grade 9 analysis blocks

Social Responsibility

There are different types of responsibility at work in the play. The Inspector wants people to be "responsible for each other". He sees responsibility as a duty towards others. In contrast, Mr and Mrs Birling are only interested in finding out who is "responsible" for the scandal that's going to emerge. To them, responsibility is about individual blame, rather than collective good.

Social Class

In 1940s London, going to the theatre was mostly a middle-class activity, so the attitudes of the Birlings may have seemed familiar to some audiences. Priestley's presentation of Eva/Daisy as more honourable than the upper and middle classes might have causea some audience members to question their own prejudices.

Mr Birling's Social akwardness

Throughout the play, Birling tries to act like he's in charge, but he doesn't always know how to behave. For example, he makes Gerald "embarrassed" by tactlessly suggesting that Lady Croft might not approve of Sheila.

Appearance and Reality

To his parents, Eric is a respectable young man, but in reality his actions are immoral and disreputable.You could link this to the separation between appearance and reality elsewhere in the play — for example, the Inspector appears real at first, but is later thought to be "a fraud", while Eva/Daisy appears to be one girl, but may be more than one.

Inspector Goole

It's significant that Priestley uses a police inspector to judge the Birlings, rather than an overtly supernatural' figure. The Inspector unsettles the Birlings because he claims to occupy a position of authority within the Birlings' world. This gives him power because he is a potential threat to their social status.