Social class

• By revealing the destructive impact class hierarchy had in 1912, Priestley encouraged 1940s society to move forward towards social equality instead of returning to old ways
• World wars dismantled British class system

  • war effort brought people together
  • rationing meant different classes had similar lifestyles
  • class inequality still existed and Priestley want to emphasises this to the audience
• 1912, class divided Britain

  • land and factory owners were wealthy and powerful, while workers lived in poverty
  • two classes rarely interacted
  • Birlings treatment of Eva is a result of their being and upper class family and her being a working class women
• "We were having a nice little family celebration tonight. And a nasty mess you've made of it now, haven't you?

  "A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made of it"

  • juxtaposition emphasises how selfish and petty Mr Birling's complaint is
  • aware of Eva's death, but still mourns his own party before he mourns her
  • harsh, crude 'nasty mess' alongside adjective 'promising' shows Eva's tragic mess and how distressing it is for Mr Birling to put his own minor troubles first
• Eva Smith is symbolic of the lower classes as a whole

  • She never appears on stage
  • audience perspective is altered by the Birling's classist remarks and personal bias
  • Audience must decide on truth and reasonability against lies
  • Priestley shows how easy it is for upper classes to influence the narrative surrounding the working classes
• Mr Birling is a member of the nouveau riche, which means he made his own money instead of inheriting it.

  • most concerned about his social class
  • wants to climb social ladder
  • insecure about social standings
  • symbol of upper class privilege
• "if you don't come down sharply on these people, they'd soon be for the earth"

  • thinks its his personal obligation to put the lower classes in their place
  • hyperbolic metaphor implies lower class are greed and unreasonable
  • upper-class view any attempt form lower to stand up for themselves as outrageous
  • purposefully perpetuated the cycle of poverty and widened th class divide
• Gerald is of higher class to Mr Birling

  'New money' judged as less pure

  tension between Birling and Gerald's family

  Crofts higher due to "old country" heritage

  "friendly rivals"

  "Crofts Limited are both older and bigger than Birling and Company"

  • improve his own buisness prospects
  • shows he respects Crofts as a more elite family and wants to please them
  • Not happy for Shiela but for himself
• Social class makes people selfish

  "she comes from an old country family - landed people and so forth - and so it's only natural"

  • iron his treatment of Eva as he also faces prejudice himself
  • 'only natural' attitude is accepted
  • tension and inequality is British tradition
• Mrs Birling is the epitome of upper class prejudice

  "cold" demeanour and social superiority make her particular judgemental and blunt
• "I dont suppose for a moment that we can understand why the girl committed suicide. Girls of that class"

  • 'understand'
  • working class is so different their actions are incomprehensible to upper class
  • wont empathise and doesn't attempt to or want to
  • 'girl'
  • noun treats her as a child
  • weak and foolish
  • 'girls of that class'
  • doesnt believe Eva deserves attention
  • deliberately dismissive
• Mrs Birling believes all lower class people are immoral and money-hungry

  "I think it was simply a peice of gross impertinence - quite deliberate - and naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against the case"

  • 'gross impertinence - quite deliberate'
  • instants that Eva was intentionally disrespectful
  • excessive and pretentious words, giving her superiority
  • 'naturally implies she was justified in her prejudice
  • determined to find excuses to discredit working class
• "Claiming elaborate fine feelings and scruples that where simply absurd for a girl in her position"

  • cannot belive a working class girl would act this way
• "As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money!"

  • convinced Eva is a thief and scrounger
  • hold onto her own stereotypes
  • euphemisms that intend to mock Eva without compromising Mrs Birling's own respectability

  "Her position now is that she lies wit a burnt out inside on a slab"

  • implies Mrs Birlings lack of respect led the 'girl in her position' to a worse fate
• 1940s labour government appointed
• Shiela is epitome of upper class ignorance

  "I can't help thinking about this girl - destroying herself so horribly - and I've been so happy tonight. Oh I wish you hadn't told me"

  • 'i wish you hadn't told me'
  • views herself as the victim
  • rather continue in ignorance than be troubled by other misfortunes
  • Priestley draws a comparison of the two young girls
  • one is 'happy' while the other is 'destroying herself so horribly'
  • displays class inequality
• social class enables hypocrisy and double standard
• Once Shiela is educated she becomes more of a socialist mouthpiece.

  Shiela and Inspector expose the Birling family for their contributions to the class divide
• "We're respectable citizens, not criminals" - Gerald

  "there isn't as much difference as you think ... I wouldn't know where to draw the line" - inspector

  • Upper class see clear difference between the 'respectable' ones and the 'criminals' of the lower class
  • 'respectable' implies the approval of society is what matters truly
  • Priestly implies the elite are criminals or that the existence of elite class are naturally criminals
• "You mustn't try to build up a wall between us and that girl," - Shiela

  • metaphor
  • demonstrates extreme seperation
  • implies physical boundaries that kept lower classes in poverty
• "you slammed the door in her face"

  • door symbolises the system and establishments that allow the upper classes to exclude or deny the lower classes
  • Priestley conveys hostility of upper classes
• Priestley uses Shiela to break upper class facade and respectability

  "We really must stop these silly pretences"

  • Birling presents themselves as more innocent and flawless then they actually are
  • 'silly'
  • unrealistic
  • family are fooled by there own lies becuase they are shocked by each others flaws