Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Class and Hierarchy (Examples: (Sheila gets Eva fired from her job because…
Class and Hierarchy
Examples:
- Sheila gets Eva fired from her job because she was jealous. She knew it would impact her life in any bad way but she was selfish and didn't think about how it might have impacted Eva's
- Mr Birling being happy about his daughters engagement only because she is marrying someone of the upper class, the son of a successful businessman that Mr Birling thinks he could work with too 'reduce costs and raise prices'
- When Eva went for help to Mrs Birling but she was turned away because she was a pregnant, unmarried women and Mrs Birling thought Eva was making fun of her so she was offended and made sure her request was denied to get any help
Mr Birling
He talks down to people, he thinks that he can treat people of a lower class differently and without much respect. He uses his position in society against the inspector. For example “I was an alderman for years, lord mayor two years ago , and i'm still on the bench (a magistrate)” he is very proud of himself and is almost trying to intimidate the inspector by saying this. In Act one when Gerald proposes Mr Birling is very happy because Gerald is if from the upper class and he only thinks about how that will impact his life in a good way.
Mrs Birling
She uses her husband to justify her own behaviour. “You know of course that my husband was lord mayor only two years ago and that he’s still a magistrate.” However she is also very proud of herself. She is considered the ‘social superior’ of the Birling family because she was from a family with a ‘higher social status’ than Mr Birling. She is also, always telling her family to have better manners e.g telling her daughter off for using slang.
Sheila Birling
She goes around doing things just because of who her ‘family is’. For example she got Eva/Daisy fired because she was jealous of her looks and really she didn't think, by doing this, what would be the impact on Eva/Daisy afterwards. She is very self centred and selfish.
Eric Birling
Although he is ‘middle class’ like the rest of his family he doesn’t agree with the things they do and say. However he kind of disrespects the Birling family in the way he acts, he drinks far too much and he goes around doing things in secret whilst drunk that are not acceptable to do because of his 'class'.
Eva Smith
She’s always being treated badly because she is from the ‘working class’. “Girls of that class”, “A girl of that sort”, this is the way that she is referred to. Throughout the play Eva's class changes. At the beginning she is labouring class, she works in the factory with Mr Birling as her boss. When she gets fired she then goes to working class because she finds a nice job in a shop but when she's forced to leave that she becomes vagrant class, homeless and a prostitute.
Inspector
The inspector doesn't really belong in a class. He is different from the rest of the characters. Although he does have authority and knows how to get the other characters to own up to what they've done wrong.
Class and Hierarchy
Class is a system of ordering society whereby people are divided into sets based on their social or economic status.
Hierarchy is a system in which members of an organisation or society are ranked according to relative status or authority.
Gerald Croft
He comes from a higher background to the Birlings. He is from the ‘upper class’ this is because his family own land and are ‘socially’ better than the Birling’s.
A key point in the play when class affected a situation was when the inspector was asking Mr and Mrs Birling questions and they both talked about how Mr Birling is a magistrate and is friends with important people.