Ranking on Characters in an Inspector Calls Essay Example
All of the characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ are in some way responsible for the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton.
Eric Birling is described as ‘not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive’. He seems embarrassed and awkward from the start. The very first mention of Eric in the script is that he guffaws and he is unable to explain why he is laughing. This may mean he is nervous about something. It is soon clear that he is a heavy drinker when Gerald admits, “I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard”. He feels guilty about the relationship he had with the girl which is why he supports her when his father talks about how he sacked Eva. He was quite responsible as he was more concerned about giving her money than the repercussions of stealing from his father’s office and he is frustrated about the fact that his parents aren’t admitting that they had played some part in her death and she stands up to his father when Birling tries to threaten him. He realises the seriousness of the situation as he has played the most part in her death and feels most guilty.
Gerald Croft is not willing to admit to knowing the victim in the first place because he doesn’t want Sheila to find out about his relationship with her. When he hears of her death, he is very moved which shows that he certainly knew her otherwise he wouldn’t feel this way. He tells the inspector that he arranged for her to live in his friends flat because he felt sorry for her. He tries to come up with as much evidence that the inspector is a fake to protect himself and he even goes to the infirmary and finds out that there has not been a suicide case in a long time.
Mr. Birling is quite a different character to the rest of the family. He is described as a man in an upper class, who dresses quite heavily, showing of his professionalism and his business like self. We can see from his character that he is quite proud of himself, but this also gives the effect of him being quite boastful. We know this as
Eric Birling is described as ‘not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive’. He seems embarrassed and awkward from the start. The very first mention of Eric in the script is that he guffaws and he is unable to explain why he is laughing. This may mean he is nervous about something. It is soon clear that he is a heavy drinker when Gerald admits, “I have gathered that he does drink pretty hard”. He feels guilty about the relationship he had with the girl which is why he supports her when his father talks about how he sacked Eva. He was quite responsible as he was more concerned about giving her money than the repercussions of stealing from his father’s office and he is frustrated about the fact that his parents aren’t admitting that they had played some part in her death and she stands up to his father when Birling tries to threaten him. He realises the seriousness of the situation as he has played the most part in her death and feels most guilty.
Gerald Croft is not willing to admit to knowing the victim in the first place because he doesn’t want Sheila to find out about his relationship with her. When he hears of her death, he is very moved which shows that he certainly knew her otherwise he wouldn’t feel this way. He tells the inspector that he arranged for her to live in his friends flat because he felt sorry for her. He tries to come up with as much evidence that the inspector is a fake to protect himself and he even goes to the infirmary and finds out that there has not been a suicide case in a long time.
Mr. Birling is quite a different character to the rest of the family. He is described as a man in an upper class, who dresses quite heavily, showing of his professionalism and his business like self. We can see from his character that he is quite proud of himself, but this also gives the effect of him being quite boastful. We know this as