Egocentricity In An Inspector Calls

Priestley's “An Inspector Calls” is a dramatic play that investigates the case of a poverty-stricken girl, Eva Smith, who commits suicide. A rich family, the Birlings, and Gerald Croft are inspected by Inspector Goole to find their link to the death of Eva. Each character has a different reaction when they discover they are responsible for Eva’s death, which reveals their personality traits of egocentricity, denial, and naivety; hence, the personality traits show some of the attitudes of wealthy people towards the poor. Firstly, Mr. Birling, the father of the Birlings, reveals his attitude towards the lower and middle class society through his egocentric character. Before Inspector Goole interrogates Mr. Birling, Mr. Birling attempts to intimidate the Inspector by babbling about his prestigious position as “an alderman for years- and [being] Lord Mayor two years ago” (11). After Inspector Goole inspects him, Mr. Birling tries to unnerve the Inspector by uttering that Colonel Roberts is “an old friend of [his] and that [he] see[s] him fairly frequently” (16). These quotes by Mr. Birling show the way he tries to …show more content…
In this case, Mr. Birling’s egocentricity and Mrs. Birling’s denial prevented them from learning their moral lessons, which means they will continue to treat the lower-class in the same way unless they are somehow forced into treating the poor better. Meanwhile, Sheila’s naivety affects her decision of having Eva Smith fired from Milwards, but makes Sheila feel guilty about her actions later on. The disparity between Sheila and her parents’ reaction to the death shows how youngsters grasp moral ideas better than adults because of their innocence, and hence presents the way wealthy youngsters think and treat the poor differently from adults, who are harder to teach because they’ve been spoiled