An Inspector Calls Eva Smith Character Analysis

Despite Gerald’s control over his fiancé Sheila seems more interested in the ring.Preistley may have been attempting to present the shallowness of the upper class society.

In An Inspector Calls the theme of gender inequality is explored comprehensively. In the play, most of the women are portrayed as feeble characters, unable to make decisions for themselves. Many people often think this of Sheila, who the men feel needs protecting from lots of things, like the information that a girl has committed suicide. The play was set in 1912 when the patriarchal society was the norm. So the women that were in the play would have been seen as possessions to their husband and therefore did not work or have careers. However it would have been accepted for women to participate in charity work as Mrs Birling was. Apart from that, women would have been simply seen as wives and mothers not workers and fighters. Women did not have the same rights as men most notably women did not even have the right to vote. The

Priestley in ‘An Inspector Calls’, explores the differences between the older and younger generation through the use of the characters Sheila, Gerald, and Mrs Birling. The differences in opinions between Sheila and the other characters represent the problems with the older generations' mentality. Priestley uses the character of sheila as a construct to criticise the mentality of the older generation. In Act 1 of ‘An Inspector Calls’, Shella is described as being ‘very pleased with life and rather excited’.

The death of Eva Smith can not be pinned on just one of the characters in An Inspector Calls. Though Each one of the Birling family and Gerald, in some way or another, contributed to the suicide of Eva, there was another factor that of which played a role, her social status. Eva Smith was a poverty-stricken young girl, who had no one but herself. The first run of events was the fault of Mr. Birling himself.

In the play An Inspector Calls, Priestley uses different characters to portray women. At the start of the play, Sheila is seen as fragile, materialistic and inferior to the men in her life, which is typically the view of higher-class women. This is followed by the perspective of lower class women having excellent morals yet being disposable, which is seen through Eva Smith’s character. This contradicts to Mrs Birling’s control on others and her strong social class views.

Throughout Priestley’s play, ‘An inspector calls’, a main theme runs about responsibility and differentiation between classes. Each character is accountable of doing something that brought about the death of Eva smith. All the characters contribute to her death in one way or the other, and all of them are at fault for the death of

How does JB Priestly explore and present the theme of gender in the play ‘An Inspector Calls”?

soon find out that Eva worked in his factory, and how she was fired by

An Inspector Calls is a three-act drama, which takes place on a single night in 1912, and focuses on the Birling family, who live in a wealthy but not particulary homely house in Brumley. The story begins when the mysterious Inspector Goole calls unexpectedly on the prosperous Birling family. The idea of the play, and particularly the role of the inspector, is to try to bring the Birling family to understand that they have a moral responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, if not a legal one. In Act Three, the Inspector tells the Birling family: “The girl killed herself and died a horrible death. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it.” But who was really the

that of Eva Smith, and wanted to show how hard it is to cope with life

Throughout the play An Inspector Calls by J B Priestley, it is clear that Priestley strongly believes in the importance of a caring society and the consequences of our actions. He presents these views on inequalities through the presentation of Sheila Birling. This is done in various different ways using numerous techniques.

John Boynton Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire on September 13th 1984. The play “An Inspector Calls” was written by him in 1945, and came onstage in 1914. An Inspector calls, is a play that revolves around the apparent suicide of a young woman called Eva Smith. In the play, the unsuspecting Birling family are visited by the mysterious Inspector Goole. Priestley uses a variety of different techniques, especially language and quotations, to contrast and elicit differing responses to Mr Birling and Inspector Goole.

In the play 'An Inspector Calls', many contrasts and paradox's are present and at the centre of them all is the character known as Inspector Goole. However, the inspector is not any ordinary inspector. I believe that the inspector is used as a device by Priestley to explore the wider themes of the play and to depict other characters true personalities. This essay will explore some of the techniques Priestley presents the inspector in An Inspector Calls.

by the news, and despite the fact that she does not know her, she is

J B Priestley uses a variety of theatrical and literary devices such as dramatic irony in this play to present the characters to the audiences in a way that shows they are often deluded or false. The play was set in 1912 but was not written and performed until after World War Two. Priestley’s intention was to make the point that everyone has social responsibilities and that they should fulfil them too. J.B Priestley presents the Inspector as an unusual figure who is a catalyst on stage, eliciting changes in the other characters.