An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley - To what extent is each character responsible for Eva's death? To what extent does each character learn from his/her experience?

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Kumar Shah

An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley

To what extent is each character responsible for Eva’s death?

To what extent does each character learn from his/her experience?

An Inspector Calls is written by J.B Priestley to show his audience the social and moral responsibility.  It was set in the 1900’s; he wanted to make people more aware about their responsibilities to make sure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated, for example the making of the world wars and complacency involved in the sinking of the Titanic.

“We don’t live alone.  We are members of one body.  We are responsible for each other.”  Priestly uses this phrase to get through to his audience.  This is so that everyone can ensure a healthy future.  Priestley is also saying indirectly through the play that every action has a consequence; this is shown throughout the play.

The Birling family represent the wealthy upper class society.  Eva Smith represents billions of working class people.  The Birling family are complacent and irresponsible like most of the upper class society.  They bring disaster upon others; Eva Smith faces greed, jealousy, selfishness and sloth from each member of the Birling family.  Only two members of the Birling family are able to accept their responsibility.  Priestley shows the clashing of two societies and the consequences of what will happen if they do not work together; Priestley is trying to give this message in the play.

Mr. Birling, the head of the family is the most responsible, he is the one that started the chain of events that made Eva Smith crumble.  Mr. Birling shows that he is irresponsible in his role as a factory owner, he sacks Eva for protesting out of selfishness and greed.

“It’s my duty to keep labour costs down.”  This is irresponsible as it is out of spite, but with the status and wealth it was normal in the 1900’s for this type of malpractice to take place.  Mr. Birling is part of the capitalist society that deprives the working class; Eva is the example in this play.  Mr. Birling is controlling; he wants to show the rest of the company that he is the boss and no one will take advantage and control of him. He wants to keep the wealth at the top.  

“A man has to mind his own business and looking after himself.”  Yet again Birling shows selfishness. He is a pompous businessman who wishes to protect his image; he wants to protect his chances of getting a knighthood.

Mr. Birling does not want to accept what he has done; he dismissed the allegations that say he is responsible for the death of Eva Smith.

“Still I can’t accept any responsibility for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward wouldn’t it?”  Mr. Birling does not accept any responsibility; he does not even give a valid reason to why he dismissed the responsibility.

Mr. Birling thinks that his status in the social hierarchy can save him.

“How do you get on with our chief constable Colonel Roberts?”  Mr. Birling thinks that he can manage this situation by using his status.  This shows that Mr. Birling is doing what he says on his opinion of life and is looking after himself; he only cares about his future and thinks that he has no responsibilities.

He cannot persuade the Inspector to change his mind about his suspicions.  Doing this it leads to anger from Mr. Birling.  As Mr. Birling feels no guilt towards this affair he had convinced himself to do so by thinking there was no way out of it.  Mr. Birling is then in denial and is not sorry for what has happened to Eva Smith so far.  This means Mr. Birling has not learned anything at all from this experience.

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Mr. Birling thinks that there are not any problems as there is not any proof.

“No enquiry.  No one girl that all this has happened to.  No scandal-”  After Mr. Birling finds out that Eva’s death had no proof behind it and that the inspector is not real he thinks that he has lost the responsibility to learn from this experience.  Due to this Mr. Birling does not have the ability to learn from this experience.

The next person to be interrogated by Inspector Goole is Sheila; Mr and Mrs Birling’s daughter.  Sheila is not as responsible ...

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