Young vs. Old

• Generations


  Young vs Old
• The Birling family is split into two generations: the parents and the children
• Generational divide


  Refers to the relationship between a parent and their child in a familial context, as well as how life experiences and the era you grow up in affects your morals and political identity
• There is a clear distinction between how the children react to the Inspector's visit and how the parents react
• Gerald is an outlier as he belongs to an older, landed family which makes him ultimately sympathise with the parents
• The Lost Generation


  Refers to those born between 1883 and 1900 who reached adulthood during or just after the end of the First World War
• The Lost Generation


  • Many had fought in the Great War and found living in the new postwar era difficult
  • They felt confused and aimless as the values they had inherited from their elders were no longer relevant
• When the play is set, the War hadn't happened yet
• How Priestley portrays the generations


  • He presents the older generation as being stuck in their old ways, used to their comforts and conservative values, refusing to be self-aware or accept responsibility
  • In contrast, the younger generation are curious and compassionate, and quick to rectify their ignorance
• Priestley suggests the younger generations should learn from the mistakes of their elders in order to create a more peaceful and progressive future for Britain
• Structure and form


  Priestley uses them to emphasise the divide between the generations
• At the beginning of the play, the family appears to be a unified front
• The younger generation seem to be curious and inquisitive, but they don't want to challenge their parents' authority
• The profound effect of the Inspector is to split the family permanently down generational lines
• Priestley suggests society is at a crossroads or tipping point, where change has to happen and a choice has to be made
• Both Eric and Sheila undergo character arcs, starting with an immature desire to follow their parents and ending with a mature understanding of the real world
• Mr Birling, Mrs Birling, and Gerald are all prepared to continue in the same way once the Inspector has left
• The older generations' determination to return to the way things were before suggests an incredible level of delusion
• Morality and integrity mean nothing to the older generation, they would rather have the appearance of a happy, successful family than actually trust each other
• The cyclical structure of the play could allude to the two World Wars, evoking the same idea of "pretend[ing] all over again"
• Priestley suggests history will keep repeating itself until people learn
• Mr Birling


  • As the patriarch of the Birling family, he is a symbol of the older generation's power and influence in society
  • He is resistant to criticism and gets angry with anyone who challenges his opinions or authority
  • He believes his life experiences make him wise and infallible, meaning he thinks poorly of the younger generation whom he thinks are foolish and naive
  • A large part of his identity in the play is his capitalist views and loyalty to business and wealth over community
• Mr Birling as a teacher


  He thinks of himself as a teacher to the younger generations because of his age and experience
• Priestley shows how the older generation were arrogant and controlling, as they wanted to influence the younger generation
• Priestley suggests the older generations were overconfident, particularly the men
• Priestley uses the dramatic irony in Mr Birling's claims to express how deluded the ego of the older generations was
• Priestley presents Mr Birling's critical, patronising view of the younger generations to show how the older generations struggled to accept the changes of modern life
• Priestley shows how changes in lifestyle, culture and experience make it more difficult for people to appreciate and respect each other
• Mrs Birling


  • Priestley uses her character to explore the older generations' denial and resistance to change
  • She is a very conservative, traditional character who is unrepentant about her prejudices
  • This shows how the older generations were stubborn and stuck in their ways
• Mrs Birling's obsession with appearances, manners, and social etiquette


  Priestley implies the older generations prioritised social conduct over genuine interaction, encouraging repression and secrecy
• Priestley suggests the older generations did not trust the younger generations to act in an appropriate manner
• The lives of the older generations were dictated by arbitrary rules and a desire to appear sophisticated, rather than living freely
• Throughout the play Mrs Birling doesn't listen to the opinions of others which reinforces the idea that the older generations are deliberately ignorant and obstinate
• Squiffy


  Slang term
• Mrs Birling uses the term "squiffy"


  Suggests she disapproves of modern culture and thinks "the things [...] girls pick up these days" are rude and unladylike, threatening the tradition of femininity
• Lives of the older generations

  • Dictated by arbitrary rules and a desire to appear sophisticated, rather than living freely
  • These values isolated and deterred others
• Stubborn


  Deliberately ignorant and obstinate (stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion)
• When Sheila warns Mrs Birling about "beginning all wrong"


  • Mrs Birling replies, "I don't know what you're talking about"
  • When Sheila talks about not building a "wall", Mrs Birling declares, "I don't understand you"
• The repetition of "don't" suggests the older generations were incapable of entertaining the suggestions of others
• When the Inspector says "I don't understand you"

  • Mrs Birling claims, "You have no power to make me change my mind"