Millions of Whys

Question 1

1

Answer 1

Priestley uses AIC as a vehicle to convey his concern with the nature of social inequality and its effects upon the vulnerable or disempowered within society

Question 2

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Answer 2

Through the silent presence of Edna, and Eva Smith’s inability to give her own account of the events leading to her suicide, Priestley criticises the denigration of the female, working-class voice

Question 3

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Answer 3

Through the dramatic device of the photograph and the double names, Priestley presents Eva Smith as an amalgam of working-class women, suggesting that far from an isolated case involving one family, the exploitation and mistreatment of the working class is a common occurrence within Edwardian society

Question 4

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Answer 4

Priestley wrote the play in 1945 with 2 world wars still weighing heavily in the collective conscious. Knowing just how much had been endured, he was keen to press home that change was essential and that the social mistakes of the past must not be repeated. The cyclical structure of the play hints at the repetitious nature of history lest lessons be learned

Question 5

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Answer 5

Throughout the play, Priestley promotes the view that societal problems can only be solved if ppl accept collective responsibility and support one another, treating each other as equal irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.

Question 6

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Answer 6

Through the character of Sheila Birling, Priestley exposes the harmful impact of allowing women to believe their primary value is derived from their physical appearance. Sheila’s disproportionate reaction when Eva Smith held the dress up to herself is telling of her personal insecurities. Likewise, her envy and malicious intent in instigating Eva’s unfair dismissal from Milward’s reveals the unhealthy sense of competition Sheila feels towards other women, which prevents women from uniting and supporting one another

Question 7

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Answer 7

Through the transformation of Sheila Birling, Priestley promotes hope for a more moral, socialist future. He exhorts the post-war audience to follow her example: developing an attuned conscience and standing up for what is right

Question 8

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Answer 8

Through the transformation of Eric Birling, Priestley affords hope for the future by suggesting that even individuals who commit morally and criminally atrocious deeds are capable of redemption if they show genuine remorse and atone for their behaviour

Question 9

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Answer 9

Through his decision to stage the entirety of the play in the Birling’s dining room, Priestley criticises the self-absorbed nature of the middle and upper-class society within Edwardian England, who rarely looked beyond their own needs and desires

Question 10

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Answer 10

Through the Inspector’s interrogation, Priestley exposes the facade of respectability and the hypocrisy of the upper-class be revealing the reality of what goes on behind closed doors

Question 11

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Answer 11

Through the ostensible obliviousness of Mr and Mrs Birling when discussing the actions of Gerald, Eric and Alderman Meggarty, Priestley emphasises that ignorance is often a conscious decision to avoid social embarrassment or to justify the decision not to act or accept responsibility

Question 12

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Answer 12

Through the pompous and ignorant characterisation of Mr Birling, Priestley encourages the readers to disassociate with the flawed views and opinions of Arthur Birling. This, in turn, positions them to associate with the socialist vision of the Inspector, in keeping with Priestley’s own political affiliations and desire to promote collective responsibility.

Question 13

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Answer 13

Priestley wished the change the reactionary nature those in power who seek, though selfish and self-serving decision, to maintain the status quo and protect the self-interest of a minority to the detriment of the needs of the wider majority

Question 14

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Answer 14

Through the strained relationships within the Birling family, Priestley exposes the damaging impact of capitalism on family life. In his pursuit of material gain, Mir Birthing fails in her parental responsibility to protect or prepare his children for the world around him. Sheila’s sheltered upbringing means she develops materialistic and superficial qualities which result in her mistreatment of Eva Smith. Her father also encourages her to accept a loveless proposal of marriage to an unfaithful man for his own social advancement. Similarly, Eric develops insecurities as a result of his fractious relationship with his father, who makes no attempts to conceal his preference of Gerald Crofts who is ‘just the kind of son in law [he] always wanted’. When Eric is in trouble he feels Birling is ‘not the kind of father a chap would go to when he’s in trouble’ and resorts to attempting to throw stolen money at the situation - a response quite feasibly imitated from his father who will later to promise to ‘give thousands’ to evade responsibility for the death of Eva Smith

Question 15

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Answer 15

Through the final speech of the Inspector, Priestley warns the audience of the potential consequences of failing to accept responsibility. He relates this to Christian duty and reminds the audience that their actions of earth will dictate how they are judged in the afterlife

Question 16

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Answer 16

By juxtaposing the characters of Eva Smith and Sheila Birling, Priestley exposes the disparity between classes within the Edwardian era, whereby young women like Sheila led incredibly over-protected and sheltered lifestyles whereas young women like Eva had no means of protection at all, and were forced to face starvation and resort to prostitution due to a lack of support from society

Question 17

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Answer 17

By positioning Gerald as a character who evades neat categorisation within either the older or younger generation, Priestley builds tension as to whether he will ultimately choose to accept responsibility for his actions or not. In doing so, he reminds the audience that each of us has a choice to make - while clearly suggesting there is a right and wrong decision.

Question 18

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Answer 18

Gerald is portrayed as being deeply entrenched in his upper class upbringing. While it is clearly suggested that he should, and could, learn and grow from his behaviour, he is shown not to progress, perhaps suggesting the inherent difficulty of a sincere transformation, as for the betrayal of his class allegiance is too unpalatable a step

Question 19

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Answer 19

Priestley’s presentation of the senior Birling serves to exemplify the peril of misused responsibility. They represent the middle and upper classes during the Edwardian era who harboured misapprehensions about the nature of their ‘duty’ to justify their abuse of power.

Question 20

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Answer 20

Mrs Birling is shown to be impervious to the effects of the Inspector as her lack of self-awareness and self-protective stance ward off all approaches. Priestley criticises her cold-hearted callousness and actions towards Eva Smith to advocate a more open and empathetic response from his audience

Question 21

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Answer 21

The Inspector’s ambiguous nature facilitates the creation of an omniscient presence whose authoritative, imperative, moralistic voice cuts across class barriers, ages and genders to strike to the heart of what it is important. Be he directly Priestley’s mouthpiece or not, he is an independent medium through which he is able to critique those like the Crofts and Birling’s and advocate for the Eva Smiths of society

Question 22

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Answer 22

Through the gradual exposition of the downfall of Eva/Daisy Priestley is able to demonstrate to us that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others.