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Class drives the plot and shapes the characters

each character is designed to help Priestley put across his message.

the message is about social responsibility so class is central,

the characters in the play represent the classes, their views and behaviour are challenged through the inspectors interrogations, he breaks them down and analyses their actions. their reactions are very important in establishing the class stereotypes.

working class- least money but work the hardest- Eva/Daisy struggles to earn enough to live and faces constant set backs as a result of the selfish, greedy and power abusing ruling classes.

middle class- factory owners or professionals, plenty of money and power- Birlings are fairly wealthy, do not struggle as they own a successful business however they are constantly looking for more. Eva threatened their profits by demanding higher wages that in fact were not extortionate yet he would not accept maybe because it was a working class woman asking. he is also looking for expansion [possibly through the marriage of his daughter, has it all been arranged conveniently.

upper class- inherited money, land owners, often lords and ladies- Gerald and his family are socially better than arthurs, inherited money was a sure sign of class, it was more respected than wealth from trade, especially as arthur still had his native working class accent. he was not born ##

into wealth, Gerlald was. might also be one of the reasons for AB trying to persuade them that GerlD WAS not a monster for having an affair.s