My Name is Leon: Context (AQA GCSE English Literature): Revision Note
Exam code: 8702
My Name is Leon historical context
The 1980s were a turbulent time in Britain, with much political change and social upheaval. Conflict became common, as did changes in society that disproportionately affected those of lower socio-economic status.
Many of the problems we see in My Name is Leon have remained issues in today’s society, which can be seen in things like the Black Lives Matter movement, or how different communities are treated during conflicts.
The Troubles
The Troubles is the name for the conflict between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland:
The division had both political and sectarian roots
Nationalists sought reunification of the island with the rest of Ireland, while unionists wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom:
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty gave the local parliament of Northern Ireland the option to remain part of the UK, which it did
The conflict lasted from the 1960s to 1998, when the Good Friday Agreement was signed:
The Good Friday Agreement saw the commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, with weapons decommissioned, and a power-sharing arrangement between governments in England and Ireland
The conflict was rooted not only in historical issues but also by political and social issues, evident in the widespread discrimination of nationalists in areas such as housing and employment:
Violence escalated in the 1960s with the British army initially deployed to Northern Ireland as a peacekeeping force:
However, their harsh and often violent actions, such as internment without trial and Bloody Sunday, drew widespread criticism and fuelled further violence
Paramilitary groups emerged on both sides:
Nationalist paramilitaries such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and unionist paramilitaries such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) adopted guerrilla tactics, including bombings and shootings
Both sides engaged in acts labelled as terrorism by their opponents
Approximately 3,600 people were killed, and at least another 30,000 wounded:
Around half of those who died were civilians
How this links to My Name is Leon
The Birmingham Pub Bombings
My Name is Leon is set seven years after the Birmingham Pub Bombings that killed 21 people and saw another 182 injured. While no paramilitary group officially claimed responsibility, the IRA was widely suspected. This led to ostracisation of the Irish community, with anti-Irish sentiment soaring.
Discrimination
Mr Devlin is subjected to anti-Irish discrimination by Tufty. This prejudice reflected attitudes that were common at the time, which would likely be amplified by local residents who feared further attacks and unfairly associated the Irish community with violence.
Shared mistreatment
The Irish in the UK and Black Britons would both have faced mistreatment and discrimination by the authorities, especially the police. Then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was openly hostile towards the IRA, and it was only revealed in 2011 that she had actually entered secret negotiations with them, during the early 1980s.
Authoritarianism
Police brutality and authoritarian rule is a key theme of My Name is Leon
Thatcherism, the name of the political movement of the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, resulted in the privatisation of many public services:
This took the burden away from the state and forced people to pay for privately-owned services
Policies also cut money for welfare state, depriving poorer communities of care and support
There were high levels of unemployment and poverty
This period was marked by aggressive tactics to quell opponents and those disenfranchised by the policies and approach of the British government
Thatcher’s leadership was challenged by race riots, hunger strikes by Irish prisoners, and the miners’ strikes
Police presence and power was increased, especially in shutting down public protests
Policing became more heavy-handed, while arrests were more common
While the Sus law was repealed, its powers were swept up and authorised under different laws and names:
The continued use of “stop and search” tactics allowed the police to stop a person if they decided they were any way suspicious
This allowed police an easy way to abuse this power
The Sus law had left some sections of society, mostly those of minorities, feeling deliberately targeted
In the 1980s, Black and Ethnic Minority people were much more likely to die in custody than white people
How this links to My Name is Leon | |
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Castro | More than any other character in the novel, Castro is seen being mistreated by the police. He is assaulted by officers and seems to have a claim against them, before being arrested on contentious grounds. The police come to visit Tufty, Castro and their friends for no reason other than to intimidate them. In the end, Castro dies in custody, leading to the riots right before the narrative finishes. De Waal uses his death as an example and commentary on the systemic racism in the police force. |
Public protests | The police’s aggressive approach to stopping protests led to the riots in My Name is Leon. We see the police using violence and threatening even Leon, and Leon only remains unharmed after an officer pauses at his words when confronted. The charged political atmosphere of the time is represented in how those protests quickly escalate to riots due to the confrontational tactics of the police. |
Threat of arrest | It is notable that both Mr Devlin and Tufty are looking away from the police and Castro as he is arrested at the allotments, while everyone else watches. Both of these men know that any protest or argument will likely see them arrested, and both face away so that their actions cannot be misinterpreted and see them taken with Castro. Both are minorities in English society and are well aware of the potential discrimination they might face from the authorities. |
My Name is Leon social context
As a social realist text, My Name is Leon addresses aspects of society that the author has experience with. De Waal uses the novel to explore the systems and tensions of the 1980s and comment on their impact on ordinary people, coming mostly in the shape of Leon.
We see Leon’s challenges as he negotiates his journey with the social services, and the human impact it has on him. But we also see characters like Maureen, who are able to provide love and security despite the challenges of systems like these. Equally, we see how the everyday reality of the 1980s affects the different communities within the Birmingham de Waal portrays.
Social services
Social services are part of the care system used by the government to keep children and families safe:
They are designed to protect young people from abuse or neglect
Social services are in charge of foster care and adoption services
There are many roles and positions within social services, though in My Name is Leon we only see social workers and foster carers
A social worker is:
Somebody who cares for the wellbeing of different people who come into the care system
They work to support children and families, with the primary aim to improve the home life of these families so that all are safe
Social workers assess the conditions a child is being raised in, and whether they are suitable for the children:
This includes assessing whether parents are capable of safely raising their children
A foster carer is:
Someone who offers a home for children who have been removed from their families, whether temporarily or permanently
They are given a small amount of money by social services to go towards food and basic care for any child in their care
The care system is a stretched service, something that was more pronounced under welfare cuts of the 1980s
It is also a system where the number of Black and mixed-race children is disproportionately high:
It is also more likely that a child will end up in the care system if they come from poverty
How this links to My Name is Leon | |
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Leon and Jake being separated | It is unsurprising to see Jake adopted before Leon. Both due to his race and his age, Jake was more likely to find willing parents to adopt him as many would prefer a baby. This reflects racial bias in adoption practices of the time, with white children more readily adopted than Black or mixed-race children. |
Leon’s experience of care | As de Waal has experience of the foster system, we can assume Leon’s experiences are based in some way on her experience with the system. Not only would he be moved around, suddenly being pushed into a new home with no choice in the matter, he also moves schools. There is also a cultural gap, with Maureen white and unlikely to understand profound aspects of Leon’s identity. |
Transience | Social services are happy with their role, and seem to expect Leon to be happy that his brother has been adopted and separated from him, as this is a success for their system. They patronise and racialise Leon, while showing little interest in updating Leon on Jake or Carol, isolating him from his family. They are happy to let Leon go to Sylvia in the time Maureen is unwell, even though she is not an active carer, because it solves a problem for them. |
Distrust of the system | Social services are often talked about in disparaging tones and language, referred to as “the Social”. Tina only calls them as she feels she has no other choice, knowing it will destroy the family, while Maureen and Sylvia are both disappointed with their approach. While Maureen represents a clear positive of the system, she doesn’t agree with them on many things and fears Leon being taken away when he goes missing near the end of the novel. |
Race in the 1980s
Minority communities in 1980s Britain often lived in concentrated areas shaped by housing policy, migration, and discrimination, sometimes described as a form of ghettoisation
Racism was much more socially acceptable, and racial tensions are common
There was significant tension between the police and Black and South Asian communities
Right-wing groups like the National Front escalated tension with rhetoric and violence aimed at marginalising these communities further:
It was common for Black footballers to be racially abused at football matches
The Sus law allowed police to search any individuals on the basis of suspicion, allowing them to stop people with almost no justification
Eventually, riots sparked up, with notable examples being seen in St Pauls, Brixton, Moss Side, Handsworth in Birmingham, and other areas:
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher refused to accept that these were linked to race, although that has since been proven clearly wrong
Black cultures emerged in Britain and started to influence the country, especially in the arts:
Ska and reggae became more popular, and groups like UB40 (a multi-racial band from Birmingham) gained renown
There were no Black MPs at all at the time of the book’s setting
How this links to My Name is Leon | |
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Multiculturalism | We see that Leon meets many new people when he moves to Sylvia’s. The man in the local shop is Pakistani, and then he meets an Irishman in Mr Devlin and Black, West Indian men in Tufty and his friends. This fits the ghettoisation discussed above. |
Prejudice | Even among the community, racism and prejudice is common. The Pakistani shop owner blames Leon as a Black person for the street troubles, and Tufty uses anti-Irish rhetoric against Mr Devlin, who retorts with racist insults. |
Systemic racism | The police are shown in the story as violent, aggressive and racist. Castro’s death in custody and the treatment of him before that shows racial targeting. Social services racialise Leon, talking about the size of his lips and reducing his characteristics to his physicality. De Waal continually explores the systems that push minorities together into poverty and see Black children stuck in care. |
My Name is Leon literary context
Kit de Waal used her life experience to shine a light on issues of racism and in the care system in My Name is Leon. Many of the topics covered in the novel had become strikingly prominent again in 2011, 30 years after the book was set, and only five years before it was published. As an author, she used her voice to highlight key issues and remind readers of where the world has changed, and where it has stayed the same.
It is these aspects that align the story to the social realist genre. By basing the story in Birmingham, rather than a fictional place, and grounded in real events of the time (the Royal Wedding, the Troubles, police brutality and racism), de Waal can ground the reader in the real world. Equally, this allows de Waal to offer a commentary on the events, and their modern-day equivalents.
Social realism
Social realism is a subgenre of realism, which offers commentary on lived experiences, often ones marginalised from the norm
A social reality text usually offers perspective of the working class, with an analysis of the social injustices faced by these people outside of the mainstream:
Social realist texts like My Name is Leon are naturalistic works, set in real places, with a broad message for the reader and a realistic tone and world setting
Characters are used to represent something, rather than just plainly for plot points or entertainment:
As such, we can analyse what a character is being used for, and how they represent social classes, cultures, races, nationalities, or just society in general
The relationships between characters, and how they develop in harmony and in clashes, will be explored, as well as how their living situations and the contexts of their lives affect their behaviours and choices
Stories in the social realist genre are usually written to spread awareness and shine a light on issues that cause social division and unrest
How this links to My Name is Leon | |
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Real-life context | The author grew up in Birmingham to a Black African-Caribbean father and a white Irish mother. Her mother was also a foster carer, while de Waal herself worked in family law and advised social services on matters of foster care and adoption. The story also looks at problems with racial tensions, the Troubles, and problematic stop and search laws, back then referred to as the Sus law. |
Black identity | The story offers commentary on how Black children are treated in the care system, as well as looking at the problematic police treatment of Black men. Throughout, Leon struggles with his identity, noting how he was treated differently to Jake due to the different colour of their skin, and he finds some comfort in a Black role model such as Tufty, eventually echoing his words under pressure. As a Black child raised by a white mother and then a white foster carer, Leon only gets glimpses of Black culture, and that leaves him without influences he can recognise as similar to himself. |
Children in care | More than just shining a light on how painful the care system can be, especially for those like Leon who seem to be left behind by it, the novel also examines how being caught in this turmoil can change a young person. Leon is often spoken about as smart, kind and polite, but begins to fall behind at school, starts stealing, and has a building frustration at a life that sees him moved around and where decisions are made above his head without any conversation or input from Leon. Often, things happen without a good explanation, and those who should be offering it to Leon either fail or do not even try to do so. His situation starts to change who Leon is. |
Bildungsroman
The story follows Leon throughout, even from a third-person narrative perspective
A bildungsroman usually shows a journey of growth for the protagonist, whether that be spiritual, psychological or moral:
Bildungsroman translates directly to “novel of education” from its origins in Germany
The bildungsroman usually follows a conventional structure of:
Loss: the protagonist begins the story or narrative with a profound emotional loss
Journey: the protagonist then embarks on a journey of sorts, motivated by the tragedy early in the story. This journey can be literal, a physical journey, or more metaphorical, and leads them to better understand the world or their place in it
Conflict and growth: the journey is rarely smooth, and involves the protagonist making mistakes and clashing with societal norms. As the story progresses, they gradually embrace the values of society, and learn what to stand against
Maturity: As the novel concludes, the protagonist undergoes significant personal development and shows positive change from their experience and growth
How this links to My Name is Leon | |
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Finding a home | Leon is taken from his home early in the narrative and moved to Maureen’s, but it is his emotional journey that helps him find his new home. By giving up his attachment to rebuilding his family unit, Leon realises that Maureen and Sylvia have become his home, rather than just the place he lived. |
Childhood | Leon has taken on a role above his years for a long time, trying to look after his struggling mother, then stepping up for her to look after Jake, before taking it upon himself to restore his family unit. Across the narrative, Leon slowly gets to enjoy more typical childhood activities, and we see him happy when he gets to act his age. By the end, he has male role models he had never had, and caregivers who protect and prioritise him. |
My Name is Leon as bildungsroman | Leon’s character development begins with his family struggling and then the children being taken into care, which can represent the loss in the typical structure of a bildungsroman. He begins his journey through care, which feeds conflict with the system, and then a growing frustration with adult figures and structures. Finally, he finds contentment in realising that he is happy where he is, that he likes Maureen, Sylvia, and can finally settle into his home. Interestingly, de Waal adapts the bildungsroman structure, as Leon’s journey ends not with conventional adult maturity but with a renewed ability to experience childhood. |
Sources
De Waal, K. (2016), My Name is Leon, Viking
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