Sheila Birling Flashcards
‘yes go on mummy’
the polyptoton of “mummy” to “mother” conveys her change from an endearing childlike figure to a more cold, independent character. Furthermore, Sheila reminds her parents that she is “not a child, don’t forget”.
give quotes sheila collective responsibility
‘Oh, how horrible! Was it an accident?’
‘No, not really it was my own fault.
‘I’ll never, never do it again.’
‘I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry’
‘I tell you – whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke.’
‘Oh, how horrible! Was it an accident?’
shows how she is the only one who actually cared about the death of eva smith out of everyone else
why does sheila start to use sarcasm and irony near the end
its used to show thaty she completely disagrees with her own parents and that she understands the moral consequences of her actions.
quotes which show how sheila is using irony and sarcasm
“so nothings happened so theres nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn”
“i suppose we’re all nice people now”
why does priestly use sheila
- she uses her to REPRESENT HIS OWN VIEWS
- he uses her as an example of peoples changing attitudes towards those who are less fortunate.
- her influence within the inspector has inspired her to become the mouthpiece for the inspector when he is out of stage. shows how this type of influence should be shared
‘but these girls arent cheap labour - theyre people’
Priestley intended to highlight the changing values of the younger generation and it is through is portrayal of
Sheila Birling that he illustrates a shift towards socialism within the younger members of society. He uses
juxtaposition to illustrate Sheila’s socialist tendencies when she openly questions her father and says “but
these girl aren’t just cheap labour – they’re people” highlighting that she is adopting a humanist point of view
whereby she understands that girls like Eva Smith are also valuable members of society. This shows that she is
instinctive, insightful and perceptive as she realises that her father’s individualist desire for “lower costs and
higher prices” is impacting the most vulnerable “people” in society.
I’ll never ever do it again to anybody”
Later in the text, Sheila establishes a voice and begins to question the authority of Gerald and her father Mr Birling, as well as voicing her evident frustration with the elder character’s denial. She states that it “frightens” her how her parents talk, as she can see the effects of their actions and has been enlightened by the words of The Inspector. Unlike her parents, she almost immediately accepts responsibility for her involvement in the death of Eva, apologising profusely and saying “I’ll never ever do it again to anybody” Here, the use of repetition emphasises her grief and desire to correct her misdemeanours as she develops a pleading tone; exaggerated further when she exhorts ‘I know I’m to blame – and I’m desperately sorry.’ We begin to see Sheila’s departure from the immature and naive ‘pretty girl in her early twenties’ that she was at the start of the play. Indeed, when initially introduced to Sheila the audience was aware that her value was somewhat reduced to her physical attractiveness as opposed to her morals or intelligence and yet now we see a sense of maturity developing as she immediately listens to the inspector and acknowledges her wrongdoings.
“fire, blood and anguish”
Towards the end of the play, Priestley employs Biblical language to show that Sheila has been emotionally affected by the inspector’s prophetic message and has accepted that the world will be destroyed in “fire, blood and anguish” if society does not learn that “we are all responsible for each other.” This highlights that Sheila has acknowledged the inspector’s omniscient and ominous warning and is now desperately imploring her parents to accept responsibly for their actions and change their ways. This also shows that, since the inspector’s departure, she has replaced his position as Priestley’s mouthpiece and is now directly reflecting his own socialist views.
how is sheila presented in the beginning of the play
childish- ‘mummy’
