An Inspector Calls; Compare and contrast the reaction of Gerald Croft and Mrs Birling to interrogation by the inspector:

In ‘An Inspector Calls’ Gerald Crofts ‘easy manner’ is disrupted by the Inspectors interrogation, as he begins to feel ‘distressed’ by his realisation of his part in Eva Smith’s/Daisy Renton’s life and death. Mrs Birling however remains entirely untouched by the Inspector’s questioning and she refuses to see how Eva’s death can have followed as a consequence of her actions. There are many similarities and differences between Mrs Birling and Geralds reaction to interrogation. This is the first similarity I notice, both mrs Birling and Gerald tried to deny that they knew Eva/ Daisy Renton as at first Gerald initially pretends that he never knew Daisy when the inspector informs him of the girls name is ‘startled’. He may of never even opened up to knowing her if Sheila didn’t convince it out of him, she figures out Gerald ‘not only knew her but he knew her very well’ from his guilty expression. After must persuasion from Sheila and the inspector he finally admits; ‘all right, if you must have it. I met her first, sometime in March last year’. Mrs Birling also took a lot of persuasion to admit her ‘crime’, she even lies to the inspector, when she claims that she does not recognise the photograph that he shows her, she says ‘no why should I?’. In fact she too would not of admitted to her ‘crime’ if someone had not pushed her too, the inspector says ‘Mrs Birling spoke to her and saw her only two weeks ago’. However I feel that Gerald did have some genuine feeling for Daisy Renton he is very moved when he hears of her death. He tells Inspector Goole that he arranged for her to live in his friend's flat ‘because I was sorry for her’ she became his mistress because ‘She was young and pretty and warm-hearted - and intensely grateful’ showing he obviously cared for the girl and so would genuinely be upset for her death. Where as I don’t think Mrs Birling cares much for Eva’s death and doesn’t think refusing to give Eva help was a bad thing she even says to the inspector ‘I’ve done nothing wrong and you know it’. At one point she even admits she was ‘prejudiced’ against the girl who applied to her committee for help and saw it as her ‘duty’ to refuse to help her. Her narrow sense of morality dictates that the father of a child should be responsible for its welfare, regardless of circumstances, this shows again she doesn’t even have time to be guilty before she is trying to take the blame off her and put it on to the father of the unborn baby, ‘its all due to him’ she said. Where as Gerald accepts what he has done and doesn’t try to blame Eva or anyone else he would ‘just like to be alone for while’, this shows me he must feel guilty. I also believe that Gerald’s and Mrs Birling’s attitudes to the Inspector during investigation are very different, Gerald is his normal self if anything he seems a little ‘uneasy’ with him where as Mrs Birling has the least respect for the Inspector of all the characters and she tries - unsuccessfully - to intimidate the Inspector and force him to leave. Also both of them know Eva through different types of experiences Gerald’s is a good one, as he loved Eva ‘for a time’ where as Mrs Birlings experience with Eva was not a good one to her most of it was a lot ‘of silly nonsense’. Over all the reaction they both definitely had in common was that after Gerald confirms that the local force has no officer by the name of Goole, Gerald realises it may not have been the same girl and he who finds out from the infirmary that there has not been a suicide case in months. He seems to throw his energies into ‘protecting’ himself rather than ‘changing’ himself, which is exactly what Mrs Birling is doing too.