Themes Flashcards
What the themes represent, who represents them, and why they are so important
What are the four themes?
Social responsibility, Class, Gender, Age
How does Eva Smith represent Social Responsibility?
Eva dies because nobody takes responsibility for their actions against her.
How does Arthur Birling represent Social repsponsibility? (3 Quotations)
“Community and all that nonsense.”
If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward”
“A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own.”
How does Mrs Birling represent Social Responsibility?
3 Quotes
“I blame the young man who was the father of the child she was going to have.”
“I didn’t like her manner.”
“She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.”
How does Sheila Birling represent Social Responsibility?
3 Quotes
“I tell you - whoever that inspector was, it was anything but a joke.”
“All right Gerald, you needn’t look at me like that. At least I’m trying to tell the truth.”
“Girls aren’t cheap labour.”
How does Eric Birling represent Social Responsibility?
3 Quotes
“Whoever that chap was, the fact remains that I did what I did.”
“You lot may be letting yourselves out nicely, but I can’t.”
“You’re beginning to pretend now that nothing’s really happened at all.”
How does Gerald Croft represent Social Responsibility?
“All right. I knew her. Let’s leave it at that.”
“I don’t come into this suicide business.”
“Everything’s alright now Sheila.”
How does Inspector Goole represent Social Responsibility?
“Her position now is that she lies with a burnt out inside on a slab.”
“If man will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish.”
“It’s better to ask for the earth than to take it.”
Why is the theme of Social Repsponisbility important? (Context)
Priestley aims to address this issue that after WW2 there was no assistance for those living in poverty. He also wanted his audience to be responsible for their actions and behaviour and be more considerate of others.
How does Eva Smith represent Class?
She is a typical representation of a working class girl, who is put into multiple situations where she is treated indifferently because she is not in the same class as the Birling family. If she were in a higher class she would have had a arguably very different outcome.
Which characters represent class the most?
Arthur Birling, Sybil Birling, Sheila Birling and Eva Smith
How does Arthur Birling present the theme of Class?
3 Quotes
“If you don’t come down sharply on some of these people, they’d soon be asking for the earth.”
“As if we’re all mixed up in a hive, community and all that nonsense.”
“And I’m talking as a hard-headed, practical man of business.”
How does Sybil Birling present the theme of Class?
3 Quotes
“Girls of that class.”
“As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!”
“She was claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position.”
How does Sheila Birling present the theme of Class?
2 Quotes
“These girls aren’t just cheap labour!”
“She is very pleased with life.”
Why is the theme of Class important?
Although WW2 brought the two classes together, Priestley wanted to highlight the inequality between higher and lower classes and how the higher classes looked down in those in lower class.
