Gerald Croft Flashcards
Introduction
J.B Priestley’s polemic, ‘An Inspector Calls, warns its 1940s audience against returning to the politics which caused so much conflict and turmoil across the world. His socialist message is one of collective and social justice. Gerald Croft is used by Priestley to represent society’s elite and how the upper class abuses its power. Gerald’s abuse of power is more subtle and manipulative than the other characters which highlights the iniquitousness of the bourgeoisie.
First impressions quotes and analysis (2)
-“About thirty” - doesn’t fit into either the ‘old’ or ‘young’ generation, reflecting the morally grey area he often acts in. But he still reflects the same thinking as the older gen, focused on personal wealth/gain
-“Is it the one you wanted me to have?” - Gerald is in control and Sheila’s happiness is dependent on his; women’s happiness is dependent on men’s.
Social class (said by Mr Birling) and analysis (3)
-“Working together for lower costs and higher prices” - P uses G and A to convey such upper-class gluttonous attitudes and position the audience against such political ideologies.
-“Come down sharply” - indicative of the bourgeoisie not allowing the proletariat a voice because they’re afraid they might win
Abuse of power (3)
-“dough-faced women” - implies he doesn’t like women he can’t easily manipulate and exploit, Eva is “very pretty” highlighting how he’s more drawn to her innocense as he can exploit her more easily, emphasising the way that men in society saw women as objects and onlyvalued women for their looks
-“Didns’t ask for anything in return” - “insisted” she stay at his friends yet “inevitable” that they’d have an affair so he expected to get smth out of it, transactional relationships like w/Sheila where he seeks to be beneficiary, covetous and use his social status to ‘have’ Eva, manipulates women into doing his bidding. P exposes captalists nature and advocates his socialistic views by making audience dislike Gerald’s morals; thus disliking the capitalists ideology
(if time) -“didn’t feel about her as she felt about me” - seems to frame himself in a positive light, typical of society’s elite. Claims he didn’t feel for her as strongly yet still used her for sex, thus emotionally abusing her. P uses G to attack atitude of men in society, not only in 1912 but 1945 too; uses G to encapsulate selfishness of capitalist in 1912
Rejects responsibility (2)
-“everything’s all right now” - G says to Sheila, Sheila contests this, demonstrates how quicly upper class are willing to dismiss challenges. Sheila captures this side of them; haven’t “learnt anything”, stubborn and stuck in their ways.
P is warning against this behaviour and mindset; this sort of thinking, according to P, is what caused such turmoil in years preceedung the play’s performance.
Conc
P uses G to demonstrate how society’s most powerful abuse their power and warns the audience against indulging such ppl. Failure to challenge them results in a society governed by its self-interest in mind, resulting in inequality and injustice for its citizens and potentially causing conflict.
