How Does Priestley Present Gerald As Untrustworthy ?
Priestley presents Gerald as untrustworthy to a certain degree in An Inspector
Calls . Although Gerald symbolises the upper class , " landed people and so
forth " and embodies every warning Priestley is trying to convey to the
contemporary audience , it can be argued that he does demonstrate some
kindness and compassion .
This can be implied through his actions , " I insisted on Daisy moving into those
rooms and I made her take some money to keep her going there . " Even though
Gerald did have some positive effects on Eva / Daisy's life , he effectively made
her homeless when he went on a business trip .
From the opening Gerald is described in the stage directions as ' well - bred '
and a ' man about town ' . Priestley wants the audience to see Gerald as both
privileged and typical of his gender . ' Man about town ' could easily be seen as
a euphemism for the behaviour of men in Edwardian times . Whilst keeping the
outward appearance of a respectable businessman , his deception to both Daisy
Renton and Sheila is made possible by the values of the time that women were
not to question me's actions . Gerald is able to use his position of power , as a
wealthy male , to ' keep ' Daisy as a mistress . It is possible that Daisy wanted to
believe in the ' love ' and kindness Gerald showed her , even though she knew '
it couldn't last ' . He uses Daisy as a commodity and is barely any different to
Mr Birling in this respect . To further support this point , Gerald agrees with Mr
Birling sacking Eva Smith- " You couldn't have done anything else . " The
contraction , " couldn't " has the connotations of not being able to . The use of "
couldn't " is ironic as Gerlad , symbolising the upper class , could do something
as he has money . The greed of the upper class does not allow them to see the
suffering of the poor and the reason behind this is them becoming more business
minded day by day . Priestley's message is conveyed through The Inspector
whois used as a mouthpiece to represent social responsibility if we do not take
responsibility for each other the world will become a terrible place .
Furthermore , Gerald is presented as untrustworthy when he denies knowing
Daisy / Eva when questioned , " where did you get the idea that I did know her ?
" However , he is caught and acknowledges as keeping Daisy as his mistress .
The Inspector is not as harsh towards Gerald compared to The Birlings as
Priestley presents Gerald as untrustworthy to a certain degree in An Inspector
Calls . Although Gerald symbolises the upper class , " landed people and so
forth " and embodies every warning Priestley is trying to convey to the
contemporary audience , it can be argued that he does demonstrate some
kindness and compassion .
This can be implied through his actions , " I insisted on Daisy moving into those
rooms and I made her take some money to keep her going there . " Even though
Gerald did have some positive effects on Eva / Daisy's life , he effectively made
her homeless when he went on a business trip .
From the opening Gerald is described in the stage directions as ' well - bred '
and a ' man about town ' . Priestley wants the audience to see Gerald as both
privileged and typical of his gender . ' Man about town ' could easily be seen as
a euphemism for the behaviour of men in Edwardian times . Whilst keeping the
outward appearance of a respectable businessman , his deception to both Daisy
Renton and Sheila is made possible by the values of the time that women were
not to question me's actions . Gerald is able to use his position of power , as a
wealthy male , to ' keep ' Daisy as a mistress . It is possible that Daisy wanted to
believe in the ' love ' and kindness Gerald showed her , even though she knew '
it couldn't last ' . He uses Daisy as a commodity and is barely any different to
Mr Birling in this respect . To further support this point , Gerald agrees with Mr
Birling sacking Eva Smith- " You couldn't have done anything else . " The
contraction , " couldn't " has the connotations of not being able to . The use of "
couldn't " is ironic as Gerlad , symbolising the upper class , could do something
as he has money . The greed of the upper class does not allow them to see the
suffering of the poor and the reason behind this is them becoming more business
minded day by day . Priestley's message is conveyed through The Inspector
whois used as a mouthpiece to represent social responsibility if we do not take
responsibility for each other the world will become a terrible place .
Furthermore , Gerald is presented as untrustworthy when he denies knowing
Daisy / Eva when questioned , " where did you get the idea that I did know her ?
" However , he is caught and acknowledges as keeping Daisy as his mistress .
The Inspector is not as harsh towards Gerald compared to The Birlings as
