inspector calls- key theams

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  • Created by: beth-2379
  • Created on: 05-04-17 18:58
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  • key themes - inspector calls
    • judgement
      • the style is like a morality play
        • morality plays taught people to behave and warned them of sins, an inspector calls also does this
        • doesn't follow Christian ideas, brakes traditionalism boundries and introduces socialism
      • odd judgement of the inspector
        • his origin is unknown and appears omniscient.
        • priestley deliberately leaves questions un answered as it increases the mystery of the play
    • young and older generation
      • the older generation (traditionalists
        • priestly presents mr & mrs Birling as having traditional views
        • priestly questions their old views and obsession with social class-suggesting the system is out of date and needs to be reformed
      • the younger generation are different
        • they're determined & motivated - Eva "had a lot to say" her courage is why birling sacked her
        • Sheila and eric are shown to be challenging the authority in society. Birling feels threatened and warns them "theyd better keep quiet
        • because the younger generation learn their lesson, theirs a chance for equal and fairer society in the future
    • family life
      • expectations off middle class family's in 1912
        • gender roles were defined for the wealthy middle class
        • men- expected to work to support family, protect woman
        • woman- expected to mary into money so they don't have to work, have children be social, remain a housewife, obedient and quiet
      • expectations broke in act 1
        • hierarchy in the family is destroyed when inspector arrives
        • without their parents influence Sheila and eric can think and speak for themselves
        • eric says mrs B "doesn't undertand anything and mr B "isn't the kind of farther a chap can go to. they refuse to behaive the way theyre used to and slowly untangle themselves from traditional views
    • social class
      • class drives the plot and shapes the characters
        • Priestley designed the characters to put across a message
        • priestly challenges views with his own, presenting socialism positivity and capitalism/traditionalism negativity
        • priestley shows upper classes as having a limited sense of social responsibility in order to break the divide
        • mrs B "doesn't recognise" evas photo- to her eva has no identity & doesn't deserve any
        • higher classes didn't question the unfair class system because it worked for them they overlooked unpleasant issues like alcoholism & womanising because it didn't apply to them
      • the birling think class is all that matters
        • birling thinks that because he has had positions of authority hes more important
        • birling uses Gerald to promote his social class- he asks him to hint to his parents he's expecting a knighthood and his daughters marrying into higher class
        • birlings concern over evas death is that he wont be awarded his knighthood because of the "public scandal"
    • men and woman
      • start out as sterotypes
        • woman- supposedly obsessed with pretty clothes and weddings.
          • shiela gets eva sacked because of pride, vanity and jealousy
        • men- preoccupied with work and public affair
          • gerals feels its his duty to rescue daisy. Gerald is allowed to sleep around before marrage mr B says that even in his day they "broke out and had a bit of fun sometimes"
      • young woman challenge sterotypes
        • eva and Sheila try to rebel and brake out of the roles they've been given
        • Eva refuses to take Eric's stolen money, instead of relying on a man to save her
        • Sheila interrupts and challenges her family at different times and grows bolder
    • social responsibility
      • priestly message
        • final speech is clear and to the point a summary of his lesson and responsibility
        • all events are connected. priestly moral seems to be that "it doesn't take great people to change the world" we all change it everyday by the way we treat others
      • characters
        • Arthur birling
          • thinks that community responsibility is nonsense. intreasts of business are more important than workers rights
        • Sybil birling
          • believes she has no responsibilities towards the working class- her prejudices cant be changed because they're so ingrained
        • Sheila birling
          • realises getting eva sacked through her jealousy was irresponsible - priestly challenges her to change her behaviour
        • eric birling
          • realises too late that his selfish actions were responsible for ruining evas chances of improving her life
        • inspector goole
          • wasn't trying to make the family feel guilty, but socially aware of the difficulty's faced by all the millions of Eva smiths and john smiths"
  • by the end birling, Gerald and eric get weaker as Sheila gets stronger. Geralds rejected by Sheila. birling is panic stricken and weaker than he proposed himself to be. Sheila voices her own opinions

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