How Is Gerald Presented In An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls written by J. B. Priestly was first published in 1945. It is a play which has a strong focus on the themes of social responsibility, age, gender, and class. Priestly uses these themes to remind us that not being aware of our actions can sometimes lead to other receiving them as consequences. He wants us to be responsible for both the welfare and behaviours of ourselves but also of others. In the play, we find that some characters tend to be more immersed in either themselves or money/business and this leads them to being a lot less of an admirable character than the ones who are willing to recognise and acknowledge their mistakes. Therefore, although there is nothing admirable about Gerald or Mr and Mrs Birling, Priestly

When being interviewed by the inspector Mr Birling says “Still, I cannot accept any responsibility” meaning that he is aware that he has done something but has no care to take any of that responsibility upon himself. Mrs Birling also feels the same way. This is seen when she says, “Unlike the other three, I did nothing that I’m ashamed of… I considered it my duty”.

Gerald is a bit different in that he was willing to admit that he was ashamed of what he had done however he was also ready to move from what had happened very quickly. This is shown when he asks, “Everything’s all right now Sheila, what about this ring?” Therefore, we can confirm that none of these characters can be considered admirable whatsoever.

The inspector is responsible for initiating the feelings of remorse and sympathy of the actions that led to Eva Smith’s death. When debating with Gerald in amongst the interviewing the inspector states that “sometimes there isn’t as much difference as you think.” What he is trying to tell us is that you won’t always find that criminals are wearing a black mask and black robbery suit, instead they may just be wearing normal