ipl-logo

Sheila's Role In An Inspector Calls

1444 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What role does Sheila play in ‘An Inspector Calls’

What role does Sheila play in “An Inspector Calls’? Priestley’s play centred around morality is set in 1912 and explores themes of socialism, capitalism and responsibility. The character of Sheila is feasibly one of the most important in conveying the play's message of collective responsibility as a society. A young woman and daughter to the Berling family, Sheila is upper-middle-class and engaged to business owner Gerald Croft. The character of Sheila is complex, with many warring notions and ideas: the exposition drops hints of a budding left-wing ideology, which identifies that ideas such as progress, equality and rights are what compose the demeanour of a socialist. Throughout this play, we see Sheila outgrow her family’s rigid views -whilst …show more content…

Despite her age, Sheila is handled by society with the competence of a child. With very few responsibilities and little to no authority over her life, someone (either her family, the Berlings or Gerald) is constantly controlling her. This treatment of women in the 1910s was unfortunately very common and household work and minding children fell onto their shoulders. Women of this time could not live a comfortable life alone without a man providing an income, they had no right to vote, essentially belonged to their husbands, and were generally only employed in low-wage menial jobs. Despite Sheila and Eva Smith being of like age, the Birling’s juxtaposed idea of Eva Smith being able to provide for herself, whilst Sheila is expected to be provided for by her husband or family, highlights the different expectations women are held to from different social classes. Yet despite the Birling's idea of Eva’s being responsible for herself, in the playwright, Priestley frequently references her as a“girl”. Despite both Eva and Sheila being called girls, the stark differences …show more content…

Reflecting on her newfound socialist ideology, and the Inspectors departing speech, Sheila parrots his final words, reciting they will be the cause of “fire and blood and anguish” and expressing her opinion to her parents “it frightens me the way you talk”. The choice of the verb frighten demonstrates that she is afraid of her parents and anxious about their constant turning of a blind eye towards their harmful actions. Sheila persists in her argument, scorning her parents “So there’s nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn.” the repetition of “Nothing” emphasises that no progress has been made in changing the family’s capitalistic views of every man for themselves. Consequently, their actions have impacted others in ways they couldn’t fathom and ultimately pushed a young woman to suicide. Sheila urges her parents to open their narrow minds and take responsibility for their actions. Priestley uses Sheila as the body for his socialist message of how everyone should look out for each

Show More
Related
1344 Words | 6 Pages

John Boynton Priestley, the well-known socialist dramatist, used his character Eva Smith to shed a light on social classes and sexism in the 1910s through his 3-acts-play “an inspector calls”. Eva Smith’s identity does not get revealed in the play; however, she symbolizes the struggles of many people due to the oppressions of higher upper social classes and the extreme sexism and double-standardization women were facing at the time. Eva Smith remains mysterious as she was also named Daisy Renton and Mrs. Birling, it's also unrevealed if all three are in fact the same person or not, however, she still represents many controversial topics. Eva smith is first introduced as a young woman who died in the infirmary because she'd swallowed a lot of

Read More
290 Words | 2 Pages

In short story, The Bass, The River, and Sheila Mant, author W.D. Whetherell characterizes Sheila Mant to be a lazy, self centered, and rude teenager. Fisrtly, the reader finds out that in a low stakes game of softball Sheila does not like having a lot responsibilities. The narrator confronts her and tells her to move to a different spot but gets a response from Sheila saying “‘ I don’t like the responsibility of having a base’’(9). This shows how Sheila does not like having to be responsible for her faults in the game, so it is something that a reader would notice about her character and think that she is not responsible or just lazy. The next encounter with Sheila is a big turning point in the story for the reader to learn about Sheila’s

Read More
792 Words | 4 Pages

In act 2, Mrs. Birling is inspected as she refused her responsibility to give Eva the charity she needed as a result of being pregnant at the hand of her son. Mrs. Birling claims the inspector "look for the father of the child as it is his responsibility". As the audience are aware of the situation yet Sybil Birling is not the dramatic irony is allowed to play out as Mrs. Birling further pushes away her responsibility. She regrets her recommendations of who the inspector should really correct after knowing her son (Eric) is the father responsible. This regret after knowing the truth shows she was not true to what she said and only made these suggestions because she is a capitalist who will say anything to not be held

Read More
466 Words | 2 Pages

Title: The Birling family is like a pack of wild animals without a leader. Eva Smith committed suicide after Brumley women organisation wouldn't help her in 1912 the birlings influenced her. Sybil Birling and Gerald Croft are the worst offenders because they do and say things. It is undeniable that Sybil is the least guilty because she was angry that a lower class person used her family name while asking for help. Gerald is the most guilty because he cheated on Sheila and lied to Eva Smith.

Read More
924 Words | 4 Pages

After Eva had gotten fired, she was left completely on her own with no source of income. “It was the last real steady job she had, when she lost it – for no reason that she could discover – she decided she might as well try another kind of life” (23). This quote represents Sheila’s responsibilities of the death of Eva Smith as Milwards was her last real hope to make a good life for her and her soon to be baby. After she had got fired, she had no one to lean on, no steady income or no place to go. Sheila

Read More
1417 Words | 6 Pages

This would make the reader question the possibility that the inspector is portrayed to spread J.B. Priestley’s socialist message across to Sheila, as from contextual knowledge J.B. Priestley was a socialist. Towards the end of Act 3, Sheila character further develops. She begins to stand up for herself and to stand up to what she believes is right, ‘… I tell you – whoever that inspector was, it was anything but a joke…’. The imperatives ‘I tell you’ suggests that Sheila has now become assertive. She is now showing a greater understanding that people’s actions could lead to very serious consequences.

Read More
752 Words | 4 Pages

Was it an accident?' this is a direct connotation to Priestley socialist views and from this we can see that Priestley used Shelia as a mouthpiece to promote his socialist views and we can see the difference between the thoughts of the older and the younger. Furthermore Sheila was the first to accept responsibility for Eva Smith's death and take some blame when she said 'I know I’m to blame and I’m desperately sorry' this shows that the so called naïve are even more responsible and mature than the older generation. Moreover we see that she doesn’t believe about the barrier between the upper classes and the working classes she says 'I’ll never, never do it again.' this quote connotes that she has respect even for the working class and even was apologetic about it a girl of her class.

Read More
1005 Words | 5 Pages

Moments before The Misfit murders her, she screams out “‘You’re one of my own children!’” (O’Connor 627). This signifies that the grandmother has finally realized that she is flawed just as The Misfit is. After The Misfit shoots and kills the grandmother, he articulates that the grandmother would have been a better person only if there was “somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life” (O’Connor 627). This speaks to the fact of how difficult it is to change somebody’s way of thinking.

Read More
831 Words | 4 Pages

How does Priestley use language, form, and structure to present the character of Sheila Birling? Priestly, in consideration of his views on capitalism, presents Sheila Birling as having a common trait found typical in middle-class girls of the early twentieth century- materialism. “Now I really feel engaged”, the use of the adverb “really” is used to imply Sheila needs tangible items to have affirmation in her engagement despite, this being evident that she has been in a relationship for at least a year, as seen in “last summer”. This may suggest that her relationship is not based on emotions, but rather transactional.

Read More
1175 Words | 5 Pages

'An Inspector Calls' was written by 'J.B Priestley' in the year 1944/45 and it was set in 1912 before the first World War and the sinking of the 'unsinkable Titanic. The play was first produced in 1946 after the war. The play is about the Birling's that are celebrating their daughter's engagement with Gerald Croft and the Inspector interrupts them with the news about a girl's suicide. The girl seems to be driven to suicide due to the actions of the family and the Inspector wants the family to know the consequences of their choices and actions. Priestley uses the Inspector to convey his socialist ideas in the capitalist setting of the play with the theme that we are all responsible for each other, i.e each character's action led to the evitable

Read More
504 Words | 3 Pages

In the play An Inspector Calls written by J.B Priestley, the use of morality and double standards gives us an insight into the society of the early 1900s; which remains relevant in social stratification, cultural and deviance aspects. Through the story of Arthur Birling, Mrs. Sybil Birling and their children Eric and Sheila. The upper-class family, with untouchable reputation, enjoy of an intimate party soiree in honour of Sheila's engagement to Gerald Croft. Son of a well-known business man, Sir George Croft from Crofts Limited. When Inspector Goole pays a mood-changing visit, resulting in the systematic manipulation of the presumably respectable characters.

Read More
1041 Words | 5 Pages

In An Inspector Calls the character Sheila changes and matures significantly throughout the play. Priestly aims to encourage and persuade the 1912 audience to consider the negative power of capitalists and that socialism is a better way forward. Sheila contributes to Priestly’s moral message about socialism and capitalism by emphasising the possibility for change which is up to the younger generation. At the start of the play, Sheila is portrayed as a spoiled daughter who has been taught to be submissive to her parents.

Read More
544 Words | 3 Pages

This is shown again when Mr Birling describes Sheilas engagement to Gerald as a “good bit of business” that will bring two influential families together. This shows how he views women as commodities that can be used to strengthen social and economic ties, rather than as autonomous individuals with their own desires and ambitions. It reflects his capitalist perspective that values profit over social responsibility, and reinforces traditional gender

Read More
1642 Words | 7 Pages

Priestly attempts to exemplify in Mr Birling’s character into the type of mentality that majority of upper class capitalist business men had in the early 1900s in England. It is extremely ironic that the Inspector rings the bell of the house just as Mr Birling is telling Eric and Gerald that people must look out solely for their own interests ("a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own - and - “ act 1): throughout his interrogation, the Inspector champions the very opposite idea - that "we are all responsible for each other.” The Inspectors view on community as a whole is considered a very socialist view. Notably, Priestly was socialist after all and used the play as a more socially acceptable way of stating his opinion on social responsibility, politics and labour rights. The

Read More
1194 Words | 5 Pages

All of this pushed the notion of class boundaries onto the impressionable “darling Briony” (p. 65). The scene described at the fountain was full of underlying romantic tension and frustration felt by Cecilia and Robbie, yet Briony interpreted the situation as if “her sister was in some way threatened and would need her help.” (p. 114). Briony’s stubborn nature coupled with her intrinsic belief of social hierarchy resulted in her repeatedly assuming Robbie’s’ guilt, labelling him nothing more than “a maniac” (p. 119). Without Marxism’s ability to explain class differences it would be difficult to understand how Briony misunderstood the situation so greatly.

Read More

More about Sheila's Role In An Inspector Calls

Related Topics

Open Document