Social class

• mr birling - " we'd all be mixed up like bees in a hive "
• mr birling - " we'd all be mixed up like bees in a hive "

  • sees his class as his power
  • upper classes fear social equality
  • need the social divide to exploit the lower classes for cheap labour to benefit themselves
  • capitalist viewpoint
  • " community and all that nonsense "
• mrs birling - " as if a girl of that sort would refuse money "
• mrs birling - " as if a girl of that sort would refuse money "

  • stereotypes all lower class women
  • looks down on them
  • superiority complex
  • capitalist viewpoint
  • corrupt morals
  • internalised misogyny
• sheila - " you must not build a wall between us and that girl "
• sheila - " you must not build a wall between us and that girl "

  • demanding
  • harsh tone towards parents - change from the beginning - " yes mummy "
  • " wall " - metaphor for the social class divide
  • still refers to her family and Eva separately
  • product of her upbringing