Responsibilities Towards Each Other Discuss Essays

Responsibilities Towards Each Other Discuss Essays Responsibilities Towards Each Other Discuss Essay Responsibilities Towards Each Other Discuss Essay The play An Inspector Calls was written in 1943 but was set in 1917. This enabled Priestly to say things about the future. J B Priestly wrote this play as he saw an urgent need for social change and used the play to express his desire for social equality. This play makes us aware of what has happened and learn from mistakes made. Priestly hoped his play would give society the chance with hindsight to look back on the past and not just carry on life in the same way as before. Priestly took full advantage of writing in hindsight and makes sure that it will make the audience realise how wrong they may have been in assuming future events. The play is set in an industrial city in the Midlands of 1917 and concerns a wealthy industrial Arthur Birling, his family, his daughters fianci Gerald Croft and an Inspector. It shows how the family each help to destroy a young womans life-Eva Smith through their selfish and callous attitudes which results in her death. The play runs parallel to what was happening to society at the time. Each uncaring action or statement is backed up with ensuing consequences. The play opens with a conversation between Mr. Birling and family and Gerald Croft. The family is sitting in their living room celebrating the success of their daughters engagement to the son of a businessman of similar status as the Birling family. The inspector is the catalyst for the events of the play. He makes us realise the Birling familys responsibilities. He makes the characters and audience realise that everything we do has a consequence and that we must think about our actions. He guides the audience through the play and creates tension and revelations. Was it murder or suicide? J. B. Priestlys An Inspector Calls is a tragic play about a girl named Eva Smith who died in a forced suicide, but who was responsible? There where many people in Evas life that treated her unfairly. Each person pushed her closer to suicide, but no one person was solely responsible for her death. Whether one person deserves to take more of the blame than another is difficult to say. In my opinion, three people stand out and seem the most responsible. These people are Mr. Birling, Gerald and Sheila Birling. These people all treated Eva unfairly and are all partly responsible for her death. We must remember that these three people are not responsible for any actual crime but they all contributed to the downfall of a particular person due to their attitudes and beliefs. Mr. Birling was the first to have contact with Eva and I believe he started the string of unfortunate events that ultimately led to the death of Eva Smith. He hired Eva at his works and not long after, he fired her. Eva was unsatisfied with her wage of twenty-two shillings and a sixpence so she started a strike demanding a wage of only twenty-five shillings. Mr. Birling refused and without a second of consideration for Eva, he fired her. Mr. Birling was very ignorant and this ignorance convinced him he was right. When he was asked why he fired Eva, he answered, Well, its my duty to keep labour costs down, and if Id agreed to this demand for a new rate wed have added about twelve per cent to our labour costs. (Act one page 15 lines 8-10) Mr. Birling failed to see any wrong in his actions and refused to accept responsibility. When told of the consequences of his actions, that Eva was out of work for two months and desperate for money, Mr. Birling showed no remorse. He explained that, The girl had been causing trouble in the works. I was quite justified (Act one page 17 lines 28-29) Mr. Birling always seems to want his own way and when he does not get it he resorts to threatening behavior which clearly would make him unpopular with the audience. When Mr. Birling felt that the Inspector was asking too many questions Mr. Birling says about the chief constable, Perhaps I ought to warn you that he is an old friend of mine. Even before the Inspector had arrived we see Mr. Birling in an unfavorable light. For example in an attempt to be intellectual he says things that we now know to be completely untrue such as describing the Titanic as Completely unsinkable and saying The Germans dont want war. Mr. Birling is a cold, selfish and ignorant man. His selfish behavior drove Eva to suicide, but in his selfish eyes, he sees no wrong. Sheila was also partly to blame, but to what extent? It seems that Sheila played a very small part in Evas death, but in my opinion this is not the case. She wrongfully used her position as an important customer to turn Eva out of a job. This was undoubtedly a major factor in Evas death. She even admits, it was my own fault, and that she was in a furious temper She was jealous of Eva describing her as a very pretty girl too with big dark eyes. Although her actions show her to be a bad tempered, jealous and malicious person, you get the impression as she begins to talk that that is quite a harsh view of her and that although she does have bad characteristics, she isnt really as bad as you first think her to be. She shows herself to be honest admitting straight away all that she had done, that she caught sight of her smiling at the assistant and I was furious with her. Sheila does show empathy for Eva which is more than her father, Mr. Birling did. It is obvious that she does regret all that she had done with regard to Eva claiming that, If I could help her now I would. Sheila comes across as very remorseful as she says I felt rotten about it at the time and now I feel a lot worse. She bitterly resents what she did as well promising that Ill never, never do it again. This makes you feel less anger for Sheila who now feels immense guilt and has now been punished severely simply by knowing the implications her temper and jealousy had. Sheila was undoubtedly partly responsible but she has the decency to admit this. Unlike her father, Mr. Birling, she regrets her actions and feels immense guilt.