Referat An Inspector Calls - The Characters

An Inspector Calls

The Characters:

Arthur Birling

Mr. Birling is a self-confident, calculating and unscrupulous Buisnessman. The only thing he´s looking forward to are his further buisness relations with Croft and he´s proud of getting a Knighthood soon. sohe´s very ambitious. He doesn´t seem to be happy that his daughter is going to marry.In the book he´s described as easy-mannered man unlike his wife. In his buisness he´s selfish and unscrupulous. He is a Capitalist and a Conservative.

He tells Eric and Gerald, that a man must look after himself and his own (p.17).

There you can see how unscrupulous, superficial, narrow-minded and unworldly he is. Apparently he is not a very good father because Eric says that he is not the kind of father a boy would come to when he´s in trouble.(p.74)

He´s not thinking that he´s guilty. During the whole interrogation he tries to convince the Inspector that he should stop asking his family silly questions. But he does not succeed.

Sybil Birling

She´s a cold woman of her class who is full of prejedices. She is very self-confident, self-possessed, arrogant and full of haughtyness. But when it concerns her children she´s touchy.Her world breaks together when she experiences that in Brumley are prostitutes, Meggarty a womaniser and sot, the fiance of her daughter has a mistress. She wants to be silent about the girl but at the and she is at the mercy of the Inspector. She is pitiless and the typical hypocrite. She´s cruel, vile, thinks that she´s better than others and ruthless.

She´s not only hard-hearted she´s a heart from stone and is even worse than her husband. Eva Smith was right in what she did and she had claim of getting help but Mrs Birling used her power in her comitee and refused the help only because she was to distinguished tocome in touch with the silly troubles of girls of that class.

She does not seem to confess anything and  put the whole guilt to the girl herself and to the father.

Sheila Birling

At the beginning as she turned  out Eva of her job at Milwards she´s reckless, spoiled, vile and hot-tempered. It is really silly when somebody is so jealous of sb. who´s only more beauty than oneself. She thinks she ´s the most beauty girl in the world. She´s so vain and uses her power in a cruel way.