Union Street (Cyclopedia of Literary Characters)
At a glance:
- Author: Pat Barker
- First Published: 1982
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: Winter, 1973
- Setting: A depressed inner-city neighborhood in northeastern England
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, 1970’s, Suffering, Adolescence, Poverty or poor people, Pregnancy, Rape, Inner cities or inner-city life, England or English people, Women, Death or dying, Abortion, Housing
- Locales: England
Characters Discussed
Kelly Brown, an eleven-year-old schoolgirl who lives with her older sister Linda and their mother. “Uncle” Arthur, the latest in a succession of her mother’s male friends, also lives with the family for a while. A latchkey child who frequently skips school, Kelly has grown accustomed to deprivation and to using deception to survive. Although proud of her independence, Kelly still unconsciously clings to her mother, seeking her love and approval. When Kelly is raped, she is too afraid to tell anyone at first; her reactions emerge later, in a screaming...
[The entire page is 1165 words long]
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