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English Literature GCSE Inspector Calls Essay?

Could anyone look over this please? The exam's in about a week and I'm practicing questions and would like an opinion on what grade you'd think I'd get. Thanks :smile:

Q: Imagine you are Birling. Look back over the events of the play and write down your thoughts and feelings.

A: Unbelievable. What a night. If any of this gets out my business plan will be ruined, and without me doing anything wrong! It’ll cause a scandal – a scandal within the Birling family! I simply cannot believe they all broke so easily at this so called Inspector’s words, even Sybil! She of all people should know what a story like this could mean for the future of the business if people find out!

I knew from the moment that great buffoon walked through the door that he was an imposter. The way he spoke to us – like we were nothing but low life criminals! I was outraged. To speak to a successful businessman like me in that way…the way he interrogated me, like I had something to be ashamed of! It was hardly my fault the “wretched girl” asked for a pay rise she didn’t deserve! I only did what was necessary for the business. And turning my own daughter against me, and having the nerve to say that “the young ones are more impressionable”…the cheek of it!

Although I certainly didn’t crumble under the pressure, the rest of those fools all gave in and confessed when there was nothing wrong with what they did! Well, most of them. I must express my disapproval of Gerald’s “disgusting” affair with the girl. It clearly upset Sheila quite a bit; she got quite angry. I do hope she can forgive him though now that this is all over and done with. If she doesn’t, it may affect the business plan with Croft’s Limited, and I certainly don’t want that. Sheila will have to see sense and forgive Gerald.

I was most surprised by Sybil’s lack of will power in standing up to the Inspector. She didn’t give in nearly as easily as the others, but after a few minutes she was quite clearly telling the Inspector everything he wanted to hear. All she did was turn the girl away from the charity, and quite frankly she deserved to be turned away! Using the name Mrs Birling – a girl from that kind of background taking our family’s name! Sheila tried to warn Sybil about the Inspectors cruel calculated trap – maybe she smarter than I give her credit for, for seeing it before everyone else – but none of us understood and soon it became clear that Sybil had already said enough to condemn Eric when he returned.

My good-for-nothing son had it coming to him, though. After everything I've done for him over the years; everything he could have become down the drain. He had a perfectly bright future ahead of him – a job within the business, ready to take over from me when I left. And what did the insolent child do? Stole money from me, his own father. And blew the money, on drink of all things, to satisfy his repulsive alcohol addiction! If he’d kept away from the drink, he wouldn’t have gone and gotten the girl pregnant, and we wouldn’t have gotten into this mess! Not to mention him throwing away his future with this stupid theft! That’ll be a story, alright; that’ll be the scandal. And telling me I’m “not the kind of father” he could speak to – the nerve! After everything I've done for him!

The inspector’s final speech annoyed me the most, though. “all responsible for each other” – he’s just trying to contradict everything I stand for, everything I was saying before he burst in and interrupted. We don’t need to change the way we live just so that the less successful people will be happier. They have nothing to do with me. I’m going to continue to run my business in the same way as before – that’ll show him. Its Eric and Sheila I worry about. This fraud seems to have really made an impression on them. They say me and Sybil “frighten” them because we refuse to follow the moral teachings of the Inspector, but they don’t seem to see that none of it was real and we can all go back to normal now. Gerald understands my point of view. I wish Eric were more like him. Maybe when they’re older they’ll understand why it has to be this way, and they’ll forget all of this nonsense, and know why no Inspector, real or otherwise, will make me believe any different.