Sahana KanabarEnglish 10B7th December 2014

Who is Responsible for Eva Smiths Death?

Eva Smith was a working class girl that recently committed suicide by swallowing disinfectant, burning her insides out. Nothing could be done to save her but an investigation into the last few years of her life have brought lots of evidence to life. The whole Birling family, Mr. Arthur Birling, Mrs. Sybil Birling, Miss Sheila Birling, and Mr. Eric Birling, along with Miss Birlings fianc Mr. Gerald Croft, have all had contact with Eva Smith and for the most part she came away worsened by the encounter. After interviewing every suspect I have come to the conclusion about which we should hold most responsible. I believe the Mr. Eric Birling deserves more leniency for his actions, while Mrs. Sybil Birling holds the most fault.Mr. Eric Birling is not unlike many other young men of a higher-class. He is a drunkard with little self-control who unintentionally hurt Eva Smith and ended up getting her pregnant. However, he is one of the few members of the Birling family that attempted to redeem himself by trying to support Eva Smith and his future child. The methods he used were not honourable, the money he offered Eva Smith was stolen from his fathers office but in the end had no lasting impact on Mr. Arthur Birlings company. Mr. Birling is wealthy, excessively so, while there are so many people suffering and struggling for money. Mr. Eric Birling simply saw an opportunity to help the less fortunate; this act could be comparable to charity. With his innate sense of responsibility Mr. Eric Birling supports the workers cause for higher wages, wages they could actually live on, and cared about Eva Smiths future. He is one of the few people I interviewed that admitted they have some fault but at the time he knew her he was also attempting to make things right. Mr. Eric Birling is simply a struggling young man that tried the best he could, after all it is not as if he has had the best influence from his parents. Young people are more likely to change their ways and learn from previous mistakes. After admitting his part, Mr. Eric Birling was able to accept his mistakes and recognize the steps that need to be taken to prevent such future events. Mr. Eric Birling was the last person I interviewed, so he knew there was no point in keeping secrets and came clean almost immediately. He feels a horrifically intense guilt and frustration that his careless actions ended with such devastating consequences. Either way he did the best he could while he had the chance. Eva Smiths death is not his fault, and he should not take the blame.Mrs. Sybil Birling deserves to take more responsibility for the death of Eva Smith, as she knew fully well the damage she was causing. The charity Mrs. Birling is chairwoman of, the Womens Charity Organization, was created with the purpose of helping the less fortunate yet Mrs. Birling blatantly ignored her responsibilities. Not only that but she went beyond simply refusing to help Eva Smith, which she saw as her duty, and turned everyone else in the charity against her. One of the main reasons Mrs. Birling did not want to help Eva Smith was that she appealed to help under the false name Mrs. Eva Birling, and first told a false story in order to gain more sympathy. Eva Smith knew what type of world this was and how unreceptive the charity would be to an unmarried, pregnant factory worker. Mrs. Birlings selective charity is really nothing more than a front through which she poses as charitable and kind-hearted. While Mrs. Birlings anger at being lied to could be justified but she had no sympathy and never even tried to understand Eva Smiths situation. In this situation she allowed herself to be driven with consideration only to her public image. Nothing is as important to her as her reputation, which would be irrevocably damaged, in her opinion, if the Birling name were associated with a low-class woman such as Eva Smith. This abuse of her social power left Eva with no other options and was the final blow that led her to commit suicide. While I was conducting my interviews with the family Mrs. Birling came off as particularly rude. She does not even have any respect for officers of law; even they are lowly to her. Later on when news of Eva Smiths pregnancy arose Mrs. Birling immediately switched tact from trying to kick me out of the house to blaming the father of the child for her suicide, all the while refusing to accept any responsibility for Eva Smiths death. When the father turned out to be her very own son, Mr. Eric Birling, Mrs. Birling tried to remain blind to the truth and clung to her false image of him. Her lack of awareness meant she had no idea of what Mr. Eric Birling was really like, despite it being common knowledge that her son is a drunkard, and her ignorant attitude causes her to harm many people, but she still only cares about herself. During my experience as an Inspector here in Brumley I have never encountered someone so heartless. The dislike Mrs. Birling has for lower-class people, despite them fueling the economy, is not even hidden. Mrs. Birling creates nothing and contributes in no way towards this glorious country yet feels like she has the right to judge others for the choices they make when they are struggling to survive. The cost of her ignorance was Eva Smiths life.The death of Eva Smith was unfortunate; she did not deserve to have all those bad things done to her and to die such a horrible death. But there are still many Eva Smiths and John Smiths out there. We need to take steps to protect them and to make Brumley a better place for all people, no matter their class. Condemning a young man like Mr. Eric Birling, an influential young man who cares about social issues, will only turn high-class society against us even more. Changes have to be made from the inside. Mrs. Sybil Birling on the other hand, does not deserve such leniency. She is ruthlessly cold-hearted, and has no shame. Eva Smiths death is on her hands.