Sheila is a direct contrast to Mr Birling’s character in the sense that she learns from her mistakes unlike Mr Birling and she regrets her actions in feels sorrow for Eva Smith. At the beginning of the play she is “Very pleased with life” as she is young, has become engaged and has everything to live for, however her happiness is soon to be lost as is her faith in her parents. Once she learns of her involvement and contribution to the eventual demise of Eva Smith her attitude changes to that of sorrow, guilt and remorse. “You knew it was me all the time, didn’t you?”, Sheila is more forth coming and open about her deeds than any of the other characters and it is this honesty that puts her in direct contrast with, most principally, her father and mother. She accepts her guilt without lies and her response to the tragedy is one of the positive aspects to emerge from the play. Through Sheila Priestly is representing the changes that will come about in society and the importance of the young generation “Your pretending everything is as it was before” at the end of the play, when the inspector has left and the family realises it was a hoax Sheila and Eric are the only ones who actually take the proceeding seriously and don’t understand the smugness of their parents. She is unable to accept her parent’s attitude and is both amazed and concerned that they haven't learned anything from their experience.
Sheila’s language also represents that of her situation during her confession and after when she realises what the inspector is aiming to achieve. In the text version as well as the stage direction her language is very irregular, in the sense the text version it is signified by the constant use of punctuation. In the stage direction her language is also very hesitant and she often pauses and rushes, showing she is nervous and sorry. Her language is riddled with hyphens “I would-…” . Through this use of language and presentation we can see that she is truly sorry “She almost breaks down, but just controls herself”. After the confession her language and presentation becomes much more confident, “(Stormily) Oh shut up Eric”. In the inspectors interrogation of Gerald she becomes more confident, pompous, and head strong as she is intrigued and wants to know what is going to be said. By using question marks and rhetorical questions her confidence is bolstered and the pace of the conversation is increased, “Was it after she left Milwards? When she changed her name…and began to lead a different sort of life?” She bombards Gerald with a barrage of questions that she knows will not be answered but feels the need to ask anyway.
“(urgently, cutting in) Mother, don’t – please don’t. For your own sake, as well as ours, you mustn’t…” Later on in the play Sheila becomes more erratic in her behaviour (urgently, cutting in”) and this can be seen by the use of punctuation and end-stops as seen above. This eccentric behaviour is influenced by the inspector whom Sheila is now fully aware of and knowledgeable of his motives and methods of getting to the truth. “You mustn’t try to build up a wall between us and that girl. If you do, then the inspector will just break it down. And it’ll be all the worse when he does”.
Sheila is very important to the play and is a crucial character, her attitudes towards the events that take place that night are in stark contrast to that of her kin. We see that she is a woman of strong will “Girls are not cheap labour, they are people” she also rejects Gerald after finding out about his involvement with Eva Smith (Daisy Renton). Through Sheila Priestly is the ‘future’ of youth in that era and she can bring about this social change that he so wanted to see. One example and parralel to the quote that “Girls are not cheap labour…” is the movement for women’s right’s that begun shortly after World War 1 and also the employment of women during World War 2 where women started to do jobs that were never before deemed possible for them.
Gerald is another important character in the play although his presence in the latter stages of the play is limited. Gerald is much like a younger version of Mr Birling. He often engages in conversation and converse with him mainly. We see him form the start as a very respectable and reputable young man. “I’m treating Gerald like one of the family” this quote shows that Mr Birling regards Gerald quite highly. Later on however, we see this ennoble character reveal things that are in contrast to what we saw him as before: a respectable and dignified man.
Through Gerald Priestly shows us that even respectable men like Gerald Croft can lack decency and dignity when fuelled by their desire for lust. “Alright- I did for a time. Nearly any man would have done” here Gerald is trying to justify his actions and desire even though he knows he is wrong and his attempt at an excuse is in vain. Through this segment of the play Priestly is telling us that hypocricy is still rife within the upper-classes. Gerald may seem like a charming, respectable do-gooder whereas he is really a typical womaniser. Gerald is the character that facilitates the ending as he was suspicious of Inspector Goole. It is his discovery of the truth that brings about and influences the ending. In this sense we learn that Gerald is a very clever young man. Through him the conclusion is built and we learn more of Eva Smith through his revelations.
Inspector Goole is the most intriguing character in the play, a sense of mystery and authority surround him and his presence is immediately effective and known to all. “He creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity, and purposefulness…he speaks carefully, weightily” He enters at an important time just as this picture of an idyllic rich family is complete and on the surface all looks content in their world. So as he enters and gives the audience of subtle sense of foreboding. The inspector is by far the most important character in the play and he is instrumental in the plays development and outcome. It can be said that the Inspector represents our conscience and the socialist views of Preistly. He asks the questions that may seem to be lingering in our minds whilst watching or reading the play but the also implements some of his won thoughts into the play. “There are a lot of young women living that sort of existence every day… If there weren’t, the factories and warehouses wouldn’t know where to look for cheap labour. Ask your father” in this quote Inspector Goole is telling us his view of the situation and what the real life situation was in those days to make us aware.
The inspector has prophet like qualities that portray all that is wrong with present society and he reminds us of the guilt, our family and conscience. “If men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught in fire and blood and anguish. Good night.”
To ensure that the play was good and worked to a dramatic effect Preistly used the system of 3 unities, an ancient Greek method of writing plays, the 3 unities are time, it must happen in 24 hours, place, it must all happen in one place and of action, and no action should be superfluous to the play. The structure and presentation of the play help convey the message because the audience are in a way subjected to the same treatment as the family. There are no intervals in the two and a half hour play and the timescale is also directionally proportional to what it is in the play. Two hours in the play is really two hours for the audience. This Play manages to hold onto the audience’s attention and fascination with an iron grip, which is matched only by the plays morality.
Through this subjection using the Greek principle of 3 unities thePlay forces the audience to deal with ethical problems, it forces people to realize that we have to deal with the social problems and that we cannot merely pass the problem onto some body else. We all have to deal with problems as a collective which is what Inspector Goole was trying to say: “We have to share something. If theres nothing else, we’ll have to share the guilt”.
Various other methods are used to engage the audience and actively involve them with the play. “Verserendung” (making strange) is one method used within the stage direction to make things on stage seem strange so people question the events therefore making them more analytical and critical of the event and situation and is the means of making the audience play a thinking and active role in the play. This works to great effect in some aspects of the play such as the presentation of the Birlings house on stilts and the dining room open for all to see.
‘Brecht’ a German dramatist believed that you should heavily dramatise a play and this is shown through “verserendung”. One example of this can be seen in the character portrayal of Sheila, in her confession she directs her speech and emotions towards the audience instead of the characters in the play. This can also be known as the “4th Wall”, by breaking down the fourth wall the audience is directly involved.
Through the Inspector acting as our conscience we are made aware that there are those in elite positions in society who have power and abuse it. They take advantage of those weaker than themselves. Eva Smith was a working class girl trying to make a living. Through those in power she was used more as an object than a human being.. Preistly wanted to show that this will continue to happen if we do not learn from our mistakes. Between the time span 1912-1945 we have seen what happens to an uncaring society. The country experienced World Wars, unrest, revolts, fascism and the Holocaust. By 1945, when Preistly wrote this play it was possible to look back with hindsight and see the errors and faults in our society. This emphasises how important it is that we care for each other and help those weaker than ourselves rather than just think of ourselves just as the Inspector tried to say.
