Sheila

• Sheila - [Responsibility] - "Oh - how horrible"

  • Sheila is the only character who expresses genuine emotion towards the suicide of Eva Smith. Priestley demonstrates this though the use of a dash, indicating Sheila's authentic displeasure
• Sheila - [Responsibility] - "I was in a furious temper" // "it was my own fault" // "i behaved badly too. I know i did"

  • Sheila is instantly open towards accepting responsibility and is self-critical of her selfish actions through repetition of personal pronouns
• Sheila - [Responsibility] - "I felt rotten about it at the time"

  • informal adjective "rotten" demonstrates Sheila's lack of maturity in vocabulary.
  • She also shows remorse for her actions. Priestley conveying the message that maturity is proportional to the level of social responsibility you feel, rather than using formal vocab
• Sheila - [Responsibility] - "If I could help her now, I would" and "Ill never , never do it again to anybody"

  • repetition of adverb "never".
  • Commitment to changing her attitude towards social responsibility
  • again, repetition of personal pronouns.
• Sheila - [Responsibility] - "I suppose we're all nice people now"

  • Priestley uses this rhetorical device, coupled with a sarcastic tone to convey Sheila's disapproval of her parents and Gerald's lack of remorse. The lack of a potential criminal conviction doesn't alleviate their immoral actions
• Sheila - [Older vs Younger] - "its you two who are being childish - trying not to face the facts"

  • Sheila recognises her parents' faults. Priestley uses irony to expose the lack of immaturity as she labels her parents with the adjective "childish"
• Sheila - [Parental Manipulation] - "impertinent" // "impertinent is such a silly word"

  • use of the adjective impertinent by Sheila is unusual for her childish nature so could've been influenced by Mrs Birling
  • Sheila, later on in the play, has developed in maturity and rejects her mother's use of the formal adjective "impertinent" to criticise Eva
• Sheila - [Maturity] - "pretty girl in her early twenties" and "very pleased with life and rather excited"

  • initially portrayed by stage directions as living comfortably and blissfully ignorant of society's injustices
  • Done to develop her into a more responsible person, as a demonstration to his audience on the transformation necessary
• Sheila - [Maturity] - "You and I arent the same people"

  • said to Gerald after she has gained maturity. Her perception ha changed and she can no longer ignore this
• Sheila - [Maturity] - "you dont seem to have learnt anything"

  • acknowledges the purpose of this - a moral teaching. Portray the older generation as stubborn an incorrect and to encourage his audience to change their stance
• Sheila - [Maturity] - "No not yet. Its too soon. I must think"

  • Short sentences shows the importance of the moment. She can either choose to reject marriage due to Gerald's capitalist individualism, but then loose an undeniably important connection for both her and her family financially
  • The use of the imperative "must" is a direct message from Priestley to the audience to think for themselves
  • She does no directly say no
• Sheila - [Materialism] - "Now i really feel engaged" // "Is it the one you wanted me to have?

  • Her obsession with material objects is demonstrated when Sheila needs the physical token of a ring. It is a visual marker of ownership and commitment from Gerald to their relationship
  • Priestley's of the question reveals the extent of patriarchal control Gerald has over Sheila. Beginning with the choice of ring and inevitably extending to controlling the minutiae of quotidian life (little details of everyday life)
• Sheila - [Cap vs Socialism] - "Pretty?"

  • Here, it can be inferred that Sheila's grief was greater due to Eva being pretty. This demonstrates Sheila's warped view of the world, as the value of someone's life depends on their outward beauty
• Sheila - [Cap vs Socialism] - "But these girls aren't cheap labour - they're people"

  • Demonstrates Sheila's instantaneous recognition of the Inspector's message as she objects to her father's dehumanising and capitalist approach to business