The Class Divide

Question 1

Mrs B: “A g o t s.”

Answer 1

Mrs Birling: “A girl of that sort.”

Mrs Birling represents the ignorant old money and older generation that Priestly implicates were responsible for the class divide.

Question 2

Mr B: “W w s h o y w t, y k, a t k c.”

Answer 2

Mr Birling: “Well we’ve several hundreds of young women there, you know, and they keep changing.”

Mr Birling couldn’t care less about the poor people below him - they’re just cheap labour.

Question 3

Mr B: “I o t w y t h a o f o m.”

Answer 3

Mr Birling: “I ought to warn you that he’s an old friend of mine.”

Mr Birling thinks that he can use his social standing to bully other people into doing what he wants them to.