There are only a few characters in the play but all of them have deadly parts to play. My favourite is Eric because he is like me very loud and always happy and takes life as a big joke and has no care in the world, first of all I will talk about Eric and his relationship with everybody, he very poor “just got money of other people every little helps” Page 53 I think he spent all of his money on drink and ladies and maybe even drugs. Everybody says he’s guilty “its you” I think they think that because he has no care for anything and they presume it’s him. As you know he has a drink problem “we’ll drink” Page 4 so I think he was under a lot of stresses that why he drinks. He is also a big thief because he steals from his dad which is the worst thing to do and especially if he finds out “giving her enough money” Page 53. Everybody thinks he has got the best stuff “your trouble is your spoilt” which I said I knew was going to happen the son a rich man and being the only son to I bet Shelia gets spoilt more because it daddies little princess. He has no luck with girls “I just jump in bed with them” which shows that he isn’t close with his dad because if he was his dad would tell him why not and the consequences. He always asks questions “why?” that shows that he’s just there in the house gets told nothing and doesn’t really listen into thing because he’s always out, but that also means he isn’t sly because he would try to find out what’s going on in the house also he is sly because he asked for cash of his fathers customers so he could take it and give it to his friend so he’s a very weird character.
Now I will tell you about the inspector he is a very strange man I could imagine him walking straight into the room with his head held high and his brown inspector’s coat, so they don’t see his face. He is very mysterious “yes, Sir. Only recently transferred” Page 11. He was also very manipulative by the way his says his words “I think you remember Eva Smith now, don’t you, Mr Birling” Page 13 so the inspector is trying to make Mr Birling say what he wants him to say so he can get better information. He has been brought up well because he is very formal “Thank you, Sir” which shows us more that he is an inspector because they are told to be polite and nice to the public. He is also very confident like he just walks straight in, and he asks questions directly so really he’s rude. Also he is very serious and very direct “ok that’s all I want to know from you” Page 39. So the Inspector is some ways shy but in other ways really confident.
Now Gerald is a very clever man and does do many things wrong but he is still a good man. He is very devious “I was awfully busy at the works all the time” Page 3 but we know that he wasn’t we know he was with her, that Eva Smith. He was also very complacent “I didn’t feel as much about her as she did me” Page 38 which shows us he thinks he can pick and choose people so he thinks he’s the best again. He is very upper class to but I think he puts most of it on just to show off in front of the ladies and he tries to get friends by using it “absolutely, first class” Page 2 also because he is upper class Mr Birling thinks he’s the best and wants Shelia his daughter to marry him because he will have a good life but the main reason is that he has a good business and Mr Birling wants to join forces with him. We can see he has been educated very well because he is very clever and sly but the main reason we can tell this is because he’s so formal “sir” Page 6. Gerald is a very Devious because he does most things wrong and then he goes and lies and says he’s been at work when he has been having an affair with somebody who’s now dead. If you spoke to him you wouldn’t expect it because he is very well educated man who dresses very well and is upper class. The thing that annoys people most is that he is so complacent in the way that he knows that his business is the best and that everybody likes him and everybody wants to be friends with him.
The play was set along time ago when there was hardly any technology is was all done by hand and it was set around Titanics time “the Titanic” page 7 which was around 1912 and it also says 1940 “lets say 1940” page 7. Then Mr Birling keeps talking about the war and how it was so stupid “silly little war scares” page 7 which also means that it was near the industrial revolution “they asked for more money, but of course I refused” this shows that Mr Birling only likes cheap people to work for him and he will get rid of them if they say something offensive to him, then he will just go and pick someone new up, just like picking sweets from a sweet shop. Also the language that the family speak we can tell it’s an old play “sir” page 6. Also the names of the characters can tell us a lot because Eva isn’t a very popular name in this day of age and the same with Gerald they are both really old names. Also when Mr Birling says “can you pass me the port” page 2 that’s no a very popular drink anymore. In today’s day of age it will be “chuck us a beer mate” so you can see how much language has changed.
I can see Mr Birling is a very posh, boisterous, stubborn man just by the way he speaks like “Edna answer the door” he is really saying look at me everybody I have a maid who does what ever I say I click my fingers and she at my feet on her hands and knees. This makes he sound very posh when he keeps saying “lets go to the drawing room” which is a very posh and upper class word for lounge and as he is a very upper class he likes to think he’s the best and no ones bigger and better than him. He also likes saying “do you fancy a drink” and he’s showing off he can afford drink, I can imagine him at the dinner table with his head held high saying “give us the port” page 2 when its really quiet so everybody looks at him. Mrs Birling I think would be a really quiet character who is used by Mr Birling for meeting like he drags a pretty lady along just to show her off and I think she would also get embarrassed by the way he keeps bragging and nagging Edna “Answer it” page 10 if I was Mrs Birling I would leave him because I can imagine him using her like I said but at weekends going off and leaving her at home on her own and then come in drunk and he tells her to sort him out and look after him. I also think that Mrs Birling has lots of feelings for Mr Birling but he hates her he just uses her and shows her off, that goes back to the bragging issue. I have lots of favourite parts in the play but my favourite must be the part when Mr Birling says “I’ve done nothing wrong and you know it” page 44 that’s is great suspense because us as a audience know he has when he family don’t and you just want to shout it out but you cant. It’s also a very big mistake because I can see that is son doesn’t feel close to his father “you’re not the dad you can really talk to” so I think if his family finds out he’s lied he will be left on his own with nothing. Also he’s so devious by the way he knits his way around his family and it’s as if he has everybody in the palm of his hand. So it’s very clever the way they have done that. Another one of my favourite quotes was when Mr Birling says about the “drawing room” page 2 because he always has to use big intelligent words to make himself look big when everybody is equal. He even brags in front of his own which there is no reason for because they know what he’s like and how much money he’s got and even if he does have a lot of money what’s the big deal. There family might I have money but are they happy? NO. Also did he get his money fairly, did he have to work hard for it? NO. My third favourite quote is when the inspector says “G double o-l-e” Page 16 that’s really does make me laugh because he’s trying to be cool and also that makes himself sound very confident and he is a very clever man by the way he is manipulative and gets the information out of them in the end. I think that that quote is to make himself seem laid back so they will be laid back and will tell him more because they will think its not to serious, then when they get into meeting him more he will become very formal “no thank you Mr Birling, I’m on duty” Page 11