“Our Day out” by Willie Russell Essay

Our Day out by Willie Russell is an energetic and humorous play, about a school trip to Conwy castle. The fall out class, a class for illiterate children, are on a trip to Wales where the liberal Mrs Kay and the strict Mr Briggs fall in completely different ideas about the daytime should be organised.Mrs Kay and Mr Briggs have two distinct personalities that clash frequently th trigger-happyout the play and Willie Russell presents both in an interesting and comical way in his drama.Mrs Kay is a benevolent and fun teacher who treats the children as if they were her own. She always reminds me of a mother hen rather than a teacher. Mr Briggs says this and it sums up exactly what Mrs Kay is like and her view to the children.Her aim on the school trip is for every nonpareil to have fun with the only rule being think of yourselves however also think of others. She genuinely cares for the children and wants them to have an pleasant day out to assuage the social injustice that they fin d themselves up against.Mr Briggs ideology of the children is contrary to Mrs Kays. Mr Briggs is a strict, intolerant and old-fashioned teacher who is has degraded standards and is harsh towards the students. Stop Slater, walkwalk You, boycome here. Now stop. All of youstop Mr Briggs is shouting as the children get off the coach and Mrs Kay casually walks past and pours out some coffee.At the zoo, Mr Briggs lightens up a little and we get to see much of the soft and loving side that he conceals in favour of the harsh and angry one. He is enjoying himself when he explains about all of the different animal types to the children, and in the caf with Mrs Kay, he even offers to do a small presentation at school with some slides. I didnt think the kids who came to you would be too interested in animals. He is pleasantly move with the interest of the children in a topic that he holds close to this heart. However, all the readers hopes of Mr Briggs turning nice are dashed when the child ren attempt to luxate the animals and he returns with vengeance back to the old Mr Briggs, and, with a face of thunder, shouts at the childrenagain.Mrs Kay understands that a lot of the children come from a deprived background and realises with their predicament. She shows this when she chooses to go on the side of the arm Class when they attempt to steal some animals from the zoo. Well Id suggest that if you want the chaos to stop then(prenominal) you should stop seeing it as chaosIts too late for them. Most of them were rejects the day they were borncant we try and give them a good day out She realises that it was probably the closest that they would ever get to an animal and many were just over-excited at the prospect of having something that they would never have.Mr Briggs encounter with chirrup Chandler is a defining moment of the play because when sing is on the top of the cliff we can see that Mr Briggs does not know what it is like to be hum and children like her in t hat situation. He is taken aback at the fact that chant talks back at him which he is not use to. Carol doesnt want to go back to school, she dreams of living in a nice place and has really enjoyed the outing. Briggs thinks she is just being stubborn but what has Carol got to go back to in Liverpool? Briggs begins to see that she is a poor, innocent girl whom no one loves. After the incident with Carol, Mr Briggs changes, he sees the world from her perspective.He becomes more relaxed, insists on a visit to the fair and lets the children treat him like they do Mrs Kay. At the fair he starts to have fun with the children and most are amaze at his attitude change I didnt know you was like that, sir. Y know, all right for a laugh an that. However, as the coach nears Liverpool, existence returns, and Mr Briggs purposely destroys the photo film, which held evidence of his changed relationship with the Progress Class.It is plainly evident in the play, that Mr Briggs is the better teach er academically than Mrs Kay. The headmaster asked Mr Briggs to go along on the school trip keep things in some sort of order and the headmaster describes Mrs Kays attitude to education as one long halting. This epitomises Mrs Kays attitude to teaching as something that should be fun, entertaining and not too serious. Mrs Kay may be an incompetent teacher, but the questionthat needs to be asked is Can the Progress Class be educated? Mrs Kay doesnt seem to think so and is more interested in letting them have an enjoyable childhood than in expanding their knowledge.Teach them? Teach them what? Youll never teach them because nobody knows what to do with themthey havent got anything to aim forI think Willie Russell intends us to sympathise with Mr Briggs and with the children in the Progress Class, especially Carol Chandler.The children are from poor background and have no hope for the future. Carol Chandlers school uniform double as a street outfit and her Sunday best. This shows just how poor the children are their best clothes are their school uniform. Carol, who dreams of being in a nice place, is probably the child worst affected because she has no one to love and no one to love her. She comes from a rough neighbourhood because she says Thats why we never have nothing nice round our way cos wed just smash it up. She took the wop pig and was affectionate towards it because it was something that was her own and something that she could love. Also, the other children seem to ostracise her and the only person she seems to have a proper conversation with is Mrs Kay.Mr Briggs is an intelligent man essay to educate puerile students. All throughout the play he means well to the children and it is a real stab-in-the heart when Carol says I know you hate me. Ive seen you goin home in your car, passin us on the street. And the way y look at us. You hate all the kids When he tells off kids, they take it but after they just ignore him and carry on as normal. He is also the only teacher who doesnt realise (until after the Carol Chandler incident) that the Progress Class are incapable of being educated.Our Day Out by Willie Russell is a funny and light-hearted play but with lots of hidden messages. Wille Russell presents the characteristics of Mr Briggs and Mrs Kay very interestingly and with good humour. We are left with a feeling of ambivalence at the end when Mr Briggs destroys the camera film.Has he changed for good or was it just a one off?