Do you ever pay attention to to the scenery in movies or shows? Have they ever made you fell that much more towards something or someone in the play? Well, that play is no exception. In this work, I go into the reasons why certain settings and scenes are used and the in depth meaning behind them. T...
Setting the scene:
“All 3 acts which are continuous, take place in the dining room of the Birling's
house in Brumley, an industrial city in the north Midlands.”
Significance:
-The author’s speaker creates a mini cosmos through the concept of the dining room.
-The whole play is set therein, hence it is as if the lives of the characters only
exist within a little 'bubble' ,which is grand and glamorous. They are ignorant of
or refuse the world outside, which is further expressed through the dialogue of the
characters further throughout the play.
-Also, the whole play being set in the dining room shows how distant and isolated
the upper class was from the rest of society. This lack of scene change shows they
seem to believe the world revolves around them and don't care for others, whether
knowingly or unknowingly. The upper class deem themselves superior and lack thought
for other classes in society.
-The above point is further backed by the character of Gerald Croft. He isn't apart
of the Birling household yet he is invited and even at that due to the engagement.
This shows that lack of empathy and inclusivity of the upper class.
-The rift amongst the classes and the ignorance of the world outside could be
traced back to capitalism. This constant competition of wealth, which capitalism
caused, left them greedy and ungrateful, making them forget the world beyond their
own businesses.
-Brumley itself was a manifestation of capitalist industrialisation at the time as
it saw railroads, a plethora of factories and terraced houses for workers etc.
These subtle hints indicate how far Priestley went to draw attention to it and
raise awareness.
- It was a hub of industry which the capitalists stood by, which in and of itself
wasn't bad. All the advancements made them lose their senses of ethics as we will
see later on in the play.
Text:
“The dining room is of a fairly large suburban house, belonging to a prosperous
manufacturer.”
Notes:
There are a couple references and hints to the Birlings being well off.
The fact they owned a large suburban house shows social hierarchy and wealth. At
the time, many wealthy businessmen would migrate away from the main cities to
suburban areas that were much less polluted with factories etc. These areas had
many wealthy people living in such areas for this reason so the fact they live in
such a place speaks volumes about their status.
This is then further affirmed by the following phrase “Prosperous manufacturer”.
This not only shows that they are of the upper class but that they owned a factory
as suggested by a “manufacturer” as they are the places of manufacture.
“Prosperous” suggests that they must have had a lot of workers and a large company
to be so affluent; these are the means to a flourishing manufacturer. This also
highlights that they were a capitalist family because most industrialists at the
time were capitalists. They were the ones who owed bid well off businesses and were
constantly competing. This is later on proved true in the play.
This further suggests the Birlings are cold-hearted for allowing the travesties
that take place to have happened later on.
These little details also set the scene to portray Mr. Birling as a villain for
letting the tragedy of Eva Smith pass. This further brings down what he represents,
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