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ACT ONE (GERALD (Gerald Croft is Priestley's tool to reveal the flaws…
ACT ONE
GERALD
Gerald Croft is Priestley's tool to reveal the flaws in the upper classes. He represents the aristocracy who in 1912 exploited the working classes especially working class women like Eva Smith. For a moment he seems to appear sorry for his actions towards Eva, providing hope in society that the upper classes can change and embrace Priestley's message of social responsibility. At the end he once again aligns with Mr Birling's capitalistic ideas conveying that Priestley's views of upper classes will always be self interested and will never change.
Gerald is introduced with the stage directions"easy, well bred, young man about town"- Priestley's use of rule of three with the adjectives "easy,well-bred, young" - establish him as a member of a privileged and elite class, used to a life of leisure. It is surprising that "young" is used due to the fact that he has been described as being roughly thirty years old. Perhaps Priestley is suggesting that his attitude towards life is thoughtless and immature; this foreshadows what we later learn about his irresponsible behaviour towards Eva and Sheila. It also raises false hope that like the younger Birling's Gerald learns from his mistakes. "man about town"shows that he is a fashionable socialite and implies experience in the ways of the world. It also implies vanity in that he prioritises himself (appearance and sexual needs) over helping others. Foreshadowing the fact that he used Eva to sastify his needs before descarding her when their relationshp was no longer convienent.
The London audience of 1946 would have contained men like Gerald. The stage direction therefore sets up his character with whom some members of the audience will engage, sympathize with and finally condemn. Gerald is Priestley's tool to reveal the flaws of the upper classes.
His attitude is dismissive when he says "I don't come into this suicide business". The phrase "suicide business" is cold hearted and unexpected. Suicide is not a business like crofts limited. "Business"- can also means difficult matter or a scandalous event. Using this phrase helps Priestley position Gerald as superior because he implies that others are responsible for Eva's death. His reaction soon changes when he hears Eva is referred as Daisy Renton. Priestley positions the audience, which has seen Gerald's smug self confidence to enjoy his discomfort in his pending interrogation.
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SHEILA
"Now I really feel engaged"- It is as if Sheila needs the symbol of the ring which was probably expensive to feel as if she is actually engaged. It makes Sheila seem superficial.
Sheila refers her parents as "Mummy"and "Daddy" which is an infantile and immature mode of address that is reciprocated by Mr and Mrs Birling who refer sheila as "childish" and as a "child".
"I will never let it out my sight"- makes sheila seem materialist and only cares about the engagement ring. Eric also comments that Sheila and Mrs Birling are "talking about clothes"* when they retire to the drawing room.
Priestley presents that other characters treat Sheila as inferior as Gerald says to her "I've been trying long enough haven't I ?" but instead of Sheila replying, Mrs Birling answers in her place saying *"Of course she does".
At the time the play was set women were treated as inferior to men. Sheila's treatment from the others reflects how women were considered as having an inferior role with a male dominated society. The attitude towards women as inferior could have been a cause for Eva's death. Like Eva Sheila is treated as inferior due to her gender, however due to her social status she is more protected in society.
INSPECTOR GOOLE
Inspector Goole does the opposite to what a Inspector does in traditional detective stories as he shows that all suspects are responsible for the death of Eva Smith instead of just one character.
"what happened to her afterwards may have driven her to suicide"- anadiplosis- where the second clause begins by repeating the last words of the previous clause. Everyone's actions are interconnected and are all responsible for the death of Eva Smith.
The vageness of the his character is deliberate on Priestley's part as it creates a sense of ambiguity and mystery. His name "Goole"actually sounds like "Ghoul" which adds to this. It is true that he haunts the bIrling's and Gerald about their role in Eva's death.
The vague charcater makes us focus less on him and more on the messages that he brings and that the message is loudly declared with no subtley whatsoever.
Inspector Goole stirs things up in the Birling household with the use of emotive language. He describes Eva as "lively" and "pretty" these attractive words makes the audience more sympathetic towards her. The sympathy is then strengthened by the harsh tone used to describe her death. The Inspector gives a blunt account for Eva's death. The harsh language - "Burnt her insides out" contrasts violently with the polite and playful atmosphere at the start of the play. The Inspector catches the Birling's off guard, which helps him with his investigation.
ERIC
"half shy, half assertive"- "shy"-connotes nervousness and lack of confidence. Which contrasts with "assertive" which implies confidence and dominance. Priestley's use of contrasting adjectives creates confusion, implying that he is secretive. Priestley wants the audience to view Eric negatively in order to show that the capitalist patriarchal society is not trustworthy. He encourages the audience to reject the capitalistic views that Eric seems to be representing. The use of the repetition of "half"emphasises that Eric's character hasn't fully formed and that there is still hope for change.
Priestley deliberately aligns Eric with alcohol to foreshadow that later revelations about his drunken behaviour on the night that he was with Eva Smith. Eric's easy and free use of alcohol is also used to signify the double standard in society for men and women.
"Why shouldn't they try for higher wages?"- Eric is the first one to suggest that the lower class should be treated better. It is quite obvious that Eric and his parents don't share a close relationship as their personalities are different with Eric leaning more socialist. This could be why he is so uncomfortable about being in their company. He is tired of their judgments about the lower classes and seems more socially aware from the start of the play. He openly contradicts his father, happy to go out of social norms.
MRS BIRLING
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"Arthur you are not supposed to say such things", Now, Sheila stop teasing him", "Arthur what about that famous toast of yours?"- Priestley presents her as a controlling and demanding character. Most of the time she is obsessed with things that might give a bad impression. She is bossy and demanding at the start to inevitably set up the conflict between her and the Inspector.
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ARTHUR
Priestley represents Arthur in this speech as flawed, misled and pompous man. He refers to himself twice in very similar ways first as a "hard headed businessman" and then moments later as a "hard headed, practical man of business". This deliberate use of repetition on Priestley's part emphasises how Mr Birling's self perception is built upon how he sees himself in terms of work and money.
Mr Birling's priorities are not with people or his family but how much money/wealth he can accumulate. This results in a lack of empathy for those he exploits in order to grow his fortune. As he says himself "A man has to make his own way up"and "look after himself"
His speech contains dramatic irony in which the statements he makes is untrue. "soon it will be a better time"- After WW1 there is industrial unrest. The whole of the country is destroyed in 1926. The great depression hit in 1929. "labour trouble"- 1945 saw a labour party landslide victory over the conservatives and the capitalists
Community and all that nonsense"- it makes the audience feel as if Mr Birling is wrong about something else due to his ironic, false statements previously. Priestley started to achieve his aim and made the audience ware that community is far from nonesense. Priestley believes its essential to have a sense of community to become and live in a caring place.
"Crofts limited is both older and bigger than Birling and company" "For lower costs and higher prices"
During his integration there is a change in his mood from the beginning where he is relaxed and bagging about his status but he is forced to explain his actions for what he has done, which was driven by wealth and status.