Act 2 Flashcards
Mrs Birling “I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class-”
Interpretation – in contrast to Sheila, Mrs Birling refuses to acknowledge any responsibility for Eva’s suicide.
Technique – tone, irony, determiner
Analysis
The noun ‘girl’ diminishes Eva’s status and infantilises her as immature and hard to ‘understand’.
Mrs Birling’s highly dismissive tone “Girls of that class” show her lack of empathy with working class lives. The determiner ‘that’ puts a distance between the Birlings and Eva.
The audience see the irony that Mrs Birling is part of a charity that helps working class women but is unwilling to stop and think ‘for a moment’ about Eva’s plight.
Gerald – “Old Joe Meggarty, half-drunk and goggle-eyed, had wedged her into a corner with that obscene fat carcass of his”
Interpretation – Alderman Meggarty is presumed to be respectable due to his title, but Gerald depicts the true, unpleasant nature of this powerful man.
Techniques- imagery, naming
Analysis
Animalistic imagery of Meggarty as a predator ‘ obscene fat carcass’ and Eva/Daisy trapped ‘wedged her’ unable to escape.
The upper class hide behind titles such as Alderman, but Gerald removes his power by naming him ‘Old Joe’; a drunk old man with no status.
Inspector – “Public men..have responsibilities as well as privileges”.
Interpretation- the core message of the play is that all people have social responsibility (responsibilities towards one another), particularly important for the post-war audience. The upper classes seem to exercise their privileges but neglect responsibility.
Technique- statement, juxtaposition, abstract nouns
Analysis-
This statement is delivered as a fact that Birling can not argue with.
The juxtaposition of the abstract nouns ‘Responsibilities’ and ‘privileges’ emphasises the difference between the Birlings and the Inspector. The Inspector links the two concepts that Birlings have regarded as separate.
