The Inspectors Message
Priestley, being a socialist, wanted to pass across his beliefs
about social responsibility and how there are consequences for
every action no matter how small. The Downfall of Eva Smith
represented how little things we do that we think are
insignificant, can really affect someone else’s life. Each
member of the Birling family probably thought nothing of what
they did and soon forgot about it whilst having no idea how
much it impacted this one girls’ life. This demonstrated how
people in the working class are still human- just because they
do not have as much money ,does not mean their life has less
value, meaning or purpose. “But there are millions and millions
and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”
Priestley was also trying to say that it’s not just ‘Eva Smith’
there are many people in the working class that are in the
same position as Eva Smith, who the Birlings will eventually
provoke to suicide if they do not change.
Priestley also tries to pass across the fact that we are all
responsible for one another and that life does not revolve
around the upper class. “ We don’t live alone.” The working
class are not just lego pieces that build up the upper class’ life.
“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each
other.” Everyone is human at the end of the day and everyone
is responsible for looking out for one another. Eva Smith
represents the suffering of the working class as a whole and the
Birlings represent the upper class who dominate their lives.
They push their responsibility aside and pretend the working
class is a different world from theirs, instead of taking
responsibility and doing something about their suffering. The
Inspector comes in and tramples everything Mr Birling had said:
‘a man must mind his own business and look after himself and
his own.’ He shows them how if just one of them had made the
right decision and not just used Eva/Daisy for their selfish
needs, simply treated her as if she were just as human as they
were rather than another thing they were entitled to, the
outcome would have been very different.
Priestley, being a socialist, wanted to pass across his beliefs
about social responsibility and how there are consequences for
every action no matter how small. The Downfall of Eva Smith
represented how little things we do that we think are
insignificant, can really affect someone else’s life. Each
member of the Birling family probably thought nothing of what
they did and soon forgot about it whilst having no idea how
much it impacted this one girls’ life. This demonstrated how
people in the working class are still human- just because they
do not have as much money ,does not mean their life has less
value, meaning or purpose. “But there are millions and millions
and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”
Priestley was also trying to say that it’s not just ‘Eva Smith’
there are many people in the working class that are in the
same position as Eva Smith, who the Birlings will eventually
provoke to suicide if they do not change.
Priestley also tries to pass across the fact that we are all
responsible for one another and that life does not revolve
around the upper class. “ We don’t live alone.” The working
class are not just lego pieces that build up the upper class’ life.
“We are members of one body. We are responsible for each
other.” Everyone is human at the end of the day and everyone
is responsible for looking out for one another. Eva Smith
represents the suffering of the working class as a whole and the
Birlings represent the upper class who dominate their lives.
They push their responsibility aside and pretend the working
class is a different world from theirs, instead of taking
responsibility and doing something about their suffering. The
Inspector comes in and tramples everything Mr Birling had said:
‘a man must mind his own business and look after himself and
his own.’ He shows them how if just one of them had made the
right decision and not just used Eva/Daisy for their selfish
needs, simply treated her as if she were just as human as they
were rather than another thing they were entitled to, the
outcome would have been very different.
