Letter to a director of An Inspector Calls

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747 Moorgate Rd

Moorgate

Rotherham

S60 2RX

12th April 2002

Dear Mr. A. Jones

                

                I have read the letter that you sent me. Have you even read my play, or has one of your receptionists reviewed it. I totally disagree with you. There are several reasons for this.

You believe that the play is seriously out of date and has, therefore, no relevance to society today. Why? I believe that this play challenges the society of the day, because in the play you will find that the period that the play is set in, 1912, had a very traditional gender role. In the play Shelia plays a very dominant role, she her self is challenging the ways of life, by calling off the engagement with Gerald, she also talks back to her father and does not do as she is told. This behaviour is defiantly not normal for a woman in 1912. A woman in 1912 was expected to be housewife and was supposed to be there to have children and look after them. Yet the behaviour shown by Sheila is perfectly acceptable in this day and age. Another reason I have made this play out of time is so that the people of this day and age will be able to see what people were like in 1912, and we should not be like them. It is also out of date deliberately so that it does not offend today’s generations.

The characters are not unrealistic and stereotypical. I believe that the characters need to be this way to get across the message, that they are upper class and ostentatious, so they believe that they are soupier to all other classes, and they will use there money to get what they want. Mr. Birling has worked his way up to get where he is, he is a hard headed businessman but he is uneducated, the children are spoilt, they don’t have anything to work for because their future is wrapped in money. It is noticeably crude so that the audience can learn from the Birlings mistakes. All the Birlings treat Eva evilly in some way; Mr Birling fired her going on strike for better wages he says

                        “Its my duty to keep costs down”

This just proves that Mr. Birling is selfish because he is only thinking about money for himself; he does not stop to think about what will happen to Eva after he has sacked her.

Sheila then got Eva sacked from milwards, for looking prettier than her in a hat. When Eva is in the Palace Variety theatre Gerald rescues her from Joe Meggarty, who Gerald refers to as

“Obscene fat carcass”

who had wedged Eva Smith into a corner. He then took her for a drink at a county hotel has an affair with Eva and just leaves her once he has had enough of her. After Gerald leaves her she soon meets Eric and after a night out Eric rapes her, and she becomes pregnant. Mrs. Berling refers to Eva as

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                        “This absurd business”

This shows that Mrs. Berling is a cold, austere woman. Also Mrs. Birling turned her away from her charity when she most needed their help. Mrs. Birling then says

“She was claming elaborate fine flings and scruples that were simply absurd in a girl in her position, I accept no blame for it at all”

   

Here she is saying that she would not help her because of the mess that she has got herself into. When really it is the rest of Mrs Berlings family that have got her into the ...

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