Responsibility Quotes Flashcards
“I know I’m to blame - and I’m desperately sorry - but I can’t believe - I won’t believe - it’s simply my fault”
Shelia Act 2
- Shelia starts to feel responsible.
- The dashes prove how Shelia’s hesitant, doesn’t quite know what she’s saying.
“In the circumstances I think I was justified”
Mrs Birling Act 1
- Mrs Birling won’t take any responsibility.
- Selfish/still doesn’t feel sorry for Eva.
- Doesn’t regret how she treated Eva, proves her arrogance.
“But I accept no blame for it at all”
Mrs Birling Act 2
- Mrs Birling takes no responsibility which puts emphasis on her arrogance and selfishness.
- Very capitalist-doesn’t believe she’s responsible for others in society/doesn’t think her actions towards others matter.
“There’s every excuse for what your mother and I did”
Mr Birling Act 1
- Mr Birling is too proud/doesn’t want his family to look bad.
- Capitalist-won’t accept responsibility so makes up excuses so their bad actions sound justified.
Too proud of his perfect upper class life.
“Well I only did what any employer would have done”
Mr Birling Act 2
Takes no responsibility as he doesn’t believe he’s done anything wrong.
“I became at once the most important person in her life - you understand?”
Gerald Act 2
As Gerald talks he realises the amount of responsibility he had for Eva at the time/he made her feel safe.
Rhetorical question- questioning himself and his actions towards Eva?
Dash symbolises the pauses as everything that has happened is confusing him.
“If there’s nothing else, we’ll share our guilt”
Inspector Act 1
The Inspector is implying the Birling’s can’t change what they did to Eva but they can feel guilty as they were all equally responsible so should share the same guilt/ there’s nothing else they can do.
“We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”
Inspector
This message from the inspector implies we are all “members of one body” and responsible for each other/this is a socialist view.
The Birling’s are too wrapped up in their own lives to notice people in society who are in need of help.
Everything that happens is a consequence of someone else’s actions.
“A chain of events”
Inspector
Symbolises how it wasn’t just one event but it was many events which all “chained” together to cause Eva to commit suicide.
They were all responsible.
Each of their wrong actions and events with Eva led to and builder up to her suicide.
“You’re squiffy”
Shelia to Eric
Eric was drunk/irresponsible
Implies Eric isn’t properly engaged with his actions.
“A man has to make his own way- has it look after himself - and his family too”
Mr Birling Act 3
- A vey capitalist view/a business man/only concerned with money.
- very self centred/selfish/proves arrogance
- capitalist view: he has no responsibility for anyone else in society.
“You may be letting yourselves out nicely, but I can’t”
Eric
- Eric takes responsibility for what he did, representing the ‘famous younger generation’
- He isn’t concerned about looking and like his parents are, the younger generation take more responsibility as they care less about their place and how they look in society.
“The fact remains that I did what I did”
Eric Act 3
- Eric takes responsibility and regrets what he did but the older generation don’t - THEME YOUNGER VS OLDER GENERATION
- owning up to his actions, making the point he still did that to someone and his actions still affected someone.
“She didn’t blame me at all. I wish to God she had now. Perhaps I’d feel a bit better about it”
Gerald Act 1
- Short snappy sentences put emphasis on what Gerald is saying.
- He’s upset by Eva’s death.
- Shows difference between the younger and older generation as again like Eric and Shelia Gerald is willing to take the blame.
-“I wish to God she had now”
Implies how Gerald knows he was partly responsible and proves the guilt which he is feeling.
