2.1.5

Blame & Responsibility

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Blame and Responsibility: Characters

Priestley uses An Inspector Calls to highlight the unfair attitudes in society. Generally, the upper-class people refused to acknowledge how their actions affected the lower classes. The following characters accept no responsibility:

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The Birlings

  • Priestley uses Mr and Mrs Birling to highlight the belief that lower-class people deserve their misfortune, and that upper-class people are entitled to (have the right to have) fortune, wealth and easy lifestyles.
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Mr Birling

  • He refuses to accept any responsibility. Instead, he sees Eva as a troublemaker for wanting a pay raise.
  • He dismisses (plays down) the issue.
  • At the end, he is happy to forget the whole thing.
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Mrs Birling

  • She refuses to accept any responsibility.
  • She feels that the father of Eva’s child should be the one responsible – until she realises it is her own son.
  • She then pushes the blame onto Eric.
  • She still refuses to accept that she did anything wrong even in her charitable role.
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Gerald

  • He refuses to accept any responsibility.
  • He feels that he did his part in helping Eva. He does not feel guilt over making her his mistress.
  • He does not feel that he did anything wrong. He is very happy to forget the whole thing when he thinks the inspector is fake.

Blame and Responsibility: Characters

Priestley uses An Inspector Calls to highlight the unfair attitudes in society. Generally, the upper-class people refused to acknowledge how their actions affected the lower classes. But Priestley also uses the younger Birlings to suggest that the younger generation give some hope for society:

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Sheila

  • She is shocked when she learns what happened to Eva because of her actions.
  • She feels extreme guilt and accepts responsibility for her actions.
  • Although she acted like a spoilt child, she matures in the play and accepts the role she played in Eva’s suicide.
  • She even tells her parents off for refusing to accept responsibility for their own actions.
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Eric

  • He acknowledges that his actions were wrong.
  • He accepts responsibility for the role he played in damaging Eva’s life and for contributing towards her suicide.
  • He also tells his mother she should accept responsibility as well.
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Inspector Goole

  • His role is to help each character to understand the consequences of their individual selfishness.
  • His role is also to try to encourage them to accept some responsibility. He hopes this will change their attitudes and help them to become less selfish.

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