Responses to 'Upstairs, Downstairs'

1) Is the representation of the Chauffeur portrayed from a biased point of view?
I don't think that the Chauffeur was portrayed from a biased point of view because he is shown as a hard working British citizen who hasn't done anything wrong. He is never shown to have any malicious ideology as he just believed the good things that were said by Oswold. He is shown to be quite innocent and naive to the true values of the Nazi's.

2) In what ways could you say the upstairs family and the downstairs staff are clinging to tradition in a changing world?
Both of these groups try not to mix together and keep the lower and higher classes divided. However some of them break this tradition, for example Lady Persephone and the Chauffeur are together even though it is frowned upon. Another example of the downstairs staff trying to keep tradition is that they never ask the Indian man to join them when they are relaxing, this is because racism was still a big deal in Britain. The new maid broke this tradition as she offers him to come down and sit with them and it is clear that the rest of the downstairs staff are uncomfortable with this.

3) Why do you think Lady Persephone wants to join the black shirts?
She has a very rebellious attitude because she is tired of her family telling her what to do and she wants to stand for something different to what her family does. Also she is quite naive so she is easily drawn in by the speeches and ideology that Oswold preaches and to her it seems like it makes sense and the right thing to believe in. Also she wants the Chauffeur to be interested in her so she becomes interested in the black shirts to get closer to him.

4) Can you find similarities between Lady Persephone and Jenny from An Education?
Both characters have different ideologies to their families and what they are expected to believe in, for example in An Education, Jenny seeks a more sophisticated life away from her family and in Upstairs, Downstairs, Lady Persephone wants to join a very controversial group that her family and also most the people in Britain disagree with.
Both of the characters find a man that introduces them to a new way of living that they originally believe is the ideal life but then soon learn that not everything is what it seems. They are both clever but at the same time quite naive which leads them to making bad decisions.

5) Whose British collective identity do you think is the strongest and why?
I think that the upstairs family is the strongest collective identity compared with the other two collective groups, the Black shirts and the downstairs staff. I think this because these two collective groups are quite forgiving and lenient,