“(rather angrily) Unless you brighten your ideas, you’ll never be in the position to let anybody say or to tell anybody to go. It’s about time you learnt a few responsibilities.”
When he first talks about Eva Smith he compliments her, saying things like: “She was a lively good-looking girl” and “A good worker.” Then he says that “they suddenly decided to ask for more money – I refused of course.” Birling is showing that he was alright with Eva Smith until she asked for more money, that’s when his view of her hardened. The way that the Inspector goes about his business infuriates Mr. Birling. The Inspector hints that he knows more than he’s telling. He implies that Sheila, Eric and Gerald also know something about this girl and he rarely answers questions precisely. “It might be” his business, he says. Arthur Birling justifies his own action of sacking Eva Smith because she was one of several workers asking for a pay rise. He then says that when he refused to pay, she went on strike with the rest of them. Some of the workers returned to work at the old pay rate because they needed the money so badly. But Birling sacked four of the five ‘ring leaders’ and it just happened that Eva Smith was one of them. By this point, Priestly is portraying Mr. Birling as a normal businessman doing his job.
Sheila’s responses to the Inspector go on to tell us how Eva Smith obtained a job at one of her favourite clothes shops: Milwards. And how when she was trying on a dress, the shop assistant (Eva Smith), had made a gesture about how she looked in it and Sheila interpreted it as her saying “Doesn’t she look awful.” She then demanded the girl be sacked or she would never return to the store. Once Sheila hears about her death, she, along with Eric become on her side, unlike Arthur Birling. Eric says that Eva Smith shouldn’t have been sacked for showing a bit of spirit and asking for a raise. Sheila agrees with Eric that “these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people.” Sheila’s responses start to change when her fiancé, Gerald Croft, recognises the name “Daisy Renton” and finds out that Daisy Renton and Eva Smith are the same person. Then he tells Sheila that he had been seeing a girl called Daisy Renton when he should have been seeing her. Sheila changes from being a mild, well-behaved and blushing bride-to-be from in Act 1, into a determined and stubborn woman, in a way, similar to her parents. Although her overall presentation in the play is not is not like those of her parents. First, she insists on staying in the room, and then demands more details from Gerald about his affair with Eva/Daisy. After that, she goes on to warn her mother not to avoid the questions which the Inspector asks and she becomes more like the Inspector herself, hassling Gerald and her mother at key moments. She turns into the strongest member of the family, with the confidence to interrupt and pass judgement on both her mother and Gerald.
Evidence that the Inspector uses to hint that Sheila has contributed to Eva Smith’s death is that she had her turned out of her second job and that Arthur started it all by sacking Eva Smith in the first place. The Inspector likes to remind them of that as he keeps on mentioning what they’ve done and how everything is linked to them.
The Inspectors conclusion is general. He does this to show that everyone’s lives are intertwined. That means everyone, no matter what class they are. We know this from his reactions when each character reveals something about themselves. He just takes it in and carries on asking more questions. Arthur Birling regrets nothing. By portraying him in this way this make the audience feel sympathy for him as it shows from the whole experience, he has learnt nothing. He wants to keep all of the evening’s revelations in the family. He’s terrified of a “public scandal.” He finds the whole thing particularly painful for the reason that they were all so happy earlier. “When I think of what I was feeling when the five of us sat down to dinner. He was probably feeling content and proud. Then by the end of the evening his own aspirations are dammed, he is dismissive of the ‘younger generation’ and he shows no real remorse for his actions. He doesn’t know how to challenge the values suggested or implied in the Inspector’s remarks and actions. Sheila doesn’t agree with her father. She is ashamed of what they all did to the girl. She accuses her parents of having learnt nothing, and of being “childish” for not facing the facts. Lastly, she is frightened by the “way they talk.” They want to go on “in the same old way.” They haven’t learnt a thing. By this I mean they want to continue discriminating the lower classes and using them for cheap labour instead of treating everyone equally. Priestly shows this because he wants us to see that by the end of the play, the children end up thinking for themselves. At the start of the play Eric, Sheila and Gerald don’t question what Arthur and Sybil Birling say, they just agree. By the end of the play, the Inspector tries to make them all equal which destroys the family. By this I mean there isn’t like pyramid where Mr. and Mrs. Birling are at the top, where all the orders come from, then after them Gerald, and then Eric and Sheila at the bottom, being told what to do all the time . They are all evenly spread out in a line. Once Mr. and Mrs. Birling loose control, the family disintegrates. In a way, Sheila and Eric win without their parent forcing them to behave in a certain way.
Priestly presents the characters in the light that he does because he wants the audience to think that the ‘older generation’ are ‘old fashioned’ and the ‘younger generation’ are different from them. At the beginning the authority of Arthur and Sybil Birling is unquestioned. They are in control. From their point of view, the ‘younger generation’ are still basically “children” who follow dutifully in their parents’ footsteps (even though Eric and Sheila are both in their early twenties). The younger two both say they don’t want to be like their parents and admit they’ve been spoilt and they now want to grow up and become independent. Arthur and Sheila Birling both respond differently to the death of Eva Smith but the Inspector gives his same reaction to both. How Arthur Birling responds to the idea that they are responsible for the death of Eva Smith is he has not been persuaded to view his treatment as inappropriate or irresponsible. And how Sheila responds is that she does see her part in the death of Eva Smith but differently.
Some values you could learn through the play are to treat and respect everybody as equals because that is what they deserve. To be prejudiced is a problem that people should address and try to improve on because it is very hurtful to others. If you have ever done something wrong then the play makes you think about it and what you should do if you are ever in that situation again. The best thing to do if you are in trouble or if you have done something wrong is to talk about it, however hard that might be. The important thing is to try to correct it because if you do not then it just blows up out of proportion. This is shown well in the play when Sheila realises that she should have said something about Eric's drinking problem as it is the main reason that he got into his terrible situation. You should have an open mind, try to improve any faults in your personality and be open to others. The main thing that the play wants people to improve on, is to have more consideration for everybody and life does not revolve around money but compassion for others. Another message that is underlined throughout the play is that all classes have different material wealths but when it comes to feelings and sensitivities, we are all equal. The final message of the play is a plea for change, a change in human nature first, then a change in society.