KEY QUOTES

• "we're respectable citizens and not criminals"

  - colloquial language

  - common belief of superiority
• "easy, well-bred young man-about-town"

  - gets on easily with people being self-confident and assured

  - demonstrates an upper class front

  - expects to be respected by others around local area

  - has not achieved his status yet

  - spoilt, indulgent and unjustly arrogant`
• "i was sorry for her"


  - double meaning, he could feel genuinely sorry or be trying to keep up the distanced but apologetic act
• "she was young and pretty and warm-hearted"

  - connective 'and' shows a spill of words showing he has lots to say about her as he was intimate with her

  - he knows Eva in a positive light, unlike Sheila and her parents

  - he knows her feelings and emotions

  - Priestley may have used Gerald as a dramatic device for the Edwardian men during 1912 who only treasured women's appearance
• "we can keep it from him"

  - deceptive and sly nature

  - verb 'keep' has connotations of secrecy and dishonesty

  - low sense of social responsibility ignoring his moral conscious

  - collective pronoun 'we' suggests he encourages Sheila to be deceptive

  - uses his aristocratic status to abuse power believing wealth and social status allows him privileges
• "i became the most important person in her life"

  - arrogant tone seeming self-satisfied and proud

  - shows audience how vulnerable, penurious and lonely Eva was

  - believes Eva is dependent on him and highlights her powerlessness

  - superlative 'most' creates impression that he is her knight in shining armour and she is the damsel in distress
• "Alright. I knew her. Let's leave it at that."

  - 'alright'- informal phrasing, showing his connection with Eva- lower class

  - short sentences- abrupt and aggressive: showing he has secrets to hide

  - alliterative phrase- emphasising his panic- guilt? 'Let's'- commanding over Sheila, patriarchal

  - 'I knew her' past tense- her death or that he wants to forget- easy for him
• "Daisy knew it was coming to an end"

  - he claimed the end was about needing to go on a business trip but we know the real reason was that his friend was returning from Canada

  
  

  - this means he would have to pay for her to live in a new flat and this would cost more...he was sexually exploiting her even though stating "she'd lived very economically on what i'd allowed her" the verb allowed shows this superiority he has over her so he isn't the "wonderful fairy prince"

  
  

  used as a construct to show the damage of patriarchy...he decerives himself to act as a good person when he is despiscable
• is he socialist of capitalist?


  BRIDGES THE GAP
• where does Gerald come from??

  'old country family' 'landed people'

  
  

  - DISTINCTION OF UPPER CLASS

  - GOOD TO EMBED
• how does Gerald feel about marrying Sheila?

  'rather embarrassed' STAGE DIRECTION

  - he knows he is marrying down the class, his mother disapproves

  
  

  'begins to murmur some dissent'

  - he wants to protect his relationship with Sheila

  - questions why he is marrying her? 'murmers
• what happens when Mr Birling says he had to sack eva? what does gerald say?

  "You couldn't have done anything else"

  
  

  exemplifies capitalism

  
  

  moda verb reinforces this
• when sheila confesses to getting eva sacked, gerald gives her a look...why?

  'you needn't look at me like that'

  - he is looking down on women for being over-emotional...holds sexist views?

  - shocked at her actions?

  - shocked she feels guilty...capitalist?
• Priestley's intentions?


  1. bridges gap between 2 generations

  2. critical of upper class

  3. vilify sexist of

  misogynistic views 'dough-eyed women