PAST AND PRESENT ”A chain of events.”

Seven Deadly Sins Pride – dangers selfishness, putting your own well-being before others Envy – jealousy of something or someone that belongs to someone else Greed – wanting something that belongs to someone else, or wanting more of it Gluttony – overconsuming and overindulging anything to the point of it being wasted Idleness – not caring or wanting to help those in need Wrath – uncontrolled feelings of rage, anger, and hatred Lust – intense longing and wishing for something, usually associated with sex Are these sins being committed today?

Then and Now What issues from the play are still relevant today? Where in today’s society can the themes be found? Capitalism Socialism Gender & sexism Social classes Lack of responsibility

1946 Audiences Knowing what they knew in 1945, how would the audience in 1946 react to aspects of the play? Rich vs. poor Treatment of women Selfishness The disbelief in war

The play opens with a scene of great luxury: a wealthy family is celebrating an engagement in a very excessive fashion. This will be obvious to an audience that has spent the years of the Second World War without the luxuries that the Birlings are enjoying with no end (division of many luxury - and basic - goods continued into the 1950s). Although Churchill (a Conservative) is seen as a war hero for leading the fight against Nazism (he led a coalition government of Labour, Conservative and Liberal elements) a Socialist government has won a landslide victory in the 1945 General Election. Priestley was a supporter of the Labour party, and made many broadcasts on radio in which he tried to persuade people of the merits of socialism. In order to do this, Priestley sets the play in a time before there was a welfare state in the United Kingdom, and when employers had great power over their workers.

Edwardian England A period of time in England, under the rule of King Edward VII. King Edward ruled from 1901 to 1910, but the era is usually considered to end in the First World War. Edward VII was known as the Peacemaker, and so he was concerned that his nephew, the Kaiser Willhelm II, the son of Kaiser Frederick  and Edward’s sister, would tip Europe towards war. The era was described as a “leisurely time when women wore picture hats and did not vote, when the rich were not ashamed to live conspicuously, and the sun really never set on the British flag.”

Edwardian England Audiences at the end of the war would have appreciated the irony of Birling’s predictions for the future. Setting the play before the First World War enabled Priestley to make the most of class division and social hierarchy. There are many references to social position: Birling’s compared to his wife’s, the Birlings compared to Gerald’s family, the workers at Birling’s factory and the destitute women who go to the Brumley Women’s Charity Organisation for help. Birling constantly name drops, talking of Alderman Meggarty and the Chief Constable as well as his own time as Lord Mayor. Birling tries to impress Gerald with talk of the possibility of his being knighted. Social position is clearly important to him and Priestley uses Birling to represent the capitalist viewpoint. Birling is concerned about money and what other people think; the possibility of scandal horrifies him.

Edwardian England In regards to attitudes towards women, Sheila is seen as someone who needs protecting from the harsh realities of life; both Gerald and Birling try to get her out of the room when Gerald is being questioned. They have a different attitude to women of the town, and to Eva Smith. Mrs. Birling adds to this by implying that Eva Smith had ideas above her class. Although both Gerald and Eric see that Eva was different from the usual women in the Palace bar, they are still both prepared to use her in a way which would be unthinkable in a girl of their own social standing.

Comparative Essay Choose an issue from the play that was important to audiences in 1946, as well as in modern day. Research the issue in 1946, and compare it to its importance today. Provide quotations from the play.