5 KEY QUOTES

• we're respectable citizens and not criminals - blame and responsibility 


  upper classes tend to glorify themselves and vilify the poor - play exposes this attitude as ignorant as they've all committed actions which would not be deemed respectable - collective pronoun 'we're' portrays segregative belief as he uses it to unify them against 'criminals' - ironic as Gerald has no true reason to claim the birlings are respectable which exposes aristocratic prejudices as ignorant
• hear hear! I think my father would agree to that - socialism vs capitalism


  stands up for and support capitalist beliefs - deeming them more important than his marriage and affection for sheila - product of his parents beliefs and has internalised his capitalist upbringing - exclamation after hear hear! portrays Gerald's overzealous excitement at the prospect of money - Priestley ridicules him as he already has an excess of wealth highlighting the excessive greed associated with capitalism
• then it'll be alright. the governor prides himself on being a good judge of port. I don't pretend to know much about it - socialism vs capitalism


  less preoccupied with classism than birling, shows how comfortable and untouchable he is as aristocrat - under less pressure to prove himself and worth - could suggest he's more humane / less superficial than older generation as he willingly rejects symbols of death as meaningless - refers to father as 'govenor', antonomasia - emphasise social importance and portrays how class is the most important aspect of someones personality in 1912 britain
• sorry- I- well, I've suddenly realised- taken it in properly- that she's dead - guilt


  fragmented speech suggests guilt and shock - see development in his character as he is no longer euphemising her death as 'suicide business' - alternatively its an example of melodrama, exaggerating his guilt to portray himself as respectable and compassionate
• you think young women ought to be protected against unpleasant and disturbing things - gender 


  ironic as Eva was exposed to an onslaught of unpleasant and disturbing things - he played a role in this - 'protection' of women is example of sophistry as he is actually hurting them - direct address of pronoun 'you' is accusatory - reminder from Priestley that play is not only critiquing characters within it but also questioning views of audience