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inspector calls characters - Coggle Diagram
inspector calls characters
Sheila
'it was my own fault'
Accountability
guilt
socialism
'Mummy' to 'Mother'
innocence to adulthood
maturing
no longer the baby of the family
'it frightens me the way you talk'
distancing herself from her parents
sheila has changed for the good
start
capitalist
'now i really feel engaged'
materialistic
only feels married with a ring
End
socialist
cares for humanity
character of change
mr birling
Start
'unsinkable absolutely unsinkable'
dramatic irony
Mr Birling is demonstrating the entirety of capitalism to be foolish
'there isn't a chance of war'
dramatic irony
'Russia will always be behind naturally'
dramatic irony
capitalism vs communism
capitalism vs socialism
he doesn't care about the humanity side of the workers as he only cares about the money and what benefits him. this is backed up by Sheila saying 'these girls aren't just cheap labour-they're people'
Eric and Sheila vs Mr and Mrs Birling
at the start of the play they were all capitalist whereas later on after hearing about the death of Eva Smith/Daisy Renton, sheila and eric switch to being socialist as they are caring about the death. Mr Birling thinks he is always right and he is hard headed
End
Birling doesn't change his ways because as soon as he finds out the inspector is fake he goes back to his original thinking and carries on as a harsh capitalist as if nothing happened
mrs birling
Bad parent
'he's only a boy'
unaware of Eric's drinking problem
capitalist
'my husband was Lord mayor only two years ago'
using social status to intimidate inspector
stubborn
'i don't see any particular reason why I should'
doesn't want to answer the inspectors questions
criticises members of her family even though she brought them up to be like this
"What an expression, Sheila! Really, the things you girls pick up these days!"
gerald
smart
has the initiative to go out and ask a real inspector if Inspector Goole is real and then put the pieces together and realise that the picture of the girl may not be all the picture and he might of been on about different people
At the start of the play he seems very comfortable - making himself at home and behaving like a member of the Birling family he even makes fun of Eric.
"Sure to be, unless Eric’s been up to something."
Mr Birling suggests that he is in line for a knighthood so long as the family have behaved themselves. Gerald confidently makes a joke at Eric's expense which is full of irony.
Eventually Gerald gains some respect from Sheila and the audience for being honest about his affair.
"The girl saw me looking at her and then gave me a glance that was nothing less than a cry for help."
Gerald honestly tells the story of how he met Eva. He was in the wrong to have an affair and then abandon Eva but, his use of emotive language 'cry for help' makes us realise that he genuinely felt sorry for her and wanted to help her.
eric
lacking confidence from his father putting him down all the time.
emotional when he hears about Eva Smith/Daisy Renton he is distressed and understands that he might have been the last one to have made her kill herself
from a child to his parents
to his parents indireclty killing his child
capitalist vs socialist
'the money is not the important thing. it is what happened to the girl.' this is the opposite of Mr Birling and Mrs Birling
Eric is a young adult who likes to drink and this is backed up by Sheila saying 'your squiffy' and also the inspector notices
'not quite at ease, half shy, half assertive' - stage direction
only half one and half the other implying he is changing characters who is at times quiet restlessness
sense of mystery about him, foreshadows secrets with eva smith
doesnt know how to act sometimes- parents neglected him for social ladder
'why shouldnt they try for higher wages'
showing empathy for eva
'they' - lower class people, no respect for for their class
going against capitalism
'not the kind of father a man could go to when he is in trouble
poor parenting/ neglection
standing up to his dad
taught behaviour from bad parenting by Mr Birling to mistreat women and anyone lower class
the inspector
When he tells the others about Eva Smith's death he leaves in the gruesome details.
"Her position now is that she lies with a burnt out inside on a slab."
This is such a shocking image presented in plain language, it is not surprising that it impacts upon the emotions of the other characters and the audience. The Inspector uses this language intentionally to make the family more likely to confess.
The stage directions that describe the Inspector give the impression that he is an imposing figure. His tendency to interrupt and control the conversation adds to this impression too.
he creates at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.
The fact that his presence combines 'massiveness' with 'purposefulness' suggests that the Inspector would be a very imposing figure.
'goole'
this creates ghoslty connotations to that he isn't actually an inspector
negative connotations
fire, blood and anguish
links to war which priestley lived through