Choose two characters from the play. With careful analysis of relevant sections of the play, show how Priestly wants us to react to them in different ways, and give reasons for these differences.
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 by JB Priestly. In this play Priestly portrays his views through his characters about socialists and capitalists. Two characters in the play that differ from one another are Sheila and Mr. Birling. I have chosen to write about these two as they are from different generations therefore their views and opinions will differ. They both react and respond differently to the inspector and they are affected in different ways.
In the opening scene of An Inspector Calls, Priestly builds our understanding of the two characters through many techniques. Firstly, our understanding of the characters is through the stage directions. At the dining table, Mr. Birling is seated at the head of the table ‘Arthur Birling at one end’. This illustrates his importance to the family and shows that he is the ‘head’ of the house. Sheila is however, sitting on the side of the table. This shows that her status isn’t as high as Mr. Birling. It may also show that Mr. Birling has control over what she does.
In the beginning of the play, Mr. Birling is portrayed to us as being a proud and overconfident man. You can tell that he is someone who is always concerned about his work. His speech shows us that he’s a workaholic. ‘Steadily increasing prosperity,’ this shows that although it’s his daughter’s engagement he is still willing to talk about his work. Mr. Birling is also fairly talkative. This is shown as he has two lengthy monologues which show that he’s a talkative person. Mr. Birling is also shown to the audience as being a formal speaker. You can tell this form the way he talks. ‘I am going to tell you frankly.’ the way in which Priestly chooses the language, tells us that he is a formal speaker. The way in which he speaks to Sheila also shows that he is an authoritarian. This is backed up by the line ‘are you listening Sheila? This concerns you too.’ This shows that he can tell her when to listen to the things he has to say. Early on in the play, Sheila is depicted as a pleasant young lady, who I about to get married. This opinion that is shown to us is changed as we go further into the play. We see that after the inspector has interviewed her; the truth is let out, making the audience see her in a whole new light. Also Sheila appears to be a very self conscious girl. This is revealed when she tries on different dresses. We can see that she is someone who feels very jealous towards people who are much prettier than her. This is clear as when she met Eva Smith, she is jealous that Eva is much prettier than she is. Her jealously then leads her to take the actions of firing her from her job. Coupled with the jealousy, the idea of her thinking she is better than others also is the consequent of her getting Eva sacked. The idea of her being able to get Eva Smith sacked shows that she does however, have a say in what goes on in the family businesses. She is also quite curious as she questions the rest of her family as to why the inspector is there.
