WHO IS MOST TO BLAME FOR THE DEATH OF EVA SMITH?

The character that I am going to discuss in this paragraph is Sheila because she is the second person interviewed by the inspector. Sheila is partly to blame for the death of Eva Smith because when Sheila was in Milwards and she saw Eva smith looking at her trying on a dress and thought that she was laughing at her because it didn't suit her 'I went to the manager of Milwards and told the manager that if they didn't get rid of her then id never go to that place again'. But even though she helped towards the death she can unlike most of the other characters admit to the fact that she contributed, like Sheila says on page 23 'so i'm really responsible'. Another quote to show that she contributed to her death is that when Sheila saw Eva try the dress on herself it suited her so that made Sheila angry 'she was the right type for it just like I was the wrong type'.

The next character I am going to discuss is Gerald. Gerald contributed to the death of Eva smith because he had an affair with` her after he was engage to Sheila. Gerald contributed as well by giving Eva Smith a place to live when his friend wasn't there and not letting her pay the rent. But on the other hand he was not that responsible because this short relationship only helped her. Also I think this because they both agreed to split up and so Eva was partly responsible. The quick fling could have helped her because when the broke up Gerald gave Eva some money to "See her through the year." Gerald also says, "She knew it wouldn't last" which shows that it was just a temporary relationship that both of them knew would not last that long because Gerald had Sheila.

After Eva had finished her relationship with Gerald, she met Eric 'In 'the palace bar'. This relationship got so serious that Eva Smith eventually got pregnant. She told Eric that she was pregnant' she told me that she thought she was going to have a baby'. Eric gave Eva a lot of money, which he had stolen from his dad 'I got it from the office' and then left her by herself. Eva Smith must have known that this relationship would have been like any other ones she had had before and it might not work out between the two of them. I think that this contributed because it would have made Eva feel like she still could not get a serious relationship and only could attract bad luck. In my opinion Eva Smith by now felt that she had basically no one to help her in her life and probably felt the worse she would have ever felt until she commit suicide.

It was this thought that made Eva Smith try to seek assistance from a committee that was run by Mrs. Birling that was set up so that it could help young women in her or a similar situation. She did not grant any help for Eva Smith because she used the name of Mrs. Birling to introduce herself because she had no idea who was running it. I presume that she used this name either because she had run out of fake names or to try and get some level of respect from the council to help her claim by using the well-known and respected name of the Birling. This infuriated Mrs. Birling because she thought that Eva was trying to be insultive and because of this persuaded all the members of the committee not to provide any financial or emotional support or help to Eva Smith. "I looked into the claims made by this girl and they did not seem to be very good so I used my influence to refuse her case," states Mrs. Birling when the inspector is questioning her.

From all the evidence that I have shown it is obvious that Mrs. Birling was the main cause or factor for the suicide of Eva Smith. Eva Smith needed support after all the troubles and bad luck that she had faced, and as a last resort turned to Mrs. Birling's help committee. She must have though that she was not needed in life after the one hope that should have promised to help her refused to help her. In my opinion I think that Eva would have thought that she had no real reason to live and being a single mother with no money would be too hard on her and the child. All this was due to the selfishness and pride of Mrs. Birling. Even though everyone played some sort of role in leading Eva Smiths death whever it was a big or small part, Mrs. Birling did not show the slightest bit of sorrow or even feel bad for the girl unlike the other characters that played their part in her death. This gave me the image of Mrs. Birling being a very cold and proud lady who only cared about herself and her immediate family. Eva Smith's whole life fell apart because she had no money, no morale support, no family or friends and was lumbered with the responsibility to take care of child all alone. But Mr. Birling was the one who started the reaction of events that led to her getting fired, which shows that it was the older generation that had been the main reason for her death, because Sheila and Eric both felt bad when they realised what they had done while Mr. and Mrs. Birling where only interested in their self pride.