Themes Flashcards
What are the four main themes?
Social responsibility
Age
Gender
Class
How is the theme of responsibility shown in the play? (3)
- Treatment of Eva Smith
- How each character does/doesnt take responsibility for their behaviour
- The inspectors lessons
How does Priestly show that Sheila feels responsible?
Sheila is shocked when she learns that she had a part to play in Eva’s death.
What quotes show Sheila feels responsible?
“Between us, we killed her”
“Im to blame and im desperately sorry”
How is there tension within the birling family?
Mrs B keeps correcting family’s social mistakes
Eric laughs out of turn and acts oddly
Sheila teases Gerald about last summer - half playful half serious
When is the clear heirarchy destroyed?
When the inspector arrives
How do sheila and eric break the heriarchy?
Sheila decides for herself not to marry gerald
Eric says his mother doesn’t “understand anything” and his father is “not the kind of father a chap could go to”
Refuse to go on “behaving just as we did” - parents no authority anymore
What does class do in the play?
Drives the plot and shapes the characters
Why does priestly challenge the characters views and behaviour?
To challenge the social heirarchy
Mrs b doesn’t recognise the photo
Eva has no identity
Why didn’t higher classes question the class system?
Because it worked for them
Why do upper classes ignore things like alcoholism and womanising
Its easier to ignore unpleasant things than deal with them
Judgement - mr b
About to become a magistrate - ironic when he has acted so immorally
How does mr b use gerald
To promote his social class
