Essay about Billy Liar - 1025 Words

Billy Liar The play Billy Liar was first produced in London on 13th September 1960. Originally a novel, it was adapted by Willis Hall and Keith Waterhouse for performance. Billy the main character in the performance lives in a lower middle class family and is subconsciously trapped by their social class. Billy is an imaginative youth who indulges in daydreams and escapism, but cannot fulfil his fantasies due to the restriction of his social culture. In modern society Billy would have been more likely to fulfil his dreams as generally family and social restrictions have changed since the 1960s and movement away from the family unit is more accepted. In the play Billy has the†¦show more content†¦To close the argument Billy offers Florence a cup of tea. Up to this part in the film the family argued without listening to each others point of view. Billy continues to say Sitting in a coffee-bar. Espresso. This shows that Billys escapism leads him into the future but Florence also daydreams about the past. In some ways the playwright bridges the differences by making these characters dreamers. The quote shows that Billy knows how he wants people to see him and the way he lives. Florence also values the importance of how other people view him when she says He shouldnt go to the door dressed like that. Billy is also restricted by his conflicting values with his parents. His mother for example values peace when she says Im not saying anything. Im keeping out of it. This could also indicate bluntness with her son and show that she does not listen to what he has to say. This is another barrier that faces Billy. It is obvious that Billy lacks respect for his mother possibly because of her bluntness with him. Billy also sees his mother as a person who is easily manipulated. From the stage directions in the script we know that Alice is always busy which she sees as an attribute, this contrasts with Billys lazy attitude because he stays in bed late. Alice has a narrow-minded opinion of what Billy should do and states her opinion. Billy considers herShow MoreRelatedEssay on A Comparison between Billy Liar and Shirley Valentine984 Words   |  4 PagesA Comparison between Billy Liar and Shirley Valentine I have just been studying Billy Liar and performing it as part of my mock scripted drama GCSE, and have been asked to compare this theatre script to the film script of Shirley Valentine. I have already given the first difference between these two scripts; one is a theatre script and the other is designed specifically for the big screen. 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