Analysis of Act One - Arthur Fired Eva Smith

Question 1

True or False?
Arthur thought Eva Smith was good at her job.

Answer 1

True. Arthur describes her as a “good worker” who was on track for promotion

Question 2

How do each of these characters feel about Arthur’s decision to sack Eva?
a) Eric
b) Gerald

Answer 2

a) Eric criticises his father
and insists that he “could
have kept her on”.
b) Gerald defends Arthur’s
decision, claiming that he
“couldn’t have done
anything else”.

Question 3

Why does Arthur mention to the Inspector that the Chief Constable is “an old friend”?

Answer 3

Arthur mentions that he knows the Chief Constable because he thinks he can intimidate the Inspector by showing that he has contacts high up in the police.

Question 4

Explain how Arthur reacts to the Inspector’s style of questioning in Act One.

Answer 4

Arthur is shocked and offended by the Inspector’s abrupt style of questioning. He warns the Inspector that he doesn’t “like the tone” of his questions and speaks to him “impatiently” and “angrily”

Question 5

Arthur claims that sacking Eva had “nothing whatever to do with the wretched girl’s suicide”. What does this quote suggest about his attitude to Eva?

Answer 5

This shows that Arthur doesn’t have any regret for what happened to her and can’t see how his actions could have affected her. Calling her by the adjective “wretched” shows that he has a condescending attitude towards her — he doesn’t seem to care that she’s died a gruesome death and is frustrated that her death has interrupted his evening.