WHY might Priestley have presented this character / theme in this way,

considering the play’s context? (e.g. poor working conditions in 1912, Priestley’s
socialist views, the Labour Party’s 1945 election victory, etc).
WHY is this theme / character important in the play as a whole? Consider how
Priestley uses this character / theme to promote his message to the audience.
Accurate and ambitious spelling, punctuation and grammar (SPaG).

Example Question

8. Sheila Birling: But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re people.

In what ways is Eva Smith exploited in the play?

You must refer to the context of the play in your answer.

Total for Question = 40 marks (includes 8 marks for the range of appropriate
vocabulary and sentence structures, and accurate use of spelling and
punctuation.)

Example Full-mark Response (exam board example)

Eva Smith is a character that, though she doesn’t make an appearance

in the play, impacts the lives of the Birlings and Gerald Croft. When
Sheila Birling exclaims, ‘But these girls aren’t cheap labour – they’re
people’, she is reacting with horror to the attitude expressed by Mr
Birling that it is acceptable to exploit people in order to benefit
oneself. As the play unfolds, it is evident that Priestley wants the
audience to agree with Sheila that it is unacceptable for the upper
class to exploit those of the lower class.

The audience first learns of how Mr Birling exploited Eva. To begin

Success Criteria:
WHAT are the most relevant parts of the play for this question? WHAT are the
most relevant short quotations to support your ideas?
WHAT does the audience learn about this theme / character?
HOW is this character / theme developed throughout the play as a whole?
with, she is an employee of Mr Birling’s works and is known for being a
‘good worker’. This means that her industrious nature has been made
known to Mr Birling; in fact, he was going to promote her after she
came back from holiday to be in charge of a group of girls. Employing
women during the time was common (in the 1910s) due to the fact
that they weren’t under the protection of trade unions like the men.
This meant that work for them was harsh, sometimes taking long
hours, and was erratic. These conditions caused some women to
protest, but since they had no protection they were consequently
fired. This is shown in the play where Eva Smith leads a protest and is
fired because she had ‘too much to say’ and a lot of spirit.
Furthermore, she was exploited because companies like Mr Birling’s at
the time, were keen to have ‘labour costs down’ and ‘prices up’. This
part of exploitation in the workplace didn’t seem wrong to most of the
upper class because they had become used to the treatment. The fact
that Mr Birling can easily fire her and replace her is because in those
times there wasn’t anywhere for Eva to go. Since there weren’t any
rules in place to protect the women, they would rather suffer through
their jobs then lose a source of income. Similarly, Eva is also exploited
indirectly by Sheila though the fact that she lost her job at Milwards
due to the latter’s jealousy. No employee protection meant that she
wasn’t protected from an unjust reason. Even though she looked as if
she could ‘take care of herself’, there was nothing to excuse Sheila
from getting her fired. Priestley uses this to show the power the upper
class had over the working class because the store would rather fire a
useful employee than risk losing a ‘valuable’ customer. By exploring
the reasons Eva lost her jobs at both Birling’s and Milwards, Priestley
highlights the injustice of exploitation in the workplace.
Eva Smith is also exploited by Gerald. This is different because Gerald
uses the excuse of protecting her from ‘any more trouble’. This makes
us question his true motives behind rescuing her as we know that she
inevitably ends up the same: as a mistress. This part of exploitation is
due to the Edwardian double standard wherein men – especially those
married – were able to take a mistress on the side. Gerald says that it
was ‘inevitable’ as though he couldn’t help the situation when it looks
like he had just taken advantage of Eva/Daisy’s helplessness. Because
she was poor, helpless and hungry it made him feel as if he was
justified in treating her like that (‘the wonderful fairy prince’). Even if
the motives were honourable, the end result still seemed to hurt and
exploit Eva even if it seemed good at the time. It also shows the power
of men over women and how normal it was. Moreover, Gerald uses
phrases like ‘installed’ or ‘kept’: terminology used for possessions or
appliances. This shows that he may not have genuinely cared for
Eva/Daisy at all since the word ‘install’ brings to mind appliances being
thrown out after they have exceeded their usefulness. This is further
supported when the Inspector says that Eva/Daisy knew it wouldn’t
last. This makes the audience feel sorry for her because we expect her
to be protected and not exploited the way she has been. Eric’s attitude
to her is similar to Gerald’s. It is normal during the time of this play has
been set because young women in lower classes would have been
exploited easily because they have no one to turn to. This makes them
more desperate to get money to survive. Furthermore, it shows how
Eva (who represents the masses) has been objectified and controlled
as if her life is not her own. This is supported by the fact that Priestly
chooses to make the Inspector call her death ‘a nasty mess’. Since
there was no one to protect her, she was easily open to sexual
exploitation – the using of her body to survive or for companionship.
She is also put at the mercy of Mrs Birling’s committee. Committees at
the time were not based on impartiality but were based on the
people’s opinions. Mrs Birling admits to being ‘prejudiced’ because Eva
is a ‘girl of that class’ and this causes her to withhold giving support to
Eva when she needed it the most. Priestley uses this to challenge the
way committees are run and how though they were meant to give help
to those that need it, they are still places that contain prejudice and
may indirectly exploit people.
In conclusion, Eva Smith is exploited in many ways by those people
who were meant to be in control. ‘Her promising life’ was turned into
a ‘nasty mess’ because there were no laws to prevent her exploitation
in the workplace or as a woman in a prejudiced society. Priestley uses
common experiences of exploitation to remind his audience that it is
real and to call for change in the world.