blame + responsibility Flashcards
1 “obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girl’s suicide”
-MB’s reasoning is ignorant + illogical, yet his use of the adverb “obviously” shows his arrogant defensiveness
-his inability to display any kind of remorse is reflective of the stubbornness of the older generations - doesn’t allow there to be any question of him being responsible - shows unorthodox emotion
-apostrophe on “girl’s” shows he believed suicide belonged to her + didn’t involve him; more macabre matters were possessions of working class
1 “it’s better to ask for the earth than to take it”
-syntax on “ask” prior to “take” highlights order of importance that’s required for society to be collectively responsible
-“ask” + share opposed to capitalist ideas of “taking” to benefit oneself
-idea of “take” connotes to steal - idea scorned in bible + is a mortal sin
-in edwardian era, religion was highly integral to society
-capitalist ideas dismiss religious teachings - socialism brings back moral foundations
2 “Girls of that class”
-dismisses lower class as an aggregate inferior group that behave the same
-she ties blame to social class - bases her understanding of morality on individual’s position in class system
-collective noun “Girls” belittles E + her social group - has connotations of feebleness + immaturity
2 “Mother, she’s just died a horrible death- don’t forget”
-plosives litter her speech (“died” / “death” / “don’t”) - harsh sounds emulate harsh reality she’s trying to make her irresponsible family face
-fragmented speech resembles she’s placing emphasis on directly addressing her mother’s responsibility
3 “as if she was an animal, a thing, not a person”
degrading triple simile is used by priestley as the inspector is his dramatic vehicle + mouthpiece - uttering views of priestley himself about distributing responsibility
-“animal” highlights their blatant disregard of her humanity through their dehumanising + exploitative treatment
-could be allusion to how inspector is critiquing disregard of women - condemns E + G for identifying her as an object of lust
-neglectful noun “thing” intensifies she was regarded with any form of compassion due to her social class
3 “Everything’s all right now, Sheila. [Holds up the ring] What about this ring?”
-G wants to rid himself of responsibility by erasing events of evening
-metonymy of “ring” exposes his materialistic + capitalist views
-seems less emotionally invested in marriage
