Importance Of The Ending Flashcards
Umbrella
The dramatic nature of the play emphasises Priestley’s socialist views for a need to change society for the better.
Ts1: the ending exposes the differences between generations which portrays Priestley’s view that his hope for social reform lies with the younger generation.
‘You’re beginning… to pretend that nothing much happened. You don’t seem to have learnt anything’
‘I know I’m to blame’
‘Young ones… more impressionable’
‘He was our police inspector all right’
‘Everything’s all right now Sheila. What about this ring?’
Ts2: Priestley uses a cyclical structure to show how if you don’t learn from your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat them and to shatter the audiences complacency.
‘A police inspector is on his way to ask some questions’
‘Queer- very queer’
‘He never seemed like an ordinary police inspector’
Ts3: The political intentions of Priestley and his hope for a more equal society are raised by how the younger generation accept social responsibility and the ending highlights this due to S+E learning from their mistakes even after they hear the I was lying all along.
‘Fire and blood and anguish’
‘I suppose we’re all nice people now’
Topic sentences:
1- ending exposes differences between generations which shows Priestley’s view that hope for social reform lies with the younger generation.
2- cyclical structure shatters audiences complacency and shows how if u don’t learn from your mistakes, you are doomed to repeat them.
3- younger gen accept responsibility and end highlights this as they learn even after hearing I was lying all along.
‘You’re beginning… to pretend that nothing much happened. You don’t seem to have learnt anything’
Unlike her parents, S+E change and learn that they have responsibility for others. L= parents not learning lesson links to I’s fire and blood speech and cyclical structure of the play which disrupts its naturalism- doomed to repeat mistakes until they learn from them.
C/D= Priestley disrupts Aristotle’s unities of time, place and action to shatter the audiences complacency as he had followed these throughout the play, until the end to make the audience think about the need for social reform. Priestley advocate for Fabian society who were campaigning for social reform.
‘I know I’m to blame’
Unlike her parents, Sheila emerges as more mature and she changes as a character. She accepts that she is partly to blame for Eva’s death. C= reflects Priestley’s belief that hope for social change lies with the younger generation. R= many of younger generation would be watching this post WW2 and want to change society for the better- NHS 1948 etc
‘He was our police inspector all right’
L/I= he ‘interrogated’ them and made them confess. He was their MORAL inspector. They have all committed moral crimes against another innocent individual. Eric realises this
‘Everything’s all right now, Sheila. What about this ring?’
Unlike S+E, G has not changed as a character and has learnt no moral lesson that has changed his view of how he treats the WC or those with less power and wealth than him. C= he assumes S will accept his proposal as it is a good business match regardless of his infidelity. Reflects expectations of women in Edwardian society.
‘A police inspector is on his way to ask some questions’
two inspectors.
I is an omniscient power, has come back.
C= ‘on his way’ about to repeat his mistakes.
D= microcosm for mankind.
R= audience sees they havn’t learnt from their mistakes. Unsettles audience, no conventional denouement. Priestley disrupts audiences complacency by disrupting Aristotle’s unities of time place and action which he has followed throughout the play, making the audience reflect their actions, presenting Priestley’s socialist views.
‘Queer- very queer’
C= police inspector below B family- difference in class so they don’t think he can challenge them. R= audience questions if Inspector ever existed. I= inspector going to challenge B’s prejudices. Not a real police inspector. L= repetition shows Sheila’s thinking.
‘He never seemed like an ordinary police inspector’
C= police inspector below Birling family, don’t believe he can challenge them due to class difference R= audience question if Inspector ever existed. I= there to establish moral responsibility not facts. L= verb “seemed” suggests something unusual. Adj ‘ordinary’ they don’t believe he is an inspector, he has something against them. D= inspector has an omniscient power, don’t believe he can know all that.
‘Fire and blood and anguish’
C= post world war- Priestley’s hope for social reform lies with the younger generation. R= would side with Priestley’s socialist views after remembering consequences. L= triplet shows how strongly I believes it. D= Birling family is a microcosm for mankind, demonstrating how you need to learn from mistakes.
‘I suppose we’re all nice people now’
C= demonstrates Priestley’s political belief that you should accept social responsibility. L= sarcasm- showing how irritated S+E are with their parents for not accepting responsibility. L= ‘we’ inclusive pronoun shows opposition to capitalists and how in society we should work together.
Ts4: I’s fire and blood and anguish speech shows P’s belief we are doomed to repeat mistakes unless we learn from them(embodiment of socialism and construct to act as a mouthpiece for Priestleys socialist views
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