The crime that the Birling household is confronted with is a death. The death is of a girl called Eva Smith who committed suicide by drinking bleach. She was one of Mr Birling’s workers in one of his factories but as the story unfolds it shows that everyone in the family had something to do with the girl. In Arthur Birling’s case he recognised her as being one of his employees that he had to discharge because she caused a strike in the factory over a rise in pay and was the ring leader of the whole affair. Arthur Birling treated Eva Smith like someone he didn’t care about but truthfully the whole matter of the strike worried him a lot and he felt that Eva Smith was getting too adventurous and clever and that she had to go as she might jeopardise his business. He also thought that others might follow her example and there could have been an even bigger rebellion in his factory and as Mr Billing’s main prorate was his business he thought it best if he was to get rid of this girl. And as he was such a senseless character in such a strong position , if anything was to stand between him and his business, money and family he would have to dispose of it. However when the news comes that she had killed herself his attitude changes to a more worried and angry state of mind and cannot accept any responsibility for this incidence because he feels that this death would effect his work so he denies all fact that this has happened. He also feels that this occurrence is small matter that is getting in the way of more important matters like his knighthood but it still some how manages to effect him. An example of this is when he says to the inspector “But you weren’t asked to come here to talk to me about my responsibilities” rather meaning that his livelihood is more important than this girls misfortune.
Sheila’s reaction to the inspectors summery of the time that Eva Smith spent with Mr Birling’s company is that of disgust towards the social inequality of how she was treated. She believes that it is wrong that girls should work as cheap labour and feels sickened at the fact that they are treated as just a way to make money. Her outlook on life is one that all people are the same (like the inspector’s views) and the whole matter of superiority is complete stupidity. This is shown when she quotes to Mr Birling “But these girls aren’t cheap labour - they’re people!” which proves her care towards this affair. However her treatment of Eva Smith was slightly different than what she feels. Firstly she disband her from the company because she was slightly jealous of her more than any other reason. But when she heard the news of her death from the inspector she felt sickened with herself for such actions. She also felt guilt that her jealousy could cause her to do such a thing and her position at the top of the social ladder had undermined a young girl such as this.
It was only at the time when the inspector referred to Eva Smith as Daisy Renton, because she changed her name, was it that Gerald Croft suddenly realised who he was talking about. At this point Gerald became rather worried and uncomfortable because he knew this person that he thought was called Daisy Renton. Gerald’s treatment of Eva Smith was greatly different to everybody else’s treatment of her. He treated her with respect and understanding and gave her a home to live and a man to love. However Gerald may have thought of this girl as a responsibility more than anything else because he felt that as a gentleman he had the responsibility to look after her and her needs and because of her beauty he was attracted to her and her beauty was the reason why Sheila was jealous of her. Eva Smith thought of Gerald as a very needed part of her life as when Gerald remarks “I became at once the most important part of her life” which meant she was very dependant on him. Because of Gerald’s involvement with Eva he feels rather guilty due to his relationship with Sheila and his part he played in the death of the girl. He feels that he had helped her a lot in her life and then just left her on her own and then to hear that she had killed herself was a big shock. He just wishes he was more to blame because he would find it easier to be able to handle considering he helped her but then she just killed herself and he wanted to know what he had done wrong but he just couldn’t find out what it was but if he had done something to force her to kill herself then at least he knew what he had done wrong. All of this is summed up when he comments “She didn’t blame me at all - I wish to god she had now - perhaps I’d feel better about it!”.
Mrs Birling’s treatment of the past circumstances was that it was not her responsibility and that she had nothing to do with it. She didn’t necessarily care about what happened to Eva Smith and tried to pass the responsibility onto others like when she said “Go and look for the child’s farther - it’s his responsibility!”. She feels rather comfortable in her position like her husband and if there was anything that wasn’t up to her very high standards then she didn’t care about it. She wouldn’t even let Eva Smith join the ‘Brumley Woman’s Charity Organisation’ because of a small comment that Eva made when she attempted to sign up. Mrs Birling shows no apparent signs of guilt or disgust, she only shows her anger and frustration with the whole matter in the way that she ‘snaps’ at the inspector and denies all liability for the matter.
Eric’s part in the situation was that she was mearly used by him for his pleasure. However it came to a point where she said she was pregnant with his child and Eric suddenly felt that he should take all responsibility for this occurrence and for Eva. He even went and stole money from the company to keep her going. The reason for this is that she had a power over him more than she had ever had over any of the other family members and that she could, in a sense, control him. An example of this is when Eric says “She treated me as if I were a kid - though I was as nearly old as she was”. This is the reason why Eric felt so bad after he heard of her death because he felt he was a big part in her life because of all the things he had done for her but in Eva’s mind maybe he wasn’t such a big part in her life but just another event. However Eric thought something that none of the other family members had thought of. He felt that everyone who had come into contact with Eva Smith had as much responsibility as each other and it wasn’t just one persons fault but, instead, everyone’s fault. “It’s what happened to the girl and what we all did to her that matters” is what Eric says his family to be able to convey his point in this situation. What he also means is that they should all stop just caring about themselves and worry about the matter in hand in the case of Mr Birling and Mrs Birling who feel more concerned about themselves than anything else.
At the end of the play the family realise that the inspector that they have just witnessed was in fact not an inspector and that he wasn’t even known in or out of the police force. However a call comes telling them that an inspector is on his way to question the family over the death of a girl in the workhouse called Eva Smith. This news puts the whole household into a shocked state just after their relief of the first inspector questioning over. Mr Birling is a prime example of this as at the point of the inspector leaving he felt slightly anxious and worried. However as the events unfolded to reveal that the inspector was not what they thought he begins to feel relaxed and in a more comfortable state of mind. This can be shown when Mr Birling comments “We’ve been had, that’s all”. However his attitude changes when the call comes to say that another inspector is on his way right at the end of the play. However this problem provides a second chance for all of the characters so that they can right the things that were wrong in the first case. This is a personification of the point that sometimes people need a second chance and in the case of the Birling family that is exactly what is happening.
The way in which the detective story convention exposes guilt is that the detective slowly forces more and more information out of the suspect in the classic method of false innocence, false guilt, true innocence then true guilt until the denouement is reached. The dramatisizm in this is that the story is gradually reviled through the suspects and pieced together. Throughout the questioning by the inspector other bits of information maybe leaked and surprising circumstances may occur. Another reason for the impact of using a detective is that the other suspects may learn stories that they didn’t know and friction could transpire between those characters. An example of this in the play is when Gerald reveals that he has spent time with Eva Smith without Sheila knowing. This then could spiral off into another story which would all contribute to the dramatic sense of a detective fiction story.
My conclusion is that J.B. Priestly has managed to put the fact of social inequalities and the suspense of a detective story across in a clever and successful way. The actions that unfold at the end of the play reveals the true feelings that all of the characters have actually felt throughout the whole play and the introduction of a detective and death into this family life has disrupted all the norms and qualities that an upper-class family of the 1912’s have.
