Eva Smith

Question 1

“She was a lively good-looking girl” - Mr Birling about Eva Smith

Answer 1

• Remembered as an attractive hero which makes Mr B look worse

Question 2

“lonely, half-starved, she was feeling desperate.” - said by Inspector about Eva Smith

Answer 2

• Generates sympathy from the audience and further portrays Eva as a victim as well as hatred towards the Birling’s, especially those who don’t take responsibility.
• Highlights the amount of trauma that Eva had endured as the result of the callousness of the Birling’s mistreatment
• Mirrors the atrocities the working class face due to the abuse of power from the upper class
• Also, the use of asyndetic listing mirrors the cumulative horrors that Eva was facing, heightening the traumatic nature of her life
• The fact that we never see Eva smith could be a reflection of how the upper refuses to see the struggles of the upper/ never see the struggles – distance themselves