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Sheila And Eva Smith In John Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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In this essay I going to explore the two characters from “An Inspector Calls” by John Priestley, Mr. Birling and his daughter Sheila. In this play both of them have contrasting attitudes and as the play progresses, their disagreements increase gradually. What happened with Eva Smith opens their eyes: Sheila’s on the harsh reality of the world and BIrling’s on his daughter’s true thoughts and personality. They were both stunned to get to know their real selves; as Birling treated her like a child, assuming she cannot be as clever as she happened to be, whereas Sheila couldn’t realise how greedy her father is. Priestley presents both characters in a very different light, and as both of them come from the same family, it creates even more significant …show more content…

Inspector Goole’s second name is a pun, reference to ghoul, which comes to warn people about upcoming events, so that they can be prepared in some way. And whereas Sheila made conclusions for herself, Mr. and Mrs. Birling are bothered by completely different things. Which makes Sheila upset and almost disappointed in her family as they don’t understand the consequences while relying on their social status and privileges. Overall, in my opinion, Arthur Birling and Sheila Birling are absolutely different characters, though are both family members. Birling has old fashioned views, while Sheila’s way of thinking is more modern and out of the box set by the social standards. Birling comes across as arrogant and short-tempered, whereas Sheila may seem naive, but intelligent at the same time. I think that main purpose in “An Inspector Calls” is clarifying the consequences of inequality in the society, such as abuse of power and influence, along with privileges given to an upper

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