Inspector Calls Essay

"It's my duty to keep labour cost down and profits higher"

This is his excuse for his contribution to the young girls suicide as I think it is not efficent. I think deep down the writter has shown that Birling does feel sorry for Eva Smith(deceased) as it is deep inside him but he is reluctant to show it. I think Arthur is very like me as I try to put off the truth and denye that I ever existed at that point. He refuse to accept any responability and he becomes increasingly annoyed by the inspectors inquiries.

Arthur Birling is a former mayor and a magistrate and a 'hard headed business man', as he believes that:

"A man has to make his own way"

And he does not think about how his words may harm other people and does not think before hand. I also think that he cannot admit when he is wrong and make a mense.

In this play dramatic irony is used which says that the Titanic is unsinkable and the first world war will never happen but as this is set in 1912 all these things happen.

Birling is not a father type man as Eric tells him, with a bit of encouragement from alcohol, but he says:

"You're not the kind of chap a man can turn to when he's in trouble"

This hows thats he's never really had an unformal relationship with his father, but very formal and this also probably means that they will never have a close relationship.

Overall Arther Birling is a selfish and hard headed man who speaks before he thinks and doesn't considers peoples feelings and the aftermath. I think he was suited well with this play as he is hard to move from his spot which means that he has a very hard shell but acn be broken.

Now I will study Sheila Birling. She is 'very pleased with life' and she is young, attractive and just recently engaged to Mr Croft, a properous factory owner with lots of money and a good future. When the inspector makes his enquires with Sheila He tells her that she had dismissed a girl from a shop because she gave her a funny look and although this was not a very big thing Sheila was very up set as she feels she has helped kill this girl but it's not only her happiness which is destroyed but also her faith in her family.

Sheila is a very admiiable character as she is prepared to admit her wrongs and accept the concequences and shes also very corcerned with the furture, 'I'll never, never do it again'.

She is also very intelligent as i feel that she is the first one to seek out that the inspector is a fake but she still feels that this is njot the point and all her family have done wrong and they don't think they need to worry or be concerned about this girls death except for Eric who is also on Sheila's side.

I feel overall that Sheila is a good character and very sensitive as she now knows that she has responsibillities to help the lesss needy, how ever poor they are. I think this is a very good learning point for her as I think also she will grow up remembering this and how she cast someone away out of their work and she will grow up to be a loving and caring person.

I conclude this essay saying I have enjoyed this play\book as it has helped me to realise that we dont think of the consiquences and we dont care, but I realise we do have to.

These two characters are extremly different even though they are son and daughter I feel they have been brought up in a rich and quite 'pompous' family which has meant a harsh up-coming which no feelings were allowed to be expressed but now she finally has. I think that Arthur is quite nasty and thinks only of money.

Where as Sheila is a kind and giving person. This is quite a complex play as it has missing points and hidden meanings a clever devices used to give different messages.