Sheila Birling Essay

characters of Sheila and Mrs Birling to represent the contrasting beliefs of capitalists and socialists, through the viewpoints of the older and younger generations. Priestley uses the distinct opinions of Sheila and Mrs Birling to show

pain and suffering in the outside world, just like her father. Mr Birling, who is "rather portentous", is so morally blind that he rules out any possibility that there will be a World War two and that the Titanic will sink. Priestly makes this very ironic because at the time that the play was written, the titanic had sunk and the World War Two had finished. Not only was Mr Birling content with his life, but also his wife, Mrs Birling is very much the same. She is even more hypocritical and arrogant

In the play, An Inspector Calls, Sheila and Eric Birling are important in the play. They show the themes of generation gap and responsibility. They also make the play more interesting. Sheila and Eric were both raised very differently Eric Birling went to school and college. This means that in college he was free and could do anything he wanted without his parents knowing. Mr. and Mrs. Birling never got the chance to teach him since he was away in college. Sheila, however, was at home meaning she

knowledge. The characters are the Birling family, Gerald Croft and of course the formidable Inspector Goole. All the characters start off in a lulled sense of security. Sheila begins very pleased with her life and with her fiancé Gerald Croft, as one might who is getting married. Gerald is introduced as the well-bred upper-class man about town. Eric, Sheila’s brother starts off shy and progresses through the play, as does Sheila. Meanwhile Mr and Mrs Birling are self-centred upper class adults

Inspector Calls. This is because the Birling family all helped to contribute to Eva's suicide. If all the characters didn't think that class was important, Eva would be alive. The older characters, Mr and Mrs Birling who mainly care about class. This is because they are very old fashioned and traditional. Mr Birling keen to be knighted to show his hard-fought rise to the upper class. He also wants Sheila to marry Gerald, whose father is a successful businessman. Mr Birling says "I'm sure she'll make you

in 1912 who are holding a celebration when the harsh figure of a police inspector arrives to investigate the suicide of a young woman who used to work at Mr Birling’s factory. In the first fifteen pages of the play, Priestley is able to make the Birling family appear extremely confident, whilst also creating subtle tensions, of which the significance later becomes clear. Confidence: In the opening pages of the play, Birling’s speeches contain a lot of dramatic irony. For example, he confidently

What is the role of Sheila in “An Inspector Calls”? In the play ‘An Inspector Calls’, Sheila is the character who experiences the biggest character change, from a juvenile young adult to the moral superior to her parents. In the start of the play, the audience reacts positively to her because she is defined as “pretty” and “lively”. However, the impression is promptly rejected as she is confirmed to be considerably spoilt and immature. She refers to Mrs. Birling as “mummy” and uses colloquial language

Birling. In the play, Eva is a worker for Mr. Birling who leads a group of workers who are demanding higher pay. As a result of being the ringleader, Mr. Birling sacks her from her job. This incident sheds light on the working life of people in early twentieth century Britain as Eva and the workers had to demand higher pay due to Mr. Birling refusing to produce a livable wage. The quote "It's my duty to keep labour costs down.” shows how Mr Birling is very profit focused and

Actor Playing Sheila When creating the character Sheila Priestley’s aim was to show the audience that the younger generation of Birlings, and therefore the younger generation of society, were the ones who were the most forward thinking and were the most likely to agree with a policy of socialism. Sheila is also used as a means to highlight the stupidity and selfishness of Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald. The play begins with the Birling family celebrating the engagement of Sheila and Gerald. Despite

Sheila is stated to be 'a pretty girl in her early twenties'. We would certainly not call someone in their twenties a 'girl', the word is used because Sheila has not grown up mentally. Gerald is 'an attractive chap', meaning that he's just a little big-headed, but generally well-mannered. Eric is said to be 'not quite at ease'. I do not think that Eric really fits in to the Birling family, he is quite different. The tension between Arthur Birling and the audience begins