My Name is Leon: Character Quotations (AQA GCSE English Literature): Revision Note

Key word or phrase to memorise: “just like everyone else”

What the quotation means: Leon thinks Maureen is going to abandon him, just like everyone else has.

Theme: Loss

• This moment leads to Leon’s decision to run away and find Jake and Carol:

  • It leads to his emotional outburst at Tufty and Mr Devlin

• This is a tension that the reader has seen building in Leon since he and Jake were forced into care

• People leaving has been a running theme in Leon’s life, with Carol’s inconsistency, his father in and out of the picture, and his brother taken from him:

  • A Grandmother he met for one day even dies almost immediately afterwards

• Leon rarely feels sorry for himself, but the reader is not surprised to see this tension build up and boil over:

  • In reality, Maureen and Sylvia were just daydreaming, and Maureen had no intention of leaving Leon

  • This misunderstanding is typical of Leon’s youthful naivety, not fully processing the situation

• De Waal may have chosen this phrasing to highlight how this feeling was always present in Leon:

  • “Screaming and wailing” reflects the visceral nature of his hurt

  • “Deep in his brain” suggests a profound pain, or emotional scarring

Key word or phrase to memorise: “I could be him”

What the quotation means: Leon imitates being Jake in the hope his Mum would come back and care for him.

Theme: Childhood neglect

• Leon feels unloved and unwanted by his mother when they have a visit in a care centre:

  • Carol is looking out of the window; all he wants is to spend time with her

  • Leon is not sure what Carol wants

  • Jake was quickly adopted, so Leon infers Jake is wanted and he isn’t

• Leon has spent what he remembers of his life looking out for Carol:

  • The only way Leon has been able to stay with his mum is to look after her

  • Leon is looking for ways to fix his family, fix what Carol has wrought, and will pretend to be Jake, if that’s what makes her happy

• De Waal presents us with Leon’s insecurity and the results of the broken dynamic between him and his mum:

  • Carol is not showing interest in Leon, which has been common in their relationship

  • Leon is the one to try fix it, also common for them

  • While acting beyond his years by looking to help his mum, this quote also shows that Leon recognises his mother’s disinterest, and assumes he is at fault

  • It also reflects his desperation and youthful naivety

Key word or phrase to memorise: “write on Earring’s brain”

What the quotation means: Leon is starting to feel hurt and angry. He hates social services because they took away his brother.

Theme: Social injustice and discrimination

• Leon is a gentle and polite boy, but the tension in his life is changing him, and this angry interlude in his thoughts comes from his frustration:

  • Leon struggles to blame his mother, so it is much easier to blame social services

  • The reader sees Leon’s behaviour change — the stealing, going off secretly to the allotments — but this aggression is a big sign that Leon is not coping

• Leon has also grown frustrated with how adults talk to him about his situation and Jake’s adoption:

  • Leon feels patronised and does not like being spoken down to

• By adding “Black Power”, we see that Leon is experimenting with a newly found sense of his identity by being around Black men in Tufty and his friends:

  • De Waal may be showing us that Leon has understood what Maureen said about Jake being adopted because he is white

• Leon gets angry when Earring reminds him of his visit with his mother:

  • The author is showing us that, unknowingly, Leon is linking Carol’s rejection to social services

  • Leon misdirects his anger, unable to fully understand its roots, reflecting the confusion of a traumatised child

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Leon likes…Tufty”

What the quotation means: Running from Castro, Leon finds Tufty and likes how it feels to be protected by him.

Theme: Social injustice and discrimination

• This quotation comes just after Leon finds Castro hiding in the shed:

  • Castro has dragged him into the shed and threatened him to stay quiet

  • Leon is scared as he escapes, and then relieved to find Tufty

• Leon is not used to being cared for and protected:

  • This is another sign of Leon clearly pining for care and love

  • He has known Tufty for a short amount of time, but feels very close to him as he is not used to adults being interested in him and caring about him

• The author uses the contrast of being happy about concern to show Leon reacts differently to expectations:

  • We would usually not like people being worried, but Leon is so starved of care and feels so abandoned that he can’t help but appreciate something he doesn’t seem to know he has missed

• This also shows us that Tufty is filling a parental role of sorts for Leon:

  • Leon has grown very fond of Tufty and likes that someone seems to reciprocate it

Key word or phrase to memorise: “sneaking around”

What the quotation means: Carol blames Leon for Jake’s father not coming in, rather than seeing the reality.

Theme: Childhood neglect

• This is an example of Carol’s selfish personality:

  • Jake’s father tells her directly he is not interested, rudely, but when Leon appears and distracts him, Carol uses that to deflect blame

  • She can see no wrong in Jake’s father, so is happy to blame Leon rather than face up to the fact that this man isn’t interested, or even nice to her

  • She cares more about her idea of this man and her own confidence than she does Leon

• While we see how Carol struggles to care for her children due to her mental health struggles, here we are reminded that Carol was not a good mother, even before she failed at their care:

  • She doesn’t prioritise her children at all, which fits the later clinical notes that she has a “high level of self-interest”

  • Moments like this show the reader that the notes are correct, even if Leon rejects them

• This also highlights the inconsistency of Carol’s moods, and Leon’s home life

Key word or phrase to memorise: “manage myself”

What the quotation means: Leon recalls Carol saying this to him at their access visit, explaining that she isn’t well enough to care for him.

Theme: Childhood neglect

• This is Carol excusing herself from the responsibility of caring for Leon, something she has been happy to do even before he is taken into care full time:

  • She isn’t wrong, but she seems to care little for the impact it would have on her son

  • She doesn’t want to be at fault, and this makes it outside of her control

• It is a statement that could be used by the author to show how unsuited to parenthood Carol is:

  • Most parents would put their child first and care only for looking after their needs

  • By literally putting herself first in the sentence, de Waal is showing that Carol always puts herself first — both in language and in life

• It’s also another example of Carol not treating Leon appropriately:

  • This is not how you speak to a nine-year-old child, but Carol has never understood appropriate care

Key word or phrase to memorise: ”King” and “servant”

What the quotation means: This is Carol’s exit from the narrative, and possibly from Leon’s life entirely.

Theme: Belonging and identity

• This is an embodiment of the charm Carol has, which has always kept Leon in awe of her:

  • She is described as beautiful often, and has a youthful charm that has always made Leon laugh:

    • Leon likes her for a reason, and their life together was not all bad

• However, this is another signal from the author of how Carol acts in self-interest:

  • She is leaving, safe in the knowledge that her responsibility to Leon is over

  • Leon had just chased her and told her he loved her, so she still got to be adored

  • Carol feels freed from Leon, and only then can she show confidence

• This positive moment could be the author giving us hope for Leon:

  • A happy ending for the pair could foretell of happier times coming for Leon, maybe being comfortable with what their relationship becomes

• It may also be a reminder from the author of what mental health struggles, including postnatal depression, take from people:

  • If she could be this person all the time, she would

Key word or phrase to memorise: “no good at stories”

What the quotation means: Leon asks Maureen for a story to help him sleep, but Maureen says no.

Theme: Belonging and identity

• This shows us that Maureen is someone grounded in reality, which contrasts her with Carol, and how Leon has been raised:

  • Carol is a woman lost in ideas and fantasies, especially in her attitude towards romance and relationships, and who she is

  • Maureen is more of a realist who faces what is in front of her with pragmatism

• Leon is also looking to escape his worries in fantasy, which is something he has been forced to do throughout his life:

  • By showing us that Maureen prioritises facts over fantasy, de Waal is showing us that Leon is now being cared for by someone who will help him to live in the real world, and live a more stable life in it

• This could also be the author telling us that Maureen is a more suitable parent as she is more resilient:

  • By not hiding from her troubles and not letting Leon hide, she weathers struggles and comes out the other side

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Jake’s got a chance”

What the quotation means: Maureen is angry that Jake has been adopted and Leon hasn’t, and calls out the reason why: race.

Theme: Social injustice and discrimination

• Maureen is confident and honest, so is comfortable saying exactly why Jake has been adopted and Leon hasn’t:

  • She is frustrated by the way social services are talking about Jake and Leon’s situations

  • She is not afraid of confronting the issue

• Maureen is also someone led by her sense of right and wrong:

  • She admits she doesn’t have a solution worked out, but she knows what she thinks should not have happened and will stand by that

• This is also an example of how she parents:

  • She is honest and caring, and cares about what happens to both boys 

  • She will fight for Leon because she feels Leon deserves it

• It is also a sign that Maureen is socially aware of the challenges, both in the system and for Leon:

  • This helps the reader feel confident that Maureen is a good fit for Leon

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Pull yourself together”

What the quotation means: Maureen is listening to Carol and Leon’s conversation and feels compelled to intervene as Carol worries Leon.

Theme: Childhood neglect

• This is a moment that shows the great contrast between Carol and Maureen, the two maternal figures of Leon’s life:

  • Carol is unlikely to put Leon’s feelings first; Maureen prioritises a child’s wellbeing over her own

  • Maureen is unabashed in confronting Carol, angered by how she has let down Leon

  • Maureen continues to tell Carol how her behaviour impacts Leon, and Carol backs away from the conversation

• This is also a reminder from the author of how attitudes towards mental health differed in the 1980s:

  • Maureen is not entirely unsympathetic, but she doesn’t truly understand how Carol’s difficulties have changed who she is and what she’s capable of

  • We know that Maureen isn’t wrong, but nowadays, we would be more sympathetic

• Leon doesn’t like Maureen speaking to Carol like this:

  • Most children will be used to a parent being stern and protective, but Leon isn’t

  • At this point in the narrative, he still sees no wrong in anything Carol does

Key word or phrase to memorise: “job never ends”

What the quotation means: Maureen is trying to calm an anxious Leon by reminding him she is an experienced and dedicated mother.

Theme: Belonging and identity

• This is the night that Jake was taken and Leon is struggling to sleep, having nightmares and grinding his teeth loudly enough to wake Maureen:

  • Leon is still too young to recognise anxiety, but Maureen knows that Leon is hurt

• Maureen reminds Leon that she has had her own kids, grandchildren, and foster children in the past:  

  • She wants him to know that she still loves them all, as a way to tell him that she will not abandon him

  • She is trying to make sure Leon feels loved, something he has not had confidently and unconditionally before

• By addressing this, Maureen almost assumes voice of the author:

  • By making clear different things that worry Leon — abandonment, love, stable home life — de Waal is commenting on the worries children in the care system are feeling, even if they are not able to verbalise it

• This again contrasts with Carol, who couldn’t or wouldn’t see Leon or Jake, and certainly never tried to ease Leon’s anxieties

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Babies need looking after”

What the quotation means: Tufty is showing Leon how the seeds he planted have started to grow.

Theme: Childhood neglect

• This is a very clear metaphor for how Leon needs to be cared for:

  • By nurturing the plant, it can be helped to grow

  • Leon needs the same: he needs to be treated like a boy and helped to grow, rather than just being left to do so by himself

• The quote is symbolic of Leon and Tufty’s relationship:

  • De Waal is showing us that Tufty understands that Leon is a young man who just needs guidance

  • He is literally giving him guidance on gardening, but also giving him guidance as a role model who wants to help him grow

• Tufty is also showing himself to be a male role model who shares a soft side:

  • Leon has had very little in stable guidance, especially from men, and Tufty is showing himself as a kind and comfortable being both gentle and nurturing

• This is also another example of Leon being told what about the dynamics of care:

  • He is still learning that his role is to be cared for, not to give care

Key word or phrase to memorise: “not a warrior”

What the quotation means: This is a line from Tufty’s poem, ‘Ode to Castro’.

Theme: Social injustice and discrimination

• It is when around Tufty’s friendship group, and from this poem, that Leon starts to learn about Black culture and his Black identity:

  • He starts to understand there are politics around race

• The author is also showing us how people are better when they are part of an active community:

  • The men are supportive and open, happy to debate politics and encourage poetry

  • It is not common for men to be seen as supportive of creativity and comfortable showing vulnerability

  • Leon sees that the friendships bring happiness, and starts to feel it too

• The poem speaks to the racial politics of the time the book is set, and when it was written:

  • Black people have been moved and displaced across history, and then stereotyped

  • This poem shows that Tufty doesn’t see himself as there to fight, but will fight if he must

  • It also starts as “I” but moves to “we” showing Tufty thinking individually and collectively

• The rhythm of Tufty’s poem recalls elements of dub poetry:

  • Dub poetry is rooted in reggae culture and political commentary, echoing traditions associated with artists like Linton Kwesi Johnson

Key word or phrase to memorise: “manage in the sun”

What the quotation means: Tufty explains that he needs to get his work at the allotment done while the weather is good.

Theme: Belonging and identity

• Tufty’s role with Leon sees him teach him new things and impart wisdom:

  • This metaphor makes sense to Leon and he recalls a time when Carol, Jake, and he literally struggled in the rain, showing Leon’s logical way of thinking

• De Waal uses this metaphor to talk about more than just the gardening:

  • Indirectly, Tufty is telling Leon that it is easier to manage our feelings and problems when our lives are running more smoothly, the metaphorical shining of the sun

  • It is a lesson about gardening — work when the conditions are good as you might not be able to when they’re bad — but also life

• Tufty, like Maureen, is a positive figure in Leon’s life, and we see here how they say similar things but in different ways, as suits their characters:

  • Maureen tells Leon that “this isn’t the whole of your life”, which shows life may be hard now, but it won’t always be 

Key word or phrase to memorise: “Small minds, big feet”

What the quotation means: Mr Devlin is pointing out that the police often act aggressively without first caring about the consequences of their actions.

Theme: Social injustice and discrimination

• This shows Mr Devlin has more sympathy for Tufty and his friends, and Black people, in their struggles with the police than Tufty realises:

  • Historically, an Irishman in England would have likely had trouble with the police, due to historical discrimination

  • In 1950s London, signs stating “No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs” became famous symbols of discrimination

• The author is half-Irish, and lived through the period of the Troubles:

  • Discrimination followed Irish people, who were often subject to mistreatment by English forces in Ireland and English people in England

• Here, de Waal is showing us how Mr Devlin and Tufty are similar:

  • Their own relationship is marked by conflict, but both have a distrust of the British establishment, and have been mistreated by it because of their race or nationality

  • This is perhaps why both wish to provide care and support to Leon, who is mixed-race

Key word or phrase to memorise: “There are no kings and queens”

What the quotation means: Mr Devlin explains to Leon that some do not feel the same way about the upcoming Royal Wedding as Maureen and Sylvia.

Theme: Belonging and identity

• Without being aggressive about it, Mr Devlin shows Leon that there is more than one view of the monarchy:

  • He is from the Republic of Ireland, a country that has formed its independence away from the rule of the British crown

  • While the area gets excited to throw a street party for the Royal Wedding, Mr Devlin reminds Leon that they are just two people, no more special or deserving of honour than either of them

• This is another comment on identity within the story:

  • Being Irish is a big part of his identity, and his sentiments echo that of many of his countrymen 

  • It also speaks to Leon finding his own identity, and relying on role models with different views and backgrounds to inform his view of the world and help him make up his own mind

• The social commentary is important, too, as the novel has shown us the economic and societal reality for some in the 1980s:

  • The insecurity and poverty faced by Leon is perhaps being contrasted with a lavish and expensive wedding for two royals by de Waal here