So you've all read the play, but some of you may need a bit of a 'way in' in order to help you understand exactly what this question is asking you:
Explore the ways in which the theme of RESPONSIBILITY is presented
to the audience in the play.
We are basically saying, how is Responsibility important in the play.
The main reason is quite simple really. When the play was written, the Second World War was just coming to an end. Priestley, like many other people, had heeded the warnings which the world had been given by TWO WORLD WARS. Like many, he had seen the devastation and destruction that wars could cause. He was a staunch SOCIALIST, which meant that he believed everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their class or social standing. Because of this, Priestley was a massive supporter of the introduction of THE WELFARE STATE at the end of WWII (Meaning that benefits, NHS etc were introduced to support the working class and 'reward' them for their role in fighting for their country).
At this point, Priestley probably saw our country as being at a very important CROSSROADS. The wars (particularly WWII) had forced the classes to pull together to fight a common enemy. The scale of the war had taken its toll on the country and its economy. Everyone was subject to rationing. In many ways, the CLASS SYSTEM was far less important or prominent than it had been for a long time in this country.
Many people of the time saw that 'Britain had a choice': Return to the way things used to be, or move forward, treating everybody more fairly.
At the end of the day, we are all just people: whether we are royalty or binmen. Socialists REALISE THIS and believe that the way the world works should reflect this. Nobody in this country should die of starvation (for example) when there are people just a few miles away living in stately homes.
So, to illustrate his point, Priestley decided to set the play 33 years earlier, before either of the world wars had taken place. By doing this, he could show the watching audience HOW THINGS USED TO BE and to use it as a warning of how things could turn out if they didn't show more COMPASSION for each other, or TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS.
The play is set in 1912 - the year the Titanic sank, and 3 years before WWI. By setting the play in this year, Priestley was able to present a stuck up, arrogant family to the audience who seemed completely confident in their own social standing and their sure-to-be prosperous future. We in the audience, on the other hand, know that their future holds nothing but destruction and disaster simply because the attitudes of a relatively few people in the upper classes allowed Europe to go to war when it was not necessary.
To show this in even greater detail, Priestley creates a MICROCOSM. The BIRLINGS represent the ROCHER CLASSES and their actions, whereas EVA SMITH/DAISY RENTON represents the POORER/WORKING CLASSES. By seeing how the richer characters treat poor Eva Smith, it illustrates to the audience how the actions of some can have a total and disastrous effect on others.
Quite simply, some of the characters TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for their actions, and other don't. In your essay, you need to explore:
Who does
Who doesn't
How this is shown
and
What Priestley i trying to get us to think!
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