Sheila Birling Essays

  • Sheila Birling Transformation

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sheila Birling is the character who undergoes the greatest transformation, and therefore is the character the audience relates to the most. In her initial stage directions Sheila is described as being ‘very pleased with life and rather excited’, which causes the audience to view her as shallow and self-centred. This is compounded by the lighting in Act One which is described as ‘pink and intimate’. This illuminates Sheila’s innocence and naivety, and reveals how she sees the world through rose tinted

  • Compare and contrast Mr. Birling and Sheila Birling

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Compare and contrast the characters of Mr. Birling and Sheila Birling in their attitudes to social issues. In the play “An Inspector Calls” by J.B. Priestly, Mr. Birling and Sheila Birling have contrasting attitudes to social issues. The author uses this difference to highlight the diversity between generations and their reactions to situations faced. Arthur Birling is the father to Sheila Birling and so is presented as the older, “old-fashioned” generation whereas Shelia is the younger

  • Arthur Birling and Sheila Birling in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Birling and Sheila Birling in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley I have chosen to write my essay about Mr.Arthur Birling and Mrs. Sheila Birling. I have chosen these characters because they have different views on the events concerning Eva Smith. Sheila, for instance, felt extremely regretful about the incident involving the sacking of Eva Smith and we can tell this because she says 'And I'm desperately sorry' neither did she show any relief after hearing that the inspector was

  • Compare And Contrast Mr Birling And Sheila

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sheila and Mrs Birling are from a same wealthy family, with the relationship of mother and daughter, but they have different in characteristic and attitudes throughout the novel, which show the contradiction in ideology of different generations. Right at the beginning of the play, during the engagement, Sheila and Mrs Birling have already shown contradict in their view of life. Mrs Birling advocated for Gerald when he excused for his absence for all of the last summer; “ When you are married you’ll

  • J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls

    2264 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

  • The Role of Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls

    1202 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gerald Croft's engagement to Sheila Birling and Mr Birling is holding forth on issues of the day. The year is 1912, the 'unsinkable' Titanic is about to set sail and as far Mr Birling is concerned, the First World War is not even a shadow on the horizon. You'll hear some people say war's inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks! The Germans don't want war. So even before the Inspector arrives, Priestly cast doubts on the wisdom of Mr Birling in the minds of an audience who

  • Sheila's Comment Explaining the Action of the Play

    4167 Words  | 9 Pages

    Sheila's Comment Explaining the Action of the Play "Well he inspected us all righ Between us we drove that girl To commit suicide" This sentence is very important to the story because Sheila realises that the inspector is not a real inspector but he has inspected them and they lost against him and it was them, each member of the family who contributed to Eva Smiths death. We will learn in this essay how each family member is a contributor to the death of an innocent person, Eva Smith

  • J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls

    2358 Words  | 5 Pages

    An Inspector Calls Discuss the character of Sheila in “An Inspector Calls” Sheila Birling is the daughter of Mr Arthur Birling and Mrs Sybil Birling. She has a younger brother called Eric Birling. Sheila is in her early twenties and is in a high social class. However they are said to be “nouveux rishe” because her father wasn’t born into a wealthy family, he made his own way through life to be were he is. This, in a way, justifies the attitude and manners his children and himself. What

  • Discuss the way in which Sheila changes throughout the play

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    the way in which Sheila changes throughout the play The Birlings are a middle Edwardian class family. The play is set in 1912, in the house of the Birling family in the North Midlands. At that time a woman's role was considered inferior to the men's as it was always presumed that the man was the head of the house. Women were also not thought of as being able to take part in serious conversations, and that they needed to be protected. At the beginning of the play, Sheila is described as

  • Interrogation of the Birling Family in Priestley's An Inspector Calls

    3732 Words  | 8 Pages

    Interrogation of 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

  • Comparison of The Attitudes Of Arthur Birling And Sheila Birling From An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    Comparison of The Attitudes Of Arthur Birling And Sheila Birling From An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley was first performed in 1945. The play was set in 1912 before the war; it centres on the wealthy Birling family. A visit from the mysterious Inspector Goole, during the celebration of Sheila Birling's and Gerald Croft's engagement, proves to be a horrifying experience for them as they learn that they have all played a part in the suicide of a young

  • Sheila and Mrs. Birling of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

    803 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sheila and Mrs. Birling of J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls In my opinion, the two characters with the most contradictory ideas, attitudes and responses throughout the whole novel are Mrs.Birling and Sheila, Mrs.Birling daughter. At the beginning of the play the first descriptions of Sheila and Mrs.Birling are different. They have different opinions on importance and life. After the Inspector arrives both women react in a different way to the news; one is distressed and the other

  • The Effect of the Inspector's Visit on Sheila Birling in J.B Priestly's An Inspector Calls

    925 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Effect of the Inspector's Visit on Sheila Birling in J.B Priestly's An Inspector Calls An inspector calls was written in 1945 and was set the week the titanic sunk in 1912. It was written by J.B Priestly, J.B Priestly was born in 1894. He wrote the play in 1945 and set it in 1912 because he wanted people to see what life was like when class divisions all looked down on each other and politics was a big role in society. Edwardian Britain in 1912 was a lot different from today; there

  • Sheila Wheelah Case Study

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sheila Wheelah self-drafted a constructive dismissal lawsuit against Barth Custom Intelligent Machines Inc. (BCIMI), a company in which she has worked at for nine months. Throughout her employment she has experience sexual harassment from her manager Harry Pigletti on occasions in his office, and twice in front of co-workers, even though he had been told to stop, and that he was inappropriate more than fifteen times. According to the lawsuit, Sheila has suffered serious embarrassment, damage to her

  • Character study on Inspecter Calls by J.B Priestly

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    ONE WHO CHANGES, AND ONE WHO DOESN’T IN 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

  • Imagine you have been asked to direct J.B. Priestley’s “An Inspector

    3664 Words  | 8 Pages

    would you give to the actor playing the part of Mr Arthur Birling At the opening of the play, Priestley presents a typical Edwardian middle class business family. The arrogance and pomposity of the Birlings is clear immediately as Priestley remarks, “they are all feeling rather pleased with themselves.” As the audience are introduced to the play the Birlings are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. Mr Birling is a successful businessman who has been active in local

  • Differences between Mr Birling and the Inspector in An Inspector Calls

    1170 Words  | 3 Pages

    between Mr Birling and the Inspector “An Inspector calls” Essay on the differences between Mr Birling and the Inspector The play was written in 1945 and set in 1912 with a society very different from ours. The society of 1912 was divided into classes and how much money you had. People were not treated as equals and those of a lower class (e.g. Eva Smith), were treated with disrespect and no equality by those of a higher class with bullying attitudes and influences (e.g. Mr Birling and his

  • Difference in Reactions of Sheila Birling and Her Father in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    Difference in Reactions of Sheila Birling and Her Father in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls Coursework. Sheila Birling and her father react totally differently to the 'inspector.' How far would the audience agree? Author Birling I do agree that Sheila Birling and her father Author Birling react differently to the inspector. This shows because when the inspector was talking to Author Birling, he was very annoyed at the inspector and didn't want to listen to what he had to say,

  • Review Of An Inspector Calls

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

  • J.B Priestley use of Sheila Birling to Convey His Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    J.B Priestley use of Sheila Birling to Convey His Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls In An Inspector Calls, Sheila Birling is an important character, used by J.B Priestley to put across his message to the audience. I am going to talk about socio-historic content, Sheila at the beginning of the play, Sheila’s reaction to; finding out the girl had died; finding out her father sacked the girl; finding out she contributed to the girl getting fired; finding out that Gerald knew the