Inspector call's is a thought provoking play written by J.B Priestly it is set in the 1912. The play is about a family called the Birlings who h... We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other." Short sentences emphasise the importance of each point. Tricolon. As she finds out it is Eric who was "Silly and wild and drinking too much" (showing her disconnect from Eric), she starts to break down, possibly giving the reader some sympathy for her: However, During their relationship, Gerald made her happy and saved her from Old Joe Meggarty. He cared for Eva:

Oh - how horrible! Was it an accident?" - Shows how sheltered she is, she couldn't imagine someone wanting to end their life as she hasn't experienced anything bad in her whole life. hrough the stage directions, Priestley reveals that Eric was in his 'early twenties, not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive'; the asyndetic list here creates the sense that he is overwhelming and overbearing (perhaps alluding to the self-righteous superiority that his bourgeois lifestyle has instilled in him). In addition to this impression is his 'half shy, half assertive' nature. The adjective 'shy' connotes apprehension and nervousness which juxtaposes the implications of dominance and confidence with the adjective 'assertive'. The contrast displays the inner turmoil Eric is experience as he is not 'at ease' with himself. Rather, Priestley portrays Eric as having a 'half' and not fully realised personality that even he himself hasn't fully accepted. Perhaps this represents how Eric feels abandoned within his affluent upbringing and he is starved of parental love; in life his parents have failed to respect or value him as their son. There is an overwhelming sense that his own father is disappointed in him and rather admires Gerald more than him: 'you're just the kind of son in law I always wanted'. Perhaps Priestley is portraying the harsh consequences when there is a deficit of parental love because in the bourgeois society parents cherish materialism and climbing up the social stratum and by doing so they neglect the emotional well-being of their children. Priestley may be subtly criticising this concept which corresponds with the capitalist regime and by doing so he compels the audience to value socialism. A nice little promising life there, I thought, and a nasty mess somebody's made of it." Response to birling saying that the Inspector ruined their evening. We have to share something. If there's nothing else, we'll have to share our guilt." He says this to Gerald and Sheila.As if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive - community and all that nonsense." - Priestley presents Birling as a caricature of Capitalism, and pushes his own views through Birling's childish critique. The irony is clear- Mr Birling repeatedly says that Eric cares about nothing; in reality, it is Mr Birling who does not care about anyone but himself, while Eric is thinking about his consequences of mistreating Eva Smith. After this she tells the inspector that the one to blame is the father of the child (not knowing it is Eric):

He inspected us all right." - Shows that Sheila realises that even though the inspector might be fake, there is still a lesson that must be learned, and the inspector, fake or not presented that lesson They stayed together and he tells Sheila that he was in a relationship. Sheila admires his honesty, however. After a few weeks, Daisy knew that good times were coming to an end: There's every excuse for what your mother and I did - it just turned out unfortunately, that's all - " -The dashes indicate a pause in speech, possibly showing how Birling isn't as confident in his views any more, but possibly wants to convince himself and others that he is innocent. Does that satisfy you? So I refused." - asks a question and then answers it himself. Not interested in the views of others. But these girls aren't cheap labour-they're people" - Left wing notion, foreshadows her siding with the inspector, but also just shows how she cares for people more than Mr B and others.Sheila needs the expensive symbol of the wedding ring to validate her engagement. This suggests that she is superficial, materialistic, concerned with appearance. In this case, the ring is not a confirmation that the engagement is one of love but the material nature of the ring confirms that it's a business deal. Previously, only has verbal promise of engagement to Gerald, however this means little to her, she requires material proof to physically identify their love, showing that she upholds the same selfish and materialistic views and capitalist attributes of her father.

It can't be any worse for me than it has been. And it might be better." After her interrogation, she is determined to seek the truth, as it might make her feel better knowing she is not entirely responsible. But each of you helped to kill her. Remember that. Never forget it."- Assigns blame openly. Is very direct.It was my own fault. ... At least, I'm trying to tell the truth." - Shows how she full takes responsibility, and is telling the truth front on to the inspector, unlike any other character in the play. The fact that Gerald chose the 'ring' is equally symbolic of his dominance within the relationship. A ring is a symbol of not only love, but a covenant between two parties- it is supposed to be emblematic of a mutual agreement between two people. Conversely, since Gerald had the final say on which ring he presents to Sheila as a supposed token of their love, this implies that their relationship isn't reciprocal in nature, but is in fact controlled entirely by Gerald. The play ‘An Inspector Calls’, was written in 1945 by writer J.B Priestley. Its story revolves around a middle-class family called the Birlings, whom are cel... startled) What?""(pulling himself together) D'you mind if I give myself a drink, Sheila?"- The slang "D'you" shows his distress as being upper class he wouldn't normally say that. J.B. Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written in 1945, however, the ambience of the play was set within 1912. Throughout the play, a consistent political...

Before the play, she is described as being very innocent and sheltered from the outside world, cares a lot about looks: "Oh - it's wonderful! Look - Mummy - isn't it a beauty?" Broken speech shows how excited she is for a ring. After this Eric offered her money, but she refused and she didn't want to marry him, Eric says: "She treated me - as if I were a kid" showing his immaturity. my duty to keep labour costs down" - use of 'my' shows his arrogance, 'duty' suggests he feels an obligation to do this. The stage directions when Sheila is 'half serious, half playful' suggests that the actress says this line seriously and playfully as this is Priestley's dramatic intention. This suggests that Sheila's character, although appearing cheerful, is actually sensible. The quote also suggests that she holds grudges as she still holds this knowledge from 'last summer' against her soon to be husband. The first of many hints that all is not as perfect as it seems, in this case a hint that Gerald might be hiding things. Sheila has genuine concerns about the relationship and actions but she covers this with a flirtatious and jestful tone. Such hints builds tension in the audience and drive the play forward; foreshadows the conflict that is to come. This is Eric's first piece of genuine sympathy for Eva, and Priestley starts to show the audience it is an allegory; a story with a double meaning. On the surface it is about the death of a worker that they have all been connected too, but underneath it is about the realisation of moral responsibilities.Just keep quiet, Eric.", "Look - just keep out of this." Birling is contently trying to undermine Eric opinions and shove them away, as he thinks his opinion is the correct one, portentous. In the end after the inspector has left, Gerald play a main roll in trying to prove the inspector is fake, showing how although he is honest and sorry, he hasn't fully learned his lesson like the younger two: Breaking up of the sentence and the structure shows that first and foremost, Eric takes complete responsibilities for his actions, and his mother, and the rest should too. Whilst Eric's is siding with Eva Smith, it is still evident from his use of pronouns that he regards her as something separate to his family. There is a distinct difference between the use of 'they' to describe the lower class and 'we' to describe the business, he distances himself from her and still does not associate himself with the class, but only believes that as people they should have rights that allow them to have a voice and that he values her labour simply because 'she was a good worker', showing a more selfish and business like approach to whether letting her stay or not way as good idea. This is Eric's longest piece of dialogue so far, and this more knowledgeable and less conservative image of him differs from the more 'squiffy' Eric we saw earlier. This is one of the underlying layers of Eric coming out and campaigning for what he believes his moral, the inspector is a catalyst that has allowed Eric to have the 'activation energy' to contradict his father. For lower costs and higher prices." - The change from "She'll make you happy" earlier on to business talk shows how he can't help himself.