quotes Flashcards
As if we were mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense
- Mr Birling uses zoomorphism (giving humans animal qualities) to degrade and mock the lower classes being alike to ‘bees’ and trivialises (unimportant) community and interconnected responsibility
- The hyphen prompts a theoretical pauses, making the actor portraying Mr birling to hesitate before ‘community’ - reflects his physical repulsion to the concept, suggesting an inability to even verbalise it
- Acting as a microcosm for capitalist ideologies, Mr Birling becomes vilified for his rejection of the idea of ‘community’ and his preference for materialism over human relationships
The famous younger generation who know it all. And they can’t even take a joke. Act 3 Mr birling
irony
1912
speech is cut off
Its ironic as he mockingly labels the younger generation as ‘know it all’ but ironically thinks he knows it all (‘titanic’ and silly little war scares’
- Priestley deliberately set the play in 1912 to fragmentise the ‘know it all’ ignorance of the older generation
- After his callous dismissal of the suicide as a ‘joke’, he is abruptly interrupted by the telephone. Through the play form, Priestley can visually depict Mr Birling’s capitalist beliefs should be physically and symbolically removed from society
I don’t suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girls committed suicide. Girls of that class- (Mrs Birling Act 2)
Connotation- innocent
Demonstrative adjective
Arrogant
- The term ‘girl’ connotes to innocence and vulnerability, showcasing her willingness to exploit the vulnerable in society and rationalise it for capitalist advancement
- The demonstrative adjective ‘that’ dismisses them as an aggregate (grouped together as one) inferior homogenous ( all the same) group that all behave in the same way
- Mrs Birling is entirely governed by the arrogance of her social status - she can’t even bring herself to specify Eva’s social class, considering it so far beneath her
‘He certainly didn’t make me confess’ (Mrs Birling Act 3)
connotation
imperative
capitalist hierarchy
- The verb ‘confess’ ha connotations of crime, her denial of criminal acts and accountability comes effortlessly, reflecting the irresponsibility and immorality inherent to capitalist ideologies
- The imperative verb ‘make’ shows it is a way of keeping afloat in the power struggle between her and the inspector
- This suggests that admitting responsibility would be conceding to the inspector, posing a threat to her status in the capitalist hierarchy - she is safeguarding her position within societal structure dictated by capitalist ideologies
‘What he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish’ (Act 3 Sheila)
Proxy
Personal pronoun
Her awareness
- Sheila serves as the inspector’s proxy, exemplified by her precise emulation of the polysyndeton on ‘and’ - she attempts to emphasise the eternal consequences of lacking social conscious
- Sheila is now a moral compass to her family, showcasing her evolution towards empathy as her use of the personal pronoun ‘me’ shows she now experiences genuine remorse
- He awareness extends beyond personal remorse, she has developed an understanding of the systematic consequences of capitalist ideologies on society as a whole
'’Why shouldn’t they try for higher wages? We try for the highest possible prices’’
Rhetorical question
Alliteration
he exposes the systemic bias
- Eric is questioning the ethics behind his father’s exploitative attitude towards the lower social classes - he deviates from the [half shy] presentation into the [ assertive] one foreshadowed at the beginning
- The alliteration puts emphasis on the outdated and unjust social systems that have been created and upheld by older generation members like his parents
- He exposes and questions the systemic bias that favour upper-class capitalists, leveraging a laissez-faire government stance
‘We’re respectable citizens and not criminals’ (Act 1 Gerald)
Collective pronoun
Alliteration
Priestly intentions
- The collective pronoun ‘we’re’ reinforces a segregative ideology, as Gerald employs it unite the Birlings against perceived ‘criminals’ - he exposes aristocrat biases as fundamentally ignorant.
- The alliteration ‘citizens’ and ‘criminals’ creates a sense of similarity, reflecting Priestley’s portrayal of blurred lines between morality and criminality as one ascends the social hierarchy.
- Much like Priestley’s use of dramatic and satire to mock Mr Birling, he subtly ridicules Gerald’s pretentious demeanour, revealing how the wealthy often have biases that align only with their narrow worldview
’ It’s better to ask for the earth than take it’ (act 1 said to Mr birling - inspector)
Syntax
Connotation take
Socialism and religion
The syntax on ‘ask’ prior to ‘take’ reflects the hierarchal order for societal collective responsibility - we must ‘ask’ and share resources, in contrast to the individualistic capitalist notion of ‘taking’ for personal gain
- ‘Take’ has connotations of stealing, a notion vehemently (strongly) condemned in biblical teachings. Religion was the foundation of morality in the Edwardian era, capitalist ideals disregard these teachings
- Juxtaposingly, socialism can be viewed as a return to society’s moral foundations, emphasising communal values and collective responsibility over individualistic desire
‘If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish’ (Act 3 Inspector)
Polysyndeton
ww2
biblical lens
- The polysyndeton reflects the perpetual torment awaiting those who shirk (avoid) their moral and civic responsibilities
- ALT, it may allude to the second world war, ‘anguish’ symbolises humanity’s failure to learn from the past mistakes, leading to further ‘blood and anguish’
- Through a biblical lens the inspector could be portrayed as an agent of God through the hellish allusions. He is trying to bring the Birling’s back to the foundation of morality - religion
