Mrs Birling remains solid and also refuses to see how her actions could have been responsible for the girl’s death. Her refusal to help the girl was what led to her suicide. It was only after she realises that Eric was the child’s father she begins to show signs of weakening.
Eric wants his parents to admit their mistakes as he freely admitted his. Though he is not a very pleasant character we may feel that he has learnt a lesson, that he is sincerely ashamed of his behaviour and he is capable of changing for the better.
The characters respond in a different manner towards the inspector’s questions. Firstly Mr Birling, he’s a wealthy factory owner (businessman), his first main concern is to make money& get power! He strongly believes that “a man has to make his own way”. He’s looking forward to receiving a knighthood. He refuses to accept any responsibility for Eva’s death.
Mrs Birling remains solid and also refuses to see how her actions could have been responsible for the girl’s death. Her refusal to help the girl was what led to her suicide. It was only after she realises that Eric was the child’s father she begins to show signs of weakening.
Sheila realises that her jealousy and bad temper had led to Eva getting sacked. She is genuinely sorry. She is upset and shows responsibility for her death.
Eric feels sympathy for Eva as soon as her hears how Mr Birling sacked her. He has to admit the way he behaved towards her, he has a stronger feeling of guilt because of the consequences he did were worse.
Gerald felt guilty about the way he used her and how their relationship ended. He felt guilty about only being able to offer her temporary help and giving her money to start a new life.
He manipulates the scene in different events; who will speak and when; who may or may not leave; who will not see the photograph. He even seems to control what people say. The inspector has Eva Smith’s diary and a letter. From these he has built up a picture of her life and character. He uses this information, with constant reminders of the horrific death she has suffered, to force them to face up to what they have done.
This play is very tightly structured as Priestly wanted to achieve a very quick and smooth running play where all the parts seemed to fit into one another. Therefore all the action takes place in the dining room and even when there is a break between acts the start of the next act takes us to the same point in time at which we had left the action. The play is structured as a series of episodes in which the focus is mainly on one particular character. In this way a picture is gradually built up of all the main characters in the play.
Priestly uses stage directions to reflect the changing mood in the play from one of celebration and hopefulness to a darker one. He orders a ‘pink and intimate’ use of lights for the party, which changes to ‘ brighter and harder’ when the inspection begins. Also the use of time is part of the structure of the play, which suggests that until people face up to their actions then the same mistakes will be repeated.
Towards the end of the scene when the characters think that the whole situation was all a hoax J.B Priestley fills the plot with arguments and family conflicts making the drama increase with a angry atmosphere and then make it go back down again to a more quiet atmosphere to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Priestley uses dramatic irony. For instance, the audience knows how wrong Mr Birling is when he makes confident predictions about there not being a war and is excited about the sailing of The Titanic: famously, the ship sank on her maiden voyage. This puts the audience at an advantage over the characters and makes us more involved.
There is a lot of tension as each member of the family is found to have played a part in Eva's death. New pieces of information add to the story being constructed. The audience is interested in how each character reacts to the surprise.
The playwright’s message is shown by the comfortable home and rich way of life of the Birling family. By contrast we have the accounts of the desperate attempts of the workers to increase their poor wage and the dull and low life that the girl is forced to live as a result of the actions of people such as the Birlings.
