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02 How does Priestley present his ideas about social class in An Inspector Calls?

Write about:

● Priestley’s ideas about social class

● How Priestley presents these ideas through his characters and the way he writes

[30 marks] AO4 [4 marks]

1) preistley presents the upper class as being prejudiced against anyone lower than them

- "girls of that class"

- girl infantilises her and connotes weak and foolish

- shows the immediate dislike mrs birling has for her, even at a charity - meant to help everyone

- in th 1912s, "girls of that class" were often driven to take desperate measures to ensure their survival, such as prostitution. her turning to charity was a cry for help and mrs birling silenced her

mrs birling is one of the most "socially superior " ( stage direction) people in the room except gerald - her saying this reiiterates that the futher up the class system you get, the more power and righteouness you have and the worse the problem is

2) presents the upper class as scetioning themselves off from the rest of society, so they do not have to feel guilty about their actions

- artifical wall

"you mustn't try to build up a wall between us and that girl"

- sheila challenging her mother shows the changing attitudes of the younger gen about class

- wall suggests barrier that has been placed strategically - all part of the capitalist mindset to keep themselves in power

- this wall come tumbling down during thr great depression in 1929, where everone felt the reprocussions, upper and lower - upper class learnt what it was like - and people…

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