gerald croft

01 How does Priestley use Gerald Croft’s status to show his ideas about society?

Write about:

● How the Birling family react to Gerald Croft

● How Priestley presents Gerald Croft

1) from the very beginning, gerlad croft is presented as being socially superior to the birlings, making him confident in the presence of them compared to eric

"rather too manly to be dandy"

- too manyl shows how his masculinity is a driving force in what compels him to "rescue" eva

- dandy implies vanity - shows he is self assured in his postion of power

- also references he is manly, which could indicate why he feels intitled to abuse eva, as ifhe had a sense of righteousness

- mr birling looks up to gerald, and marvels at his power, sets up a power dynamic that he is in charge

2) gerald also is presented as objectifing both shiela and eva, showing his diregard for both of themand how young men treated women

“She was young and pretty and warm-hearted- and intensely grateful.

- rule of 3 - show how he only looks for the stereotypical feminine qualities in eva, represents how women in 1912s were forced to fit a mould

- he also expects sheila to be grateful as she is a lower class than him, shows he enjoys having power over women

“Why should you [stay]? It’s bound to be unpleasant and disturbing”

- this shows he thinks of shiela as innocent and like a child, adjectives show that he wants shiela to be perfect and wouldnt want anything tarnishing her 

3) gerald is also portrayed as making exuses for his role in evas death, showing he is not taking responsibility for his actions

- ‘[Daisy] gave me a glance that was nothing less than a cry…