gerald croft

What is the purpose of Gerald? He comes from "old money" and is marrying "below" him with Sheila. How is he described in the stage notes?

"attractive chap" and "well-bred"

Priestley uses Gerald to criticise the upper classes and show thought they might have a perfect outward appearance, they can act in ways that are very far from perfect. He represents the selfish attitudes of the upper classes.

At the time the play is set, the rich were still seen as essentially "good" and the poor as "bad".

When Mr B says he fired the striking workers, which quotes shows that Gerald's capital views are aligned with Mr Birling's and not with Eric's?

"You couldn't have done anything else"

He doesn't show compassion for the workers, unlike Eric who thinks his father should have paid them a higher wage. Gerald supports the capitalist system.

Where did Gerald say he met Daisy and why did he say he "rescued her"

He met her at the Palace Bar, a disreputable place, where "women of the town" could be found. He rescued her from the attentions of one of Mr Birling's friends, Alderman Meggarty - he made himself sound heroic, even though he goes on to set her up as his mistress and abandons her when she falls in love with him.

Sheila tells Gerald that he must have loved being Daisy's "fairy prince" - what does he reply & why does Priestley show this?

"All right - I did for a time"

He admits he did enjoy it and that he is only human. This is yet again Priestley stressing that common human weaknesses are shared by everyone despite supposed class differences.

How does Gerald describe Daisy when he abandoned her? What does that show?

"a good sport"

This shows he had no idea how his actions affected her - she was actually devastated but he couldn't see that

What does he say after the story has come out and he goes out for a walk? What might the audience infer from this?

He says he is "rather more upset" than he probably appears to be. This might mean the audience could feel sympathy for Gerald

he seems to have been affected by Eva/Daisy's death after all and maybe he has learnt his lesson.

But he actually goes out and finds a policeman to find out if Goole is real.... he has not learnt anything.