GCSE English Literature A* / 9 An Inspector Calls notes - Sheila Birling
Booklet of notes for Mr Birling, Mrs Birling, Sheila, Eric & Gerald available.
For each character, there is an overview followed by every quote in order related to that character, with a detailed analysis beneath the quo...
J. B. Priestley describes Sheila as "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased
with life and rather excited," which is precisely how she comes across in the first
act of the play. In the second and third acts, following the realisation that she has
played a part in Eva Smith's death, she matures and comes to realise the
importance of The Inspector's message.
Priestley's Message (intended effect on the audience)
She represents (with Eric) the younger generation - Priestley saw them as 'more
impressionable' and open-minded enough to learn to accept responsibility for
others. This is found true as they accept their responsibility and act as his
mouthpiece, both taking up his criticism of other characters by a series of
questions. Birling called them “the famous younger generation who know it all,”
yet ironically it is them who have grasped many more “lessons.”
She gives the audience hope that their society can improve if people make
changes and take responsibility.
Key Quotations;
Act One
Pg 1: “Sheila is a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and
rather excited.”
Sheila's body language and facial expressions being 'very pleased with
life' and 'excited', suggest that there is a complacency which underlines
her character, a quality shared by her fiancé, Gerald.
Sheila's opening stage directions and dialogue are intriguing as they can
be viewed as oppositional. She speaks 'gaily', as she childishly teases
both Gerald and her father, but the use of the adverb 'possessively'
perhaps suggests an over -eagerness on her part to make their
relationship apparent. Again, language makes the immature elements of
her characterisation obvious as she references to her mother as 'mummy',
despite being in her 'early twenties'. Later, she adopts the childish tone of
, 'mock aggressiveness' which exhibits the playful aspects of her character.
As the play progresses, the audience is made aware that it is the security
blanket 'of her parents' money and status that allows her to live a life free
of adult responsibilities.
Pg 3- 'Yes - except for all last summer, when you never came near me, and
wondered what had happened to you.'
A moment of tension is felt when Gerald's apparently harmless question,
7 have been trying long enough, haven't I', is met with Sheila's pointed
silence. His developing insistence, perhaps suggests that he is aware that
he has inadvertently hit a nerve; and this is made evident by the
ambiguity of Sheila's response. Her "half playful, half serious' tone
implies that she is not secure enough in her relationship with Gerald to
know how honest she can be with her emotions; and the use of the
hyphens, just before she gives her reasoning, makes the audience aware
that she hesitates before choosing to raise the issue.
First suggestion that Sheila represents a different point of view from
that of her mother: Mrs Birling tells Sheila that she will have to get
used to men spending all of their time and energy on their work, just as
she did. Sheila disagrees and, half playfully, tells Gerald to "be careful,"
which provokes a sudden guffaw from Eric. Sheila tells Eric he is
"squiffy' and the sibling squabbling which follows suggest the
immaturity of these two young adults. The use of slang such as 'ass' and
'squiffy' shows a clear difference between the generations of Birlings and
foreshadows how the family will split as the investigation comes to a
conclusion.
Sheila’s language choice in her insulting tone begins to reveal that this
family, despite being well-off, are only superficially happy.
Pg 3: “So you be careful”
Suspicion of Gerald’s whereabouts “last summer” comes across in her
warning, in a tone which is only “half playful, half serious.”
Pg 5: 1912 View of women: '(Excited) Oh - Gerald - you've got it - is it the one
[ring] you wanted me to have?'
A certain shallowness of character is implied by Sheila's exuberant
reaction to the ring. Once she possesses it she expresses her first real
sense of excitement about the engagement, in comparison with the
reluctance expressed through her stage directions, 'half serious' and 'half
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