Class

• context

  • war dismantled British class system
  • war brought people together, rationing meant all classes lived similar lifestyles
  • Class inequality still existed
  • encourage 1940s to move forward in social equality
• Setting


  *pink and intimate*- symbolises optimism- audience forced to see through the same lens

  > "intimate" shows how undisturbed by troubles of others

  "Pleased with themselves"- lack conscience
• Eva

  • symbol of lower classes
  • never appears on stage so the audience's perspective are altered by Birling's classist remarks and personal Bias
  • how easy upper class can influence narrative surrounding the working classes
• Gerald croft + Mr Birling 


  > Nouveau and Old money

  "Crofts limited are both older and bigger"

  > Shows respect and need to please them, doing it for himself not happiness of Sheila

  "Feels you might have done better for yourself socially"

  > Croft's don't want family line tarnished and blue their importance over their sons happiness

  > Shows Mr Birling as victim himself- makes it more ironic with Eva
• Mrs Birling 


  " we can understand why that girl committed suicide. Girls of that class"

  > Verb "understand"- suggests their actions are incomprehensible to the upper class

  > Irony- Mrs B rejects to empathise and "understand"

  > "Girl of that class" - "girl" infantilises, generalises presents ingrained prejudice
• Sheila


  > Epitome of upper class ignorance

  "I've been so happy tonight. I wish you hadn't told me"

  > "I wish you hadn't told me"- selfish naivety- victimises herself

  Comparison between Sheila and Eva

  one Is "happy" wheres the other is "Destroying herself so horribly" - contradicts of class inequality

  > Social class enables hypocrisy and double standards
• Class barriers


  Sheila: "You mustn't try to build up a kind of wall between us and that girl" - desperate the upper class were to distance themselves

  > Metaphor "wall" demonstrates extremity, implies physical boundary

  "You slammed the door in her face"

  > symbolises- establishment that allow the upper classes to exclude or deny lower classes