When the audience first meet the Birlings, they see them as an upper-class family who are respectable, although a little snobbish. However, as the audience carries on watching, they see that although the Birling family have the appearance of respectability, they are not as respectable as they would have people think. Eric has a drink problem, as Sheila says, he gets a bit “squiffy” (drunk), and Mr Birling is a slave driver who doesn’t care about workers rights and is only interested in taking care of number one (himself).
Even before we find out about the crimes that the Birling family have committed against Eva Smith we as an audience, in the first part of Act 1, discover that they are not as respectable as they make out to be. They give away the character traits.
Also before we hear about Eva Smith we get subtle hints at the beginning of the play that the Birling family are not such perfect people. Mr Birling is very interested in himself from the very beginning of the play. He describes himself as a “Hard headed businessman”. However, he is not only a “Hard headed businessman”, he is also a slave driver.
“Mr Birling: Well, its my duty to keep labour costs down, and if I’d agreed to this demand for a new rate we’d have added about twelve percent to our labour costs.”
Mr Birling has a greed for money. H e wants his profits to up but the employees’ wages to stay down. By keeping wages low he can keep most of the profits.
The Inspector talks a lot about “fire, blood and anguish”. Mr Birling believes that there isn’t and will not be “fire, blood and anguish” in the world. Little does he know that war did break out and the audience knows that war broke out so it makes them think that Mr Birling is talking nonsense. Also Mr Birling says that the titanic is unsinkable
“…the Titanic – she sails next week – forty six thousand eight
hundred tons- forty six thousand eight hundred tons – New York in five days
and every luxury – and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.”
The Titanic did actually sink. This shows that once again Mr Birling doesn’t know what he is talking about.
From the beginning of the play Sheila has a bad temper even before the audience finds out about her getting Eva the sack. Eric tells us this.
“Eric: …She’s got a nasty temper sometimes …”
Also Sheila tells us this herself when she replies to Eric with “Chump!” This word is not a very lady like word of the era she was in. Also the exclamation mark at the end of the word tells us that the word is said with force and that she actually means it and it isn’t a joke. Sheila gives the audience the impression that she doesn’t think before she speaks. She didn’t think about Eva Smith when she gets her fired and she didn’t think how Eric would feel when she called him “Chump!” or even when she called him “squiffy”.
The impact of the Inspector is to bring all of the characters’ subtle flaws to the surface, revealing their true characters and what they are really like. Although the audience gets hints throughout the beginning of the play that Sheila has a bad temper, Mr Birling is a slave driver and Sybil is a snob we make allowances for this type of behaviour because it fits in well with their surroundings we accept this behaviour as normal because they are rich. The Inspector makes us realise that this shouldn’t be the case.
The Inspector is a pivotal character in the play. He has a moral superiority over Mr Birling although Mr Birling is of a higher status than the Inspector. The Inspector exposes the Birlings to the audience so that they see them for who they really are. The Inspector comes in and shatters the Birlings’ perfect world where it is okay to look after yourself – look out for number one.
“Mr Birling: …That a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself – and his family too - of course, when he has one – and so long as he does that he won’t come to much harm”
These are Mr Birling’s views on life and he thinks of himself first, and his family as an afterthought. Mr Birling is giving Eric and Gerald advice and the advice he gave them is based on what he has been through.
Eric is the only one that tried to help Eva but he stole to help her. Eva Smith didn’t want him to steal she wanted him to earn it himself. Eric was a little boy and he became a man before he even knew what a man had to do and what a man was. Eric confessed that he stole and that he got Eva pregnant. He should have asked for the money but he wasn’t man enough to ask for it. Eric is nothing like Mr Birling and this is good because Mr Birling would have dumped Eva at the first chance he got and he wouldn’t have given her a penny.
Sheila felt that she was guilty and she knew she was guilty along with Eric. The younger generation felt guiltier and this was because Eric and Sheila were moving away from the older values and ideas that say you have to look after yourself first Eric and Sheila say that you have to look after everybody not only yourself which is what the Inspector wanted them to think.
Sybil didn’t feel at all guilty she kicked Eva when she was down and when Eva needed help the most she didn’t give her the help she needed and wanted. Sybil didn’t trust her from the start because she used the name “Birling” but Eva was entitled to use the name as she was caring the child of Eric Birling. Sybil Birling was trying to hold onto her pride but whilst doing that she was being prejudice. She blamed Eva Smith and told her it was her fault for getting pregnant but it was Mrs Birlings’ family’s fault. The organisation that Mrs Birling works for is, “Brumley Women’s Charity organization”. The organisation helps people who need it bit Mrs Birling didn’t play by the rules. The charity that she works for were meant to help women like Eva.
Gerald was the only one that Eva actually cared for but Gerald used her. Sheila and Eva have a comparison they are both pretty but Eva is pretty on inside and out whereas Sheila is just pretty on the outside. This is shown by the fact that Sheila has a temper, and Eva is honest.
At the end of the play the audience gets the impression that they are all guilty in the same way.
“As they stare guilty”
“They” implies that the Birlings and Gerald Croft are all “guilty”. Where the Birlings and Gerald live they are perfect people. Sybil is a volunteer for charity which helps people less fortunate than herself, Mr Birling was once a lower class citizen and has worked his way up to become a higher class citizen, but Mr Birling has forgotten where he came from.
The Birlings and Gerald are all respected and trusted but if the people knew about the Eva Smith incident then the people wouldn’t trust the Birlings and Gerald as much.
The Birlings think they have nothing to hide. They don’t realise what they have done until the inspector makes them realise, he makes them feel guilty. Everything in the play links together. If the Inspector questioned different people at different times then it wouldn’t have linked together as well. Mr Birling keeps repeating the quotation “you have to look after yourself”. The inspector challenges Mr Birlings’ views. He says that if you do put yourself first and don’t think of others the world will end it “fire, blood and anguish”.
