Analysis of Act One - Sheila got Eva Fired too

Question 1

Sheila admits that she got Eva / Daisy sacked from Milwards because:
A. Eva / Daisy spoke rudely
to her
B. She though Eva / Daisy
wasn’t important
C. She was jealous of Eva /
Daisy
D. She just loves a good bit
of drama.

Answer 1

C. Sheila was jealous because Eva / Daisy was “a very pretty girl” and the dress suited her much better that it suited Sheila

Question 2

How did Sheila abuse her position of power to get Eva / Daisy sacked?

Answer 2

Sheila abused her position “as a daughter of a good customer” to persuade the manager to sack Eva / Daisy by threatening to get her mother to close their account.

Question 3

How does Sheila know that Gerald is lying to her at the end of Act One?

Answer 3

Sheila knows what Gerald is lying because he said “What?” in a “startled” manner when the Inspector mentioned the name “Daisy Renton”.

Question 4

How does Sheila respond to finding out she was involved in Eva / Daisy’s death?
How is her response different to Arthur’s?

Answer 4

Sheila is upset by the tragic death and feels responsible for it — she clearly regrets her actions, saying “if I could help her now, I would”. Her response is different to Arthur’s — he wasn’t upset and was only interested in proving to the Inspector that he’s not responsible. This suggests that Sheila shows remorse but Arthur doesn’t.

Question 5

The Inspector says that he “wouldn’t know where to draw the line” between respectable citizens and criminals.
What do you think he means by this?

Answer 5

He means that it can be difficult to tell what a person is really like and that appearances can be deceiving. His words hint at the fact that seemingly respectable people like the Birlings and Gerald are capable of immoral and illegal actions. This also suggests that the Inspector is going to show the other characters that these categories aren’t as clear cut as they might think.