Generations Flashcards
Priestley portrays how the older Birlings are primarily concerned with class status and image.
Britain was strictly governed by the class system and people were taught to believe that those at the top must be respected.
Mr. and Mrs. Birling fixated on maintaining an image of wealth. use of setting in Act One the furniture in their house is described with the adjective “solid”, this adjective shows how expensive the furniture must be and immediately creates an impression of wealth about the family. also symbolises the power that the older Birlings hold in society; they are dominant, stubborn and difficult to move.
, Priestley uses a juxtaposition s the home as “…not cosy and homelike.” suggests that their home is not a warm, welcoming or even pleasant place to live despite all the money they have spent on it. creates a cold sinister atmosphere the older Edwardian generation had become so fixated on materialistic things like status and reputation that they forgot about more spiritual values like love and family. This encourages the audience to question capitalism and whether pursuing wealth like the Birlings will actually provide you with a happy or fulfilling life.
Mr. and Mrs. Birling are also presented as extremely cold hearted and prejudiced people
Working class often stereotyped as being lazy and immoral in the Edwardian era.
Describe evas death “horrid business” or “absurd business”. abstract noun “business” is revealing because it seems extremely dismissive and cold. display no emotion whatsoever towards it. see it as a nuisance that has ruined their evening.
Mr. Birling refers to “the wretched girl’s suicide”. “wretched” angry Birling is that he is being forced to think about the death of somebody of the lower class. symbolises he views lower class people as inferior or even pathetic.
extremely cold hearted and unlikeable in this moment as it arrives just after the audience hears how emotive details about how Eva
died in “great agony” after “burning her insides out”.
After serving in WW1, Priestley was appalled by the treatment of working class soldiers he had fought alongside in the trenches. encouraging the audience to sympathise with disadvantaged people. He also encourages us to mistrust selfish, cruel capitalists who helped to create such an unequal society in the Edwardian era by portraying the cold hearted attitudes of Mr. and Mrs. Birling.
Priestley goes on to craft the impression that the older generation were completely irresponsible towards
others
Birling deliberately paid low wages and the government provided very little support to the poor as it was believed it would simply make them lazy.
Birling mocks the idea of community and tells the inspector, “if we were all responsible for everything…it would be very awkward wouldn’t it?” “awkard” implies Birling understands that it would be possible to take responsibility but simply does not want to make the effort or the sacrifices it would require., neither
Mr. or Mrs. Birling accept any responsibility or remorse for their cruel actions towards Eva Smith.
Despitethe fact that she refused to help a pregnant woman who later died, Mrs. Birling states, “I did nothing I’m ashamed of.” Here the use of a simple, declarative sentence perhaps displays how confident Mrs. Birling is that she does not need to take responsibility for her attitude or actions. portrays her arrogance as knows that she will never truly have to face justice. Like many wealthy people of this era, she seems to feel entitled to do as she pleases without thinking of others.
Priestley deliberately presents the younger generation in a contrasting way to their parents.
they show signs of compassion towards the lower classes.“(involuntarily) My God!” the exclamative sentence demonstrates Eric’s shock and horror at the suicide. contrasts the response of Mr. and Mrs. Birling and the younger generation in the Edwardian era had more empathy.
adverb “involuntarily” in the stage directions indicates that this is Eric’s natural and honest response to the news and not a pretence
that he is putting on to impress the inspector. genuinely upset.
Sheila shows more compassion towards the lower classes “These girls aren’t cheap labour, they people!” noun “people” is significant recognises the humanity of lower class people and does not objectify like her father. It also demonstrates how Sheila is willing to stand up to capitalists like Birling and challenge their prejudiced views.
people were raised to believe that people in the different classes were almost genetically different like different species of animal. s and e are far more open minded than their parents. can accept socialist ideas more easily.
Priestley is perhaps trying to encourage his audience in 1945 to believe that the future of Britain can be fairer and kinder than it was in the Edwardian era because the younger generation are now the ones in charge and they are different to the previous generation.
Priestley also demonstrates how the younger generation are more capable of taking responsibility and
learning from their mistakes in the play.
the younger gen are more capable of taking responsibility and learning from their mistakes. Sheila is presented as emotionally distressed by what she has done. repetition when Sheila states, “I’ll never, never do it again” in order to convey how determined she is never to repeat the mistakes of her past and be more considerate in the future.
Eric ignores the celebrations of the older generation and says, “We all helped kill her.” Here the use of the pronoun “we” is striking because it shows that Eric has understood the importance of collective responsibility. Rather than trying to blame others or escape blame himself, he accepts that they all played a role in Eva Smith’s death.
gives the audience hope that the future of Britain can be more responsible than it was in the past. Many watching 1945 would have been of the same generation as Eric and Sheila so might have been encouraged to reflect on their own treatment of the poor. Ultimately, Priestley uses the younger characters to convey the idea that Britain can be a better place than it was in the Edwardian era.n
Younger gen spoilt
“Pretty and rather pleased with her life”
“I was in a furious temper”
“ I was in a state where a chap easily turns nasty”
“ good sports
