An Inspector Calls - responsiblilty

Eric is one of the two characters in the family who felt some empathy and guilt from the news. He saw lower class women as cheap entertainment once he was drunk, he used Eva and he felt guilty once he found out she needed help, he stole from his farther who had plenty of money and didnt need the extra £50, he supplied Eva with a money to help her however when she realised she was pregnant and he stole the money she refused any more, he asked her to marry him so he could help her with the child even though he had no feelings towards her however due to the social/class divide between them she would not agree and ran away.

He knows and admits that he was partially responsible for causing Evas suicide however mainly blames his mother as she was Evas last hope and due to a prejudice for the name Eva applied to the charity under (Mrs Birling), she was refused as a result of the actual Mrs Birlings high place on the govorning board of the charity and ability to convert others votes because of her power.

She Is the only other member of the family to realise that she, along with every other member of her family, is responsible for the death of Eva Smith, at first she is unsure of what is going on but as she realises what is happening and what has happened she is quick to admit her wrongs and helps the inspector in attempting to shed light to her parents that they are also partially responsible for eacha and every individual they meet or act towards as one small act can drive a person to breaking point or suicide.

Sheila and Eric are the youngest of the family and so are the most impressionable, less set in their ways and as a result of this they are the first to agree with the inspector and are the ones that, when Arthur calls the infirmary to check if there was a death of the woman named Eva Smith, are left with a lasting impression. They understand that although Eva may not be dead, they are still responcible for other people.

she is also clearly shocked by her familys actions as much as she is appalled by her own, it shows that even though her family may seem rosy and perfect, there are many imperfections however these are cast aside and thrown onto innocent or less wealthy people.

She is the most socially superior in her household and this is evident in her behaviour, she is a snob, she shows this quite a bit however the times that stand out the most are when Mr Birling thanks and praises the cook infront of their social superior, Gerald and as a result she tells Mr Birling off quite harshly. The second most noticable time is when she is extremily dismisive and prejudice towards Eva as when she is talking about her encounter with the girl she says, 'girl of that class' implying that they are almost a second species and can have no decency, this shows that she feels as though she can not be responsible for the womans actions as she is too low to be helped.

Sybil Birling does not take well to being accused of causing Evas death and says that she brought it upon herself, using such a high class name, she is appalled when her own name is mentioned as she wants to have no link to people of the lower class. out of spite from this she refuses charity to the girl even though she is desperate and it was evident that she had no other option, this shows me that Mrs Birling doesnt care what responsiblitys she has as a leading member of the brumley charity for girls in need and that she believes that we are only responsible for ourselves.

in his veiw, Arthur Birling has 'earned' his social status, as a result he is very proud of his industry and his status. Another result of this however is that he belives that people of a lower class are inferior to him and are only good for cheap labour. This is shown in his motto, 'cheap labour and high profit' which tells us that he does not feel at all responsible for anyone other than himself and his family, this is evident by the price payed to his workers not being enough for one person to live off, he can do this as he knows employment levels are competetive and so are the prices for the products, this means that all factories pay less to their workers which allows them to gain more proffit and for other factorys to als have cheap labour.

He acts in a rude and harsh mannor towards the inspector and trys to intimidate him when the inspector is trying to get the family to dig themself a hole. Birling has no respect and shows no responsibility towards any of the hundereds of men and women working in his factory. The fact that he dismissed her from her job so easily shows that he feels as though they are not real people and that they are only there to earn him money.