This is our one-of-a kind in depth character profile covering everything you need to unlock your true potential. Our notes are written in student friendly terms, and packed full of colour all to help stimulate your brain during revision. These notes have been proven to deliver results and have been...
Gerald
® Gerald is caught between the older and younger generations and so
in his own right Priestly presents him as the middle-generation.
Gerald’s liminality (at a position between 2 boundaries) also extends
to his attitudes and ideology as well. Since Gerald’s only the middle
generation he is less flexible and impressionable (easily influenced)
than Sheila and Eric, in terms of his convictions, but he does accept
his responsibility
® Priestly does also portray Gerald to be deliberately ignoring and
suppressing his sense of morality as it’s bringing out his emotions as
denoted by the use of dashes. He intentionally chooses to react to
the visible injustice, rather than the institutionalised (establish
something as a norm) prejudice caused by the class system. This is
exemplified through Gerald helping Eva because it was visible to him
and couldn’t ignore it as ‘Old Joe Meggarty […] had wedged her into
a corner’
® Gerald represents the individualism of the upper-class. He disillusions
(disappoints) the audience, who hopes that by the end of the play he
would change his capitalist and selfish attitudes, but fails to do so. So,
Priestley uses Gerald’s failure to develop his sense of social
responsibility, to convey how entrenched (an attitude unlikely to
change) these upper-class attitudes are; even death won’t change
them.
® he is ‘easy well-bred young man-about-town’. This idiomatic phrase
suggests that Gerald is a fashionable socialite. Alternatively, this
phrase could have plural connotations; perhaps, Priestley is
foreshadowing the unfaithful nature of Gerald
® His social status contributes to his attractiveness as in 1912 British
society the only route to wealth for women would be to marry into it
as women were forbidden from opening a bank account and so had
none of their own money
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller RevisionGuru. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.21. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
