How do you respond to this extract and how does Priestley make you respond as you do by the ways he writes? (30 marks)

Birling: (jovially) But the whole thing's different now. Come, come, you can see that, can't you? (Imitating Inspector in his final speech.) You all helped to kill her. (pointing at Sheila and Eric, and laughing.) and I wish you could have seen the look on your faces when he said that.
// Sheila moves towards door.//
Going to bed, young woman?
Sheila: (tensely) I want to get out of this. It frightens me the way you talk.
Birling: (heartily) Nonsense! You'll have a good laugh over it yet. Look, you'd better ask Gerald for that ring you gave back to him, hadn't you? Then you'll feel better.
Sheila: (passionately) You're pretending everything's just as it was before.
Eric: I'm not!
Sheila: No, but these others are.
Birling: Well, isn't it? We've been had, that's all.
Sheila: So nothing really happened. So there's nothing to be sorry for, nothing to learn. We can all go on behaving just as we did.
Mrs Birling: Well, why shouldn't we?
Sheila: I tell you – whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now you've stopped. You're ready to go on in the same old way.
Birling: (amused) And you're not, eh?
Sheila: No, because I remember what he said, how he looked, and what he made me feel. Fire and blood and anguish. And it frightens me the way you talk, and I can't listen to any more of it.
Eric: And I agree with Sheila. It frightens me too.
Birling: Well, go to bed then, and don't stand there being hysterical.
Mrs Birling: They're over-tired. In the morning they'll be as amused as we are.
Answer

In this extract of An Inspector Calls the Birling family become split by their views. Mr Birling is firmly believing that they’ve “been had” however this is rapidly creating tension with Sheila whose new found confidence is in powering her to battle for what she believes. However, Mr and Mrs Birling’s happiness is short-lived as after the extract finishes they discover that they are in fact far from innocent.
When we first meet Sheila she is presented as a dainty young woman who is “very pleased with life and rather excited” and should keep her thoughts firmly to herself. However, as the play develops she soon becomes far more fervent speaking “passionately” and “tensely”- she tries her best to shrug off any previous misconceptions that she is a woman that can be pushed around. Birling responds to this simply by mocking her views, despite their dire circumstances he responds to her intelligent thinking with mockery and sarcasm. This colossal contrast in character opinions creates tension between them. Furthermore, the use of use of adverbs to create a sense to describe the “public scandal” shows a disregard to the Inspector’s message completely- it is as if they have learnt absolutely nothing from the experience.
As the extract continues you see how Priestly creates a scene of exasperation for Sheila, she describes how “It frightens me the way you talk” which shows that no longer will she stand on the side line and watch what is playing out in front of her. Priestly writes this such that it the watcher of this play see the disillusionment of Mr Birling. He also uses the repetition of “nothing” which emphasises the parents’ uncompromising attitude of the refusal to acknowledge responsibility for what they have done. Birling is also supported by Mrs Birling and her response to when he says “We’ve been had” Sheila protests saying that they couldn’t go on as they were Mrs Birling says, quite arrogantly, “Well, why shouldn't we?”. This shows a complete lack of compassion and an over-riding sense of self-importance. This shows that not only has woken up to her families wrong doing she also has a very calm and collected way of dealing with them.
When watching this Priestly makes it apparent that this isn’t a one off event, Shelia is a one off in this old society of crooks stuck in their ways. This creates a circular structure which is indicative of history repeating itself. Sheila has to exemplify the next generation.