guilt Flashcards
1 “But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people”
-begins to realise mistreatment of E + acknowledges her humanity
-S‘s guilt contrasts sharply with MB‘s defensiveness
-her initial acknowledgement of guilt hints at her later development + acceptance of responsibility
2 “he’s giving us the rope- so that we’ll hang ourselves”
-virulent actions of the B’s were akin to executing E
-twisted form of justice + karmic retribution
-shows machiavellian actions of capitalists in power comes back around
-as E isn’t present in this act + it’s S who is getting hysterical, we may lead to believe that priestley is portraying S as more guilty than E
2 “she didn’t blame me at all. I wish to God she had now”
-G puts a facade of remorse so he appears respectable
-G temporarily seems to understand morality, but we later learn he doesn’t wish for any blame at all + is still actively trying to deny himself responsibility at the end of the play
-example of irony, the audience later become aware that his claims are false portraying him as deceitful
3 “There’ll be a public scandal… and who here will suffer for that more than I will?”
-use of question is an attempt from MB to evoke pity + sympathy
-exposes his hypocrisy as he exhibited no sympathy for E
-verb “suffer” is hyperbolic + melodramatic - proves he is self-centred
-highlights how he is incapable of feeling guilt as he is too preoccupied with the “public” repercussions
-repetition of “public” throughout play is used to show how closely intertwined wealth + reputation were
3 “I was the only one who didn’t give in to him”
-her expected guilt is supplemented for orthodox feelings of pride at notion of not conceding to guilt
-her overt selfishness is apparent through her boastful attitude to being immune to guilt
-amplifies suggestion that she represents the cardinal sin of pride if looking at AIC in terms of a morality play
3 “But you’re forgetting one thing I still can’t forget. Everything we said had happened really had happened”
-personal pronoun “I” shows she personally feels guilt that is plaguing her conscience
-repetition of past tense “happened” shows their actions are irreversible as they happened in the past
-as they cannot change these actions, they must feel guilt + repent
