Selfishness

Selfishness

Priestley questions class system- is it fair?
1. Eric was born into money and didnt have to earn it - gives him the right to be selfish
  1. "I was in the state where a chap easily turns nasty" suggests his selfish nature, effortlessly gets what he wants
2. Also questions what happens in a society with no legal requirements on pay
  1. Decisions left to the conscience of people like Mr BIrling who only look out for themselves.
    1. "lower costs and higher prices" - wants lower wages for the workers in his factory which will cause them to suffer
"I had told him quite plainly... i had done no more than my duty" Mrs Birling says in act 3 to the rest of the family
1. shows that she thinks that despite how she is largely to blame for Eva’s death she is in denial of this- to avoid a potential scandal that could ruin family reputation
2. excessive use of personal pronouns further conveys to the reader that Mrs Birling only cares about herself
3. “duty” highlights one of the key themes, responsibility - shows that Birling family are oblivious to their true duties as upper class citizens and actually feel that their lives take priority over others
4. feels its her “duty” to refuse Eva help - used the name Birling - highlights to reader how shallow the Birlings are and are unaware of how their decisions affect others
5. Priestley may have used Mrs Birling to convey how the upper classes feel that their lives are more important than the lower class and how they feel that the lower classes are almost sub-human.
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	Created by Azlan Naeem over 4 years ago