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English > AIC Act one > Flashcards

AIC Act one Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should be brighter and harder

A

pink and intimate

  • reference to idiom of rose-tinted glasses(false and unrealistic)
  • ignorant to plight of the working class
  • jovial and relaxed
  • connotations of warmth and happiness

brighter and harder

  • inspector is powerful enough to change atmosphere
  • like an interrogation
  • lighting change mirrors how Priestley wants society to change
  • in bright light nothing can hide
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2
Q

heavy-looking

portentous

provincials in his speech

  • Mr Birling
A

shows greed

tries hard to impress people

speaks with noticeable accent

  • reveals lower-class origins
  • insecurity
  • lack of sophistication
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3
Q

attractive

too manly to be a dandy

man about town

  • Gerlad
A

good catch for a woman

fashionable socialite

never had to struggle
knows what to say and do
good education
mixes in the right circles, belongs in the right clubs

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4
Q

pretty girl

very pleased with life and rather excited

  • Sheila
A

naïve and sheltered young girl(not woman)

protected by her family

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5
Q

not quite at ease

half shy, half assertive

  • Eric
A

shy - apprehension and nervousness

juxtaposes

assertive - dominance and confidence

displays inner turmoil Eric experiences
- not fully realised and accepted personality

perceived as insignificant

  • last to be described
  • outcast within his own family
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6
Q

it’s exactly the same port your father gets

  • Mr Birling
A

trying to imitate a more prominent societal figure as well as gain rapport

  • trying to climb up the social ladder
  • cement connections

a symbol of status and wealth
- celebratory mood

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7
Q

I don’t pretend to know much about it

  • Gerald
A

less obsessed with reputation, status, image and classism than Mr Birling is

(generational difference)

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8
Q

Arthur, you’re not supposed to say such things

  • Mrs Birling
A

disdain for his actions that expose his lack of social superiority
- wants to uphold social niceties and dinner etiquette

thinks lower-classes shouldn't be respected or complimented
- small minded upper-class trait
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9
Q

except from all last summer, when you never came near me

  • Sheila
A

seed of suspicion planted that Gerald is hiding something

she has genuine concerns

  • in two minds “half playful, half serious”
  • covers it with jestful and flirtatious tone

foreshadows the conflict to come

represents the sexism and oppression of woman at the time

  • want to speak out and demonstrate they are serious
  • gender walls at the time refrained them and forced them to cover up their seriousness with a playful and passive attitude
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10
Q

I was awfully busy at the works all that time

  • Gerald
A

repeatedly uses the same excuse

awfully
- connected with unpleasant

belittling and fooling Sheila

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11
Q

men with important work to do sometimes have to spend nearly all their time and energy on their business

  • Mrs Birling
A

clear hierarchical distinction between men and women

  • patriarchy ideology
  • she has internalised the social etiquette of the Edwardian period
  • is propagating it

exactly the cycle Priestley seeks to break

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12
Q

you’re squiffy

  • Sheila
A

colloquial language
- casual sibling relationship

Eric drinks too much

  • immature
  • doesn’t know self-restraint
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13
Q

What an expression, Sheila!

  • Mrs Birling
A 
snobbish 
- alarmed at lower-class traits Sheila is adopting
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14
Q

Eric, when you’ve a daughter of your own, you’ll understand

  • Mr Birling
A

foreshadows Eva’s pregnancy

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15
Q

we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no longer competing but are working together

  • Mr Birling
A

cares more about status and wealth than his daughter’s happiness

see’s marriage as a business contract
- selfish and self-conceited

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16
Q

we’re in a time of steadily increasing prosperity

  • Mr Birling
A

dramatic irony

  • Wall street crash
  • caused a huge recession
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17
Q

The Germans don’t want war. Nobody wants war

  • Mr Birling
A

dramatic irony

  • discredits Mr Birling’s capitalist ideology
  • shows him to be pompous and foolish
  • 2nd world war
18
Q

unsinkable, totally unsinkable

  • Mr Birling
A

emphasises the nature of his character

  • hubris
  • didactic nature

repetition
- looks more foolish

intensifier totally

  • shows complete confidence in his judgement
  • shows how flawed it is
  • Priestly belittling capitalists and saying not trust them
19
Q

Birling lights his cigar, Gerald who has lit a cigarette

A

how mimics the actions of Mr Birling
- epitome of the capitalist agenda Priestley is against

diluted version of Birling

  • will perpetuate a system that is unfair
  • following in the footsteps of his capitalist predecessor
20
Q

I might find my way into the next Honours list. Just a knighthood

  • Mr Birling
A

inferiority complex

  • trying to prove his family is good enough for Gerald
  • comes of as showing off
21
Q

don’t get into the police court or start a scandal

  • Mr Birling
A

foreshadows the events to follow(heavily ironic)

  • about to be investigated by a police inspector
  • accused of serious moral crimes
22
Q

clothes mean something quite different to a woman

  • Mr Birling
A

treats women in a condescending manner
- misogynistic culture

portrays women as superficial and materialistic
- suggests woman’s worth is dependent on how she looks

23
Q

as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense

  • Mr Birling
A

simile

contemptuous and patronising tone

  • mocks and chastises socialism
  • no hierarchy for Birling to abuse
  • would alter the class system that protects the Birlings
24
Q

a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and-

  • Mr Birling
A

condescending and egotistical attitude of keeping profits only for the private owners
-makes the audience dislike him

selfish, dismissive words gets cut off by the inspector
- symbolises the disruption of the ideology Birling was espousing

25
Q

Eric suddenly guffaws

A

uncomfortable talking about his father’s business

social awkwardness
- insecure(foil of Gerald)

26
Q

A chain of events

  • Inspector
A

outlines nature of moral crime the family have committed
- lack of social responsibilty

Priestley’s mouthpiece
- textual mechanism through which the play is able to impart its didactic message

shows everyone is responsible for Eva’s death

27
Q

it’s better to ask for the Earth than to take it

  • Inspector
A

it is socially irresponsible to be greedy and take things without permission
- what the privileged Birlings are used to

laying bare and unpicking their moral assumptions

28
Q

I can’t accept any responsibilty

-Mr Birling

A

dismissive and narrow-minded nature towards Eva’s death

stubborn and will not listen to the Inspector’s prophetic message

29
Q

it’s my duty to keep labour costs down

  • Mr Birling
A

language of economics which disguises the reality of the situation
- by keeping wages down, he is condemning his workers to lives of poverty and hardship
priestley wanted fairer distribution of profit fairer treatment of workers were treated more fairly

defensive, arrogant words
- Priestley criticises capitalist system

30
Q

massiveness, solidity and purposefulness

“carefully (and) weightily”

“a disconcerting habit of looking hard at the person he addresses before he speaks”.

  • Inspector
A

Priestley ensures the character representing socialism is seen as more powerful than anyone else

omniprescent
manipulative
impression of massiveness

31
Q

these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people

  • Sheila
A

first to realise capitalism exploits the misery of the many for the betterment of the few

  • Priestley uses her as example of people’s changing attitudes towards less fortunate(dehumanised and objectified)
  • dash represents how distance the concepts are for her
32
Q

mummy
daddy

  • Sheila
A

immature
cossetted by her parents

shows development and growth later on by referring to them as ‘mum’ and ‘dad’

33
Q

recognises it with a little cry, gives a half-stifled sob and then runs out

A

very distressed and guilty

  • opposite of Mr Birling’s denial of his wrongdoings
  • the moment she realises she got her fire
34
Q

we tried to put ourselves in the place of these young women counting their pennies in their dingy little back bedrooms

  • Inspector
A

teaching the Birling’s to feel empathy
- also to society in general

Priestley’s plea for the rich to understand their role in the suffering of the working class

35
Q

I can’t help thinking about this girl - destroying herself so horribly

  • Sheila
A

genuine emotions

dashes
- suggests she is flustered and can’t think coherently

36
Q

We were having a nice little family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you’ve made of it

  • Mr Birling
A

brutally insular to the topic at hand

highlights the values he represents
- his selfish celebration

37
Q

Now listen, darling

for God’s sake - don’t say anything to the inspector

  • Gerald
A

convinced he still has control
- assumed power

thinks he can shut up Sheila
- dominant, patriachal attitude

Tries to deny and feign ignorance
- arrogant, dismissive, panicked,

38
Q

Why - you fool- he knows

  • Sheila
A

understands the importance of the Inspector
- has more info than he is revealing

leads her to see her relationship with Gerald in a more realistic, more cynical way

39
Q

She’d swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant. Burnt her inside out, of course

  • Inspector
A

wry, deadpan, factual tone

detailed imagery
- shock Birling’s to give him information

40
Q

Edna

A

reminder of the Birling’s wealth

presence of the lower class

  • little dialogue
  • invisible
  • shows their inequality
  • mirrors Eva Smith
41
Q

is it the one you wanted me to have?

  • Sheila
A

ring
- more obsessed with the material aspects of her relationship than her feelings for Gerald.

subservient
- Gerald is in control

English (13 decks)

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