start Context and Evidence (Quote) Analysis

What we learn as the play progresses

Context and Evidence (Quote) Analysis

Relationship at the end of the play

Context and Evidence (Quote) Analysis

What does this relationship reveal about the personality of your character?

Help Sheet

1- Character Profile

1.1 Biography Your biography should contain some basic information about the character such as:

-Name-Age-Marital Status-Number of children-Who they live with-Job

1.2 Observations about the characterIn this box you should make a statement about the nature or personality of your character. You may decide to use some of the descriptions in the word box below.

1.3 Evidence and AnalysisProvide a quote which supports your statement about the character and explain fully why this quote is important in revealing an aspect of the character’s personality.

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-Motherly -Cynical -Detached from reality

-Lacking in confidence -Old-fashioned -Extroverted

-Concerned about the opinions of others - Confrontational

-Unfortunate -Determined -Kind

-Selfish -Angry -Disreputable

-Deserving of sympathy -Devoted -Neglected

2- Relationship Profile

Marie and Cassie Cassie and Nora Marie and DeirdrePossible passages to consider:-First conversation (personal question).-Conversation in the club.-Conversation while waiting for the taxi.-Change brought about when Cassie reveals her affair with Michael.

Possible passages to consider:-Disagreement and discussion in scene one.-Argument while Marie is playing ‘The Price is Right.’-Cassie’s soliloquy in which she discusses her childhood.-Discussion in scene four and what this reveals about the reason for their strained relationship.

Possible passages to consider:-How Deirdre treats Marie’s hospitality in scene one.-Conversation in the club.-Discussion and resolution in scene four.

Marie and Michael Cassie and Sean Cassie and JoePossible passages to consider:-What the first stage directions reveal.-Marie’s memory of her wedding day.-Cassie and Marie’s discussion of why Marie seems so happy.-Marie’s actions after taking the knife from Deirdre.

Possible passages to consider:-What Cassie says about her father in scene one.-Discussion about Sean between Cassie and Nora in scene one.-Argument between Cassie and Nora in scene four.

Possible passages to consider:-Cassie’s reaction to Joe’s imprisonment in scene one.-Cassie’s conversation with Nora at the club.-Argument between Cassie and Nora in scene four.

Before each quotation (possibly both sides of the conversation), you should explain briefly what is happening in the play at the point your evidence occurs.

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Symbolism and Theme

Success Criteria:

By the end of this lesson I will be able to identify the key symbols and themes in ‘Bold Girls’ and explain their significance.

What is Symbolism?

A symbol represents ideas or qualities beyond their literal meaning. In literature, symbolism is often used as part of an exploration of theme.

What is a Theme?

A theme is a central idea which is explored throughout a work of literature. For example, in ‘Harry Potter’ the key themes include friendship and love.

Starter- Symbols in Everyday Life

Can you work out what wider idea is connoted by each of these common symbols?

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We will be examining three of the main themes in ‘Bold Girls:’

1- Truth versus Escapism2- Role of women3- Betrayal

Truth versus Escapism

As the play is set during ‘The Troubles’ it is easy to imagine how difficult life must have been for the main characters as residents of Belfast.

Despite this, each of the three main characters is able to ignore the violence and focus on other things.

Which of the modes of escapism are used by the following characters?

-Marie

-Cassie

-Nora

Escapism is deliberate evasion of the truth. Which one character in the play does not seek to hide from the truth? What approach does this character take instead?

Task- The Knife

The knife is a symbol for the truth in the play.

Work in pairs to complete the following questions:

1- Reread Deirdre’s soliloquy on pages 24 and 25. Why does Deirdre want to acquire a knife? What does this tell us about her ambitions in the play?

2- Both Nora and Marie escape reality through a carefully constructed domesticity. What symbol of domesticity is destroyed by the knife at the end of scene three? Why is this significant?

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-Alcohol -Home improvements -Feeding birds -Affairs with men

-Fond memories of the deceased -Dreams of physical escape

3- Reread pages 71 and 72. To what extent do the events of scene four support Cassie’s interpretation of ‘the truth’?

4- To what extent does Deirdre achieve her goals through her use of the knife in scene four?5- Marie uses the knife to destroy her picture of Michael. What does this suggest about the nature

of truth?

The Role of Women

In the play, the respective roles of women and men in society (at the time of the play) are also considered.

Men WomenFight for justice. Be good mothers.Work to provide for their family. To put the interests of the males in their lives

before their own needs.Care about the appearance of their home.

-Marie -Cassie -Deirdre -Nora

Which characters fit the definition of the ideal female of this period? Why are the other characters excluded from this?

Copy and complete the following:

‘The only time you gave me food before him was when I was to serve him. I never once got my dinner before he’d his in his mouth. Not once.’____________________________

‘Brian’s getting all washing and polishing and wee cups of ice cream to keep him smiling that Martin ever got.’

________________________

‘You’ve a job to do bringing up that family and making a decent home for you and your man, so get on with it.’

_______________________

In the play, _______ and drink symbolises the subordinate position of females in Irish society during this historical period. ________ and boys are always served _______ and it is the role of wives and daughters to prepare and _________ meals. This is symptomatic of the wider role of women who are expected to use their domestic skills to make a nice home for their husbands and children. Nora’s treatment of Brian suggests that this is a vicious cycle which is being ________. Cassie objects to this and as such is excluded from the form of escapism shared by Marie and Nora who use their domestic duties as a distraction from the harsh world outside of their doors.

Rain as a symbol of exclusion12

Those who have not constructed a domestic defence against the truth of life are often seen to be caught in the rain.

Look carefully at scene one:

1- Read Deirdre’s soliloquy at the top of page 13. In what way has the weather affected her mood? How does this suggest Deirdre’s ultimate goal in the play?

2- Read Marie’s description of her wedding day on pages 13 and 14. At what point does the weather change in her narrative? What does this suggest about the relationship between domesticity and escapism?

Betrayal

Writers choose words carefully in order to direct the thoughts and opinions of their readers.

Words often have meaning beyond their literal dictionary meaning (denotation). We associate certain ideas with words. These ideas are known as connotations.

For example:

Marie escapes from the dreariness of her life by feeding the birds. The word bird has a number of connotations

Early mornings

Alfred Hitchcock

Freedom

Resourcefulness Cats

Fragility

Therefore, Marie’s feeding of the birds can perhaps be regarded as symbolic of her desire for freedom and escape. Her admiration for their resourcefulness is also evident in the final scene.

Over to You

For the following two words, complete a mind map charting all of the ideas you associate with the word:

-Red

-White

Wears White Wears Red

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Birds

Put the following characters into the above table:

-Marie -Cassie -Deirdre

Questions

-Which character can be considered to have betrayed those around her? Does the colour of her clothing at the time of her action reflect her personality?

-Does the colour worn by Deirdre surprise you? Give a reason for your answer.

-What evidence is there to suggest that Deirdre has had a difficult life and is not at fault for her actions?

The Role of Men

Although no male characters speak in the play, they cast a large shadow over events. We learn a great deal about the male characters and their relationships with the female characters.

Complete the following task in your jotter by describing an incident which reveals something important about the personality of the character.

MichaelKey Incident.What this reveals about his personality.

JoeKey Incident.What this reveals about his personality.

SeanKey Incident.What this reveals about his personality.

MartinKey Incident.What this reveals about his personality.

At the start of the play, we learn that Cassie’s memories of her father act for her as a means of escaping reality.

Look at page 69. In what other way has Cassie used men to try and escape? Provide a quote which shows that this has not been successful.

Read Marie’s conclusions about the male characters on pages 78 and 79.

Do you think the male characters are happier than the female characters in their environment? Why do you think this?

Marie and Cassie both suggest that telling the truth and confronting reality is pointless.

Marie thinks that confronting the truth is a recipe for disaster. What does she think has to happen before truthfulness and happiness can exist together?

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Practice Paper One

Official SQA Specimen Paper

Text 2 — Drama

If you choose this text you may not write a critical essay on Drama in Section 2.

Read the extract below and then attempt the following questions.

Bold Girls by Rona Munro

This extract is taken from scene two of the play. In the social club. Marie has just

reluctantly joined Cassie on the dance floor.

MARIE: Cassie, what’s wrong?

CASSIE: Oh, I’m just bad Marie, didn’t you know?

5 MARIE: No. I never knew that.

CASSIE: You remember that wee girl in Turf lodge, the one Martin couldn’t get enough

of? She was a decent wee girl. She’s bad now. Ask my mummy.

MARIE: Have you had words?

CASSIE: He’s out in less than a year, Marie.

10 MARIE: Martin!?

CASSIE: Joe.

MARIE: I know. It will be all right Cassie.

They stop dancing, they look at each other

It’ll be all right, Cassie.

15 CASSIE: I tell you Marie I can’t stand the smell of him. The greasy, grinning beer15

bellied smell of him. And he’s winking away about all he’s been dreaming of,

wriggling his fat fingers over me like I’m a poke of chips—I don’t want him in

the house in my bed, Marie.

MARIE: You’ll cope.

20 CASSIE: Oh I’m just bad. I am.

MARIE: Don’t. Don’t say that about yourself.

CASSIE: I’ll go crazy.

MARIE: I won’t let you. You won’t get a chance Cassie, I’ll just be across the road, I

won’t let you go crazy. You just see what you’ll get if you try it.

25 Slowly Cassie smiles at her

(Putting a hand on Cassie’s arm) Now will you come and sit down?

The doors at the back bang open Hard white light floods everything

Oh Jesus it’s a raid!

30 All the women freeze, legs apart, arms raised as if they’re being searched The same hard light stays on them

DEIRDRE: Brick in your hand, hard in your hand, hit skin and it will burst open and bleed, hit bones and they’ll break, you can hear them break, hear them snap.

MARIE: Why are you asking my name, you know my name.

35 DEIRDRE: Smell the petrol, lungs full of the smell of it. Blow it out again and you’ll be breathing fire. Throw fire in a bottle and it runs everywhere like it’s water.

MARIE: Everyone knows where I live.

DEIRDRE: Get a car, fast car, drive it till its wheels burn, leave it smoking, burning, exploding.

40 MARIE: Everyone knows all about me, don’t they? So what do you want to know? What do you want?

DEIRDRE: The whole town’s a prison, smash chunks off the walls ’cause we’re all in a prison.16

Cut the hard white light

Questions

6. Summarise what happens in this extract. Make at least three key points.

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7. By close reference to one example of word choice, show how Cassie’s attitude to Joe is made clear in this scene.

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8. Look closely at the dialogue and stage directions and then explain what they tell us about:

(a) The difference in personality between Cassie and Marie.4

(b) Deirdre’s personality.3

9. By referring to both this extract and to the play as a whole, comment on the playwright’s use of at least two different dramatic techniques used in the play.

(You may want to comment on: characterisation, setting, stage directions, lighting

changes, monologues, cross conversations, use of colloquialisms, symbolism or any

other dramatic technique.) 8

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Practice Paper Two

2014 Past Paper

SECTION 1 — SCOTTISH TEXT — 20 marks

Part A — SCOTTISH TEXT — DRAMA

Text 1 — Drama

If you choose this text you may not attempt a question on Drama in Section 2.

Read the extract below and then attempt the following questions.

Bold Girls by Rona Munro

Marie’s house. Belfast. Late afternoon. Present day

It is irons and ironing boards and piles of clothes waiting to be smoothed, socks and pegs and damp sheets waiting for a break in the Belfast drizzle for the line; it’s toys in pieces and toys that are just cardboard boxes and toys that are new and gleaming and flashing

5 with lights and have swallowed up the year’s savings. It’s pots and pans and steam and the kettle always hot for tea; it’s furniture that’s bald with age and a hearth in front of the coal fire that’s gleaming clean.

At the moment it’s empty, an unnatural, expectant emptiness that suggests this room is never deserted; it’s too stuffed with human bits and pieces, all the clutter of housework

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There is a small picture of the virgin on one wall, a large grainy blow-up photo of a smiling young man on the other. He has a seventies haircut and moustache.

Deirdre is not in this room, she is crouching on all fours on her own talking out of darkness in which only her face is visible. She is wary, young.

15 DEIRDRE: (moving from all fours) The sun is going down behind the hills, the sky is grey. There’s hills at the back there, green. I can’t hardly see them because the stones between here and there are grey, the street is grey. Somewhere a bird is singing and falling in the sky. I hear the ice cream van and the traffic and the helicopter overhead.

Black-out; after a few minutes Lights come up on Marie’s house.

20 Marie bursts into the room with her arms laden with four packets of crisps, two of Silk Cut and a packet of chocolate biscuits. She is cheerful, efficient, young. She drops one of the crisps, tuts in exasperation, and looks at it

MARIE: (shouting back out the door) Mickey! Mickey were you wanting smoky bacon?...Well this is salt and vinegar . . . Well, why did you not say? Away you and swap this . . .

25 Catch now. (She hurls the bag) No you cannot . . . No . . . because you’ll not eat your tea if you do! (At the doorway) Mickey, pick up those crisps and don’t be so bold.

Marie comes back into the room and starts two jobs simultaneously. First she puts the crisps etc

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away, then she fills a pan with water and throws it on the stove. She starts sorting her dry washing into what needs ironing and what doesn’t; she sorts a few items

30 then starts peeling potatoes; all her movements have a frenetic efficiency.

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Questions Marks

1. Look at the description of Marie’s house. By referring to word choice and/or sentence structure, explain what impression this creates of Marie’s daily life. 4

2. With close reference to the text, explain what Deirdre’s actions and speech tell us about her relationship to her surroundings. You could consider: word choice, tone, the use of imagery etc . . . 4

3. The playwright introduces Marie. What do we find out about:

(a) her attitude towards Mickey; 2

(b) her attitude towards her daily routine. 2

4. The play goes on to develop our understanding of how challenging life is in many respects for the “bold girls”. By referring to this extract and at least one other example from the play, discuss what these challenges are. 8

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Practice Paper Three

National 5

Scottish Set Text

‘Bold Girls’ (p60-63)

1. Summarise what happens in this extract. Make at least 3 key points.

2. By close reference to the passage show how Cassie’s feelings towards her husband are

made clear.

3. Look closely at the dialogue and explain what it tells us about:

a. the conflict between Cassie and Nora

b. Marie’s personality

4. In this extract the theme of conflict is explored. Show how one other theme is explored

here and in the rest of the play.

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3

4

2

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