Differences Between Mr Birling And Sheila In An Inspector Calls

In this essay, I’m going to look at the two characters from “An Inspector Call” by John Priestley, Mr. Birling, and his daughter Sheila. In the play, both of them have contrasting attitudes and as the play progresses, their disagreements change gradually. It almost seems like the whole situation that happened with Eva Smith opens their eyes, and they see one another in a different light. As throughout the play it gets obvious that Birling didn’t know his daughter could say things that she did. But this would be kind of what you expect because, at the beginning of the play, everybody including Birling treats Sheila ( woman ~20 years of age) like a child. It also shows the different way of thinking between the two generations.

Arthur Birling’s main concern is money as he is a businessman, so he can be described as greedy. "...we may look forward to the time when Crofts and Birlings are no

Which shows that he didn’t learn anything, if you suppose that the Inspector was a ghoul trying to warn their family, he failed. Birling is more concerned about the scandal that can be occurring and him not getting the Knighthood. Whereas Sheila seems really upset, almost disappointed in her parents as they still don’t understand that actions cause consequences. Even when Gerald helps to figure out that it wasn’t a real police inspector, Mr. and Mrs. Birling feel relieved as act as if nothing has happened, but Sheila notices that even if no one died, they all did what they did and should not be happy about

Birling has old-fashioned views, while Sheila’s way of thinking is more modern. He comes across as arrogant and short-tempered, whereas Sheila might seem naive, but intelligent at the same