older vs younger Flashcards
1 “young man about town” “a pretty fortunate young man”
-irony concerning the repetition of adjective “young” to describe G
-within play, youth becomes associated with being “impressionable” + adopting socialist views
-G fails to live up to this ‘ideal’ that priestley proposes
-reinforces disappointment the audience feel towards G’s character
-we almost forgive MB + MSB as a result of their age
-G seems more consciously adhering to tropes of capitalism
1 “Sheila! What an expression! Really, the things you girls pick up these days!”
-exposes her superficially driven codes of conduct - cares more about etiquette than morality
-opposed to S’s use of colloquial language - emblem of progressive younger generation that challenge her beliefs
-noun “girls” belittles S to dismiss her behaviour + portray it as foolish / uncouth
-reinforces separation between older generation who are robust to newer ways of thinking + younger who seem vulnerable to “pick[ing]” them up
2 “We often do on the young ones. They’re more impressionable”
-inspector makes a mockery of MB
-brands younger generation as “more impressionable” perhaps implying they’re more gullible + malleable
-serves to be ironic as negative connotations of being “impressionable” are positive traits in helping S+E rid their capitalist oblivion
2 “[rather hot, bothered]”
-despite MB physically being distressed, he proceeds to try + be ignorant to his family’s unscrupulousness - indoctrinated by capitalist idea that his ‘public image’ is more integral than morality
-his “bother” provides a glimmer of hope that he will listen however he retreats to his capitalist ways
-inspector is unable to change stagnancy + obstinate in characters where capitalism is deeply ingrained
3 “fire and blood and anguish”
-S acts as the inspector’s proxy when he leaves reciting his exact moral teachings
-demonstrates inspector’s profound impact on younger generation as S now resents her families supercilious airs + graces + tries to catalyse a change
3 “the famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke”
-his callousness is apparent through both his acerbic tone + ability to dismiss the notion of suicide + exploitation of working classes as a “joke”
-ridicules his own children, yet it’s ironic as he is the only character who claims to “know it all” with his mentions of the “unsinkable” Titanic + “silly little war scares”
-priestley encourages younger generation to reject beliefs of their parents
