older gen vs younger gen

• "It's you two who are being childish - trying not to face the facts" - Sheila 


  Sheila recognises her parents faults. Priestley used irony to expose the lack of responsibility and immaturity of Mr and Mrs Birling, as sheila labels her parents as "childish"
• "You youngsters just remember what I said" - Mr B


  The use of 'youngsters" shows how Mr Birling is fixated on age an superiority. the noun is patronising and mocking.
• "if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive" - Mr B


  The use of derogatory and insulting words show how Mr Birling actively mocks socialists rather than just disagreeing with them.
• "As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!" - Mrs B


  The use of exclamation marks shows Mrs Birlings disbelief, showing how consumed she is by her prejudices. She refused to trust and respect Eva even when the evidence is right in front of her. Priestley suggests the older generations were so blinded by their intolerance that they couldn't see how ruthless there were being.
• "He could. He could have kept her on instead of showing her out." - Eric


  This suggests that while the older generations see no possibility of forgiving others, the younger generations are open to acts of understanding and mercy.
• "These girls aren't cheap labour - they're people" - Sheila 


  here she explicitly goes against capitalist ideas as workers being purely "labour" and instead shows the audience that "they're people".