English literature

• Sheila Birling


  • Initial naiveté and detachment from the struggles of Britain's working classes
  • Challenges the self-interest of the upper classes
• Stage directions for Sheila Birling in Act 1


  "(in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited)"
• Sheila Birling's character


  • Sense of naiveté, immaturity and self-satisfaction
  • Embodiment of the potential of the younger generation in Edwardian society
• Sheila Birling


  Direct contrast to Eva Smith and her plight
• Sheila's youth and privilege as part of a ruling class forms part of her identity in the early presentation of her
• The qualifiers "very" and "rather" evoke a sense of excess and emphasises Sheila's great privilege
• Priestley seems to highlight the potential dangers for the future of the youth following in the same footsteps as the older if they are not taught or moulded by more progressive beliefs and values
• Priestley's intention was to show the fact that everyone has the ability to change no matter where they start or what they are raised to believe
• Sheila Birling


  • Used to show the detachment of the upper classes from the working class
  • Shows the fact anyone and everyone is able to change
• Sheila's transformation/metamorphosis and her awakening to the inspector's socialist vision


  1. Sheila's social conscience about the plight of Britain's poor is awoken

  2. Sheila demonstrates an objection to her father's cold and clinical view of his workforce as expendable tools

  3. Sheila questions her parents' views, functioning as a microcosm for the younger generation beginning to question the existing values and power structures of society
• Sheila's language


  Fragmented and broken, reflecting her passion and despair at the situation but also her metaphorical breaking free from the shackles of her older, naïve views
• The adversative conjunction 'but' acts as an opposition and highlights Sheila's opposition to her parents' views
• The dramatic pause in the dash '-' draws attention to Sheila's message that the working class are to be respected and valued
• The adjective 'cheap' and the noun 'labour' dehumanise the working classes, while the juxtaposition with 'people' mirrors the opposing views of Capitalists and socialists and awakens a tone of community and compassion: socialist values
• Sheila's echoing of the Inspector's words at the end of the play


  Symbolises Priestley's hope that post-war Britain's younger generation would be empowered to promote social responsibility
• Sheila has taken on the Inspector's role as a mouthpiece for socialism
• Priestley's belief that the younger generations are able to change and adapt
• The 'fire' imagery can be symbolic of cleansing or purging, reflecting the consequences of the Birlings' actions
• The awful experiences of the Second World War may have made people more receptive to ideas about change and Priestley's views on social responsibility, as seen in the birth of the NHS a few years later