The Birling Family as a Family with Bitter, Hard Personalities Throughout the play the Birling family are portrayed in two different ways by the two different generations of the family. The family consists of four members: Arthur Birling, " the hard headed business man " of the family, Sybil Birling, the punctual wife and their two children, Sheila who is in her late twenties and Eric who is in his mid-twenties. The play begins with the family having a celebratory dinner party due to the
the main functions of the inspector. The inspectors role is a key to the plot and conclusion and delivers morals and principles and how the functions of the inspector get used in specific places throughout the play. The play opens with the Birling family and Gerald celebrating the engagement of Gerald and Sheila. It is dramatically effective because you get to see all the characters in one room therefore seeing their personalities, instead of them being introduced one-by-one. They are celebrating
An Inspector calls beings with the Birling family celebrating Shelia's engagement to Gerald Croft, Mr Birlings friends son. In the beginning of the play the light is 'pink and intimate' until the unexpected arrival of the Inspector we find the light change symbolises start of an investigation put under the spotlight, being brought out of their own world into reality. The inspectors arrival is unexpected to the family 'some trouble about a warrant' Mr Birlings first thought to what the arrival
of Eva Smith. Each one of the Birling family and Gerald pushed Eva Smith a little closer to suicide but no one person was solely responsible for her death. It was not only the Birling's that contributed to Eva Smith's death but her position in the world she was in, she was very poor and low in society Mr Birling was the first person who we were led to believe started off the train of events that led to the death of Eva Smith. I don't believe that Mr Birling did anything that ultimately push
the Birling Family in Priestley's An Inspector Calls The inspector was very successful in his interrogation of the Birling family; each member revealed their past that was connected to the death of Eva Smith. He also brings out the true nature of each individual. Priestly spends much time detailing the scenery at the beginning of the first Act. He also depicts the family well before the inspector arrives. This indicates that the audience needs to have a clear idea of the kind of family Priestley
J.B. Priestley, takes the form of a “Whodunit”, it gradually becomes clear that there is an underlying serious issue. The play examines social responsibility, with the Birling family and Gerald Croft being questioned about the suicide of Eva Smith. When the inspector arrives at the Birling estate uninvited he suspects the family of being some way involved in the events leading up to the death of Eva Smith. The Inspector describes Eva Smith as ”A young woman…. A bit out of the ordinary…” As the story
However, he also uses other characters, particularly Mr.Birling, to show the audience how cynical some people can be. It is possible that J.B.Priestley set this play in 1912 for a reason. Arthur Birling is a rich businessman who thinks very highly of himself, even though he is often wrong. Arthur's family respect him and listen intently to his ideas that 'there isn't a chance of war' and the Titanic is 'unsinkable.' As the play was written in 1947 and set in 1912, this is an example of dramatic irony
AN INSPECTOR CALLS COMPARE THE LIVES OF EVA SIMTH AND SHEILA BIRLING “Property is that old fashioned way of thinking of a country as a thing and a collection of things on that thing.” This quote is taken directly from J.B.Priestleys late night post scripts on BBC radio in 1940, which were banned for being to critical of the governments actions, and can be used to sum up the capitalist view perfectly. I think this quote is made from the point of view of a capitalist who believes that the
said by Mr Birling, “Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two, you’ll hear some people saying that war is inevitable. Well I say to that - fiddlesticks” This play was first published after the second world war and so the audience will know just how wrong Mr Birling really is. Mr Birling also makes a statement about the ill-fated Titanic. “Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable.” The audience should know the tale of the Titanic very well and this just demonstrates again how wrong Mr Birling can be.
THE PLAY CALLED “AN INSPECTOR CALLS” – BY J.B. PRIESTLY The play ‘An Inspector Calls” by J.B Priestly, is set on an April evening in 1912. The play concerns the Birling family and Gerald Croft quietly celebrating over Gerald and (Mr. Birling’s daughter) Sheila Birling’s engagement, when an Inspector arrives unexpectedly amidst their family celebration to enquire about a suicide of a young pregnant girl called, Eva Smith. Through questioning, the inspector uncovers that they all have some kind of an