Gerald, Sheila’s fiancée had an affair with Daisy Renton (Eva Smith) in the summer. He went to the palace bar one evening on the hunt for the women of the town (prostitutes) and saw someone different, she stood out above all the others, and she looked as if she shouldn’t have been there. A drunken man went and sat with her making her look very uncomfortable. Gerald went up to him and made up that the manager wanted to see him and that it was important. He told Daisy as he knew her to come with him if she wants to get out of there and of course she agreed at once. He took her for a drink, where they talked. Two nights later, Gerald moved Daisy (as he knew her) in to his friends flat as he was away for a while. He wasn’t in love with her as much as she was with him though he did make love to her, but broke it off in the first week of September. Eva saved money over the summer whilst she and Gerald were together and moved out of the flats. Gerald left Eva some money of which she spent going away to the sea-side for about two months. Sheila was disappointed her Gerald but she respected him for telling the truth!
Then it was Mrs Briling’s turn to be questioned. Mrs Birling worked a charity organisation for women and Eva Smith turned up asking for help but not as Eva Smith or Daisy Renton but as Mrs Birling, Eva or Mrs Birling then told a false story that she was married and her husband had deserted her. So (the real) Mrs Birling decided to find out the truth. The truth was she was pregnant and the father of her unborn baby was, ‘only a youngster-silly and wild drinking to much’ he had given her money but she didn’t want to take any more because he implied one time whilst drunk that he had stolen the money. Mrs Birling however was still not satisfied with her claim so refused it. She didn’t want to take any blame for helping the girl turn to suicide, she started blaming the father. ‘I blame the father’ The play-write has here used irony because she has unknowingly passed the blame onto her own son.
Eric was the father of the unborn baby of Eva Smith. His mum, Mrs Birling hadn’t made things any easier for her son. He had also met her in the palace bar, he was a bit drunk ‘squiffy’ and she was also a bit drunk ‘chiefly’ as she had not eaten much all day. Eric took her to the lodgings and insisted on coming in or he would row so she let him in. They met again two weeks later where they talked and went home together again and made love but this time he told her his name. They weren’t in love but Eric liked her quite a lot. The next time they met she told Eric that she was pregnant; they were both very worried and didn’t want to get married. She didn’t want to try for another job because of her past luck and she had no money to support the baby so Eric insisted on giving her some money just to keep her going. He gave her about £50 all together but he hadn’t earned the money or even owned it to his name. Eric got it from Mr Birling’s (his dads) office. He said that he had intended pay it back. Eric could not trust his dad and talk to him so he had to steal the money from him! So is this partly Mr Birling’s fault as a father not being there and Eric not feeling comfortable talking to him? Can we blame Mr Birling? I think we can to a certain extent but he can take responsibility for his own actions, let alone his sons as well!
The inspector’s effect on Mr Birling was that he didn’t really seem sorry or guilty at all. He must have felt a little guilty though because he tried to pass the blame on to some one else and said, ‘obviously it has nothing whatever to do with the wretched girls suicide.’ The thing which he was saying hasn’t got any thing to do with it, was him dismissing her from her work.
Sheila however felt ever so guilty for getting her sacked from Millward’s she didn’t know what to do. She knew she was wrong and she was sorry for it but she didn’t want to hold the whole blame to herself. But she didn’t need to.
Gerald confesses everything to the inspector, Sheila and the rest of the family. He admits to having an affair and I think that helps him clear his conscience but he didn’t take much responsibility towards Eva’s suicide though.
Mrs Birling said she was sorry but she still now thinks she did right in turning down her claim. She also believes that it was not her fault and she says she’ll have no part in taking the blame for the suicide. Mrs Birling also says that it should be the father or the un-born babies fault because he should finically support her if nothing else which is what he tried to do.
Eric felt terrible after what he had done and didn’t want to do it in the first place. He got the poor girl pregnant, said he would marry her and stole money to try and support her, it wasn’t his fault she didn’t take it. I think the inspector affected Eric very strongly.
The inspector affected the younger generation so much more than the older. I think this is because they are younger and have more modern views of the world today and feel strongly against their father. The older generation didn’t care, felt it was everyone else’s responsibility but their own and that should never be acceptable. For example Sheila says, ‘yes but it didn’t seem to be anything but terrible at the time don’t you under stand? And if I could help her now, I would.’ And Eric says, ‘according to you I ought to feel a lot better.’ This is the guilt coming out of them; no one else seems to under stand but them! So Eric tries to lay down the truth to the rest of the family. ‘And the girls dead and we all helped to kill her-and that’s what matters’ and ‘Well I don’t blame you. But don’t forget I’m ashamed of you as well-yes both of you’ that last quotation is aimed at Mr and Mrs Birling as they are the two main characters who do not take responsibility for their actions they blamed on others!
This play relates to a lot of social and historical factors, mainly because of what Mr Birling says at the beginning of the play in one of his long speeches. ‘Last month, just because the miners came out on strike, there’s a lot of wild talk about possible labour trouble in the near future. Don’t worry. We’ve passed the worst of it’ He says all about the labour strikes and says don’t worry about it but at this time many labour strikes are about to happen! Just after the play is set many labour strikes accrue. It is as if Mr Birling can tell the future but does it all wrong.
Mr Birling also says ‘And I say there isn’t a chance of war. The worlds developing so fast that it will make war impossible.’ This statement is completely incorrect as there is going to be a war and it was coming up close to this period of time just as was the sinking of the Titanic which is another piece of false information he talks about. ‘Titanic-she sails next week-forty-six thousand eight hundred tones-every luxury-and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.’ The Titanic was sinkable and did sink.
One true piece of information that Mr Birling did give us is that he says we are making progress with planes and cars etc. ‘Look at the progress we are making. In a year or two we’ll have aeroplane that will be able to go any where. And look at the way the automobiles making headway.’ We used planes in the war which is very close to this period of time and cars (automobiles) were becoming more fashionable but mainly to the rich as they were the only ones who could afford the latest pieces of technology that were able to transport you from one place to another.
This is important because it tells you something about Mr Birling and what he was interested in. Also it tells us that Mr Birling didn’t know what he was talking about because most of the things he talked about were false! The world was changing and developing and becoming more modern but were the people following? Well most were like Sheila and Eric but still many weren’t like Mr ad Mrs Birling who were still very old fashioned.
I feel that the inspector should almost always be centre stage as he is such an important character and I feel that the only way to get his message across is to have him positioned correctly under the correct lighting to show the audience just how important the character actually is. I’d have him centre stage as I said earlier virtually all the time he is on stage and he should be under a brighter light than the others because he has to have the sense that he is almost not real like an angel. Angels have bright lights to show they are good and so does the inspector. I think the audience will feel his importance more with the correct staging. I mean if he was just stood any where and every where he would rewin the whole effect, which brings me on to his costume. He should wear a long coat and a tall hat just as your usual inspector would but with the light shining off of him, I hope the audience will sense a whole different character not just an ordinary inspector.
The inspector is the most important character in the play as he is passing on the message of the play. The message I picked up from the play is to take responsibility for your own actions and treat others how you wish to be treated because I wouldn’t want to be treated how Eva got treated, so in fairness the Birling’s should get it all back but no one is horrible enough to treat any one person so badly they have to turn to suicide. But I feel that the Birling’s did get it back right in their faces and all at one time though guilt. They are going to have to live with the guilt for the rest or their lives: I mean could you sleep at night knowing you had helped someone to their death? I know I couldn’t!
I think that J.B Priestley’s ideas are correct like the class system is wrong and everyone does deserve the right to be treated equally. Sheila and Eric do agree with this to which gives hope for the future and youth will have better views towards
Things like the class system etc. The play I think is successful and does make you think in the terms that young people would want to be the hero’s in the play and I believe that the hero’s were Eric and Sheila or the Youth. These problems aren’t relevant today because we don’t stick by the class system and we do try to treat others equally but we do have similar problems like war where people should look and admit their wrong just like Sheila and Eric I believe they have set a good example for the readers.
