Sheila Birling, the daughter of Mr. Birling understood the effect she had on Eva Smith. Whilst she was in Milwards she was trying on some dresses and hats. She knew that the dresses would not suit her very well. Eva Smith was laughing at Sheila because she did not look good in the dresses. So Sheila went straight to the manager and complained saying that Eva Smith was being disrespectful and impertinent. She said if she saw Eva Smith next time she came in the shop to buy clothes she would immediately walk back and tell her mother to close her account. I think that Sheila was jealous of Eva Smith, so just to show off her power she got Eva sacked from her last decent job. All these incidents are adding up, and resulting in an enormous heart-breaking situation at the end.
Gerald Croft has had a big part to play in these chains of events; he had an affair with Daisy Renton and then he abandoned her when he felt like it. Gerald saw her at the Palace Bar. He started to talk to her because a man was harassing her. He took her back to his place and they talked. They met again and Gerald found out that she was completely penniless, half starved and she had nowhere to live. Gerald then gave her an apartment to stay in which his friend trusted him with. Gerald kept on seeing Daisy at this apartment and she became his mistress. Daisy was in love with him but knew herself that this could never happen because they were both from very different classes. But Gerald didn’t feel the same way about her as she did for him. Gerald eventually ended the relationship and Daisy knew that this was going to occur sometime or other. I don’t think that Gerald had a great part with Daisy committing suicide because Daisy knew that this relationship would not work out. The only bad thing that Gerald was doing was being unfaithful to Sheila, so I don’t think that Gerald pushed her in the path of committing suicide.
Mrs. Birling is very strict and snob like. Just as her husband she does not care about anybody else but herself. She is part of the ‘Brumley Woman’s Charity Organisation’. Eva Smith went to this society for help. When she arrived there, Mrs Birling asked her for her name and Eva replied “Mrs. Birling” The real Mrs Birling got angry with her and thought that the girl was being cheeky “Yes I think it was simply a piece of gross impertinent-quite deliberate-and naturally that was one of the things that prejudiced me against her case”. Mrs Birling used her power to dismiss Eva Smith’s plea for help “It sounds ridiculous to me. So I was perfectly justified in advising my committee not to allow her claim for assistance”. Even though Eva Smith had now gone, Mrs Birling still won’t take any responsibility in the death of Eva Smith.
Eric Birling was the last person to be questioned, and we instantly find out that he is the father of Eva Smith’s child. Eric is a drunken and confused youngster. Eric had a fling with her and he wasn’t in love with her. Eric helped Eva as much as he could but she refused to marry him. So Eric offered to help her and so he offered her money, which was from his father’s safe. She didn’t take the money because she knew that the money was stolen. This proves that Eva had higher standards than Eric. This was the last point in Eva Smiths life that she could take. Having a child with no husband and no job! She took her own life.
From this play we see that the inspectors identity, is one that the play never answers. One answer is that he is a dramatic device if he wasn’t there the play could never happen. But because all the other characters in the play are realistic and believable audiences ask about the reality of the inspector too. Gerald finds out that the inspector was not who he said he was. He helps the Birlings unpick the Inspector’s story of the girl. Eric and Sheila hang on to the conviction that “it was anything but a joke” while accepting that they may have been more than one girl or no girl that may have committed suicide. What I personally think is that Priestley created this Inspector to convey a message to all the readers saying that we are all equal and we don’t rise above each other “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”. I thought that Eva Smith also conveyed a message. She represents all the working class woman who gets exploited by others who think they are better then them. I also think that the inspector was supposed to be the characters guilty conscience. Sheila changes the most in her attitude towards life than others. At the beginning she was very stubborn and she acted like a ‘spoilt little brat’ but going towards the end of the play she becomes the more sensible one out of the others.
The Inspector’s goal was to make all the characters feel guilty at what they had done to Eva Smith and he was very successful in doing so and also to change their ways in their the future.
To conclude I have to say is that I enjoyed the play very much. I liked the way Priestley set the play out all in the same set. I also like the way that in between each act there was a cliffhanger and how it kept the audience waiting for what was going to happen next. I also like the fact that Eva never appeared on stage even though she was the main character. The best part to the play was how Priestley created the Inspector so that the inspector could break down the Birling family and make them guilty for Eva Smith’s death. The name given to the inspector that is Goole gives us the feeling that this character is an enigmatic figure. I felt very sorry for Eva Smith. I didn’t like the way she was used by the Birling family just so that they could be happy.
I did dislike the Birlings. As we can see each one took part in her death, but which one has the most to do with it. Sheila and Eric unlike their parents were guilty for what they did. They wished if they could turn the clocks back. Gerald Croft and Eric helped her and took responsibility for what they have done unlike the others who didn’t help when they had the chance. Mr and Mrs Birling helped a young women commit suicide. Overall I don’t like Mr and Mrs Birling because of the way they behave. They only think about themselves and not others. I think that this play was a success for Priestley.
