How is Gérald presented during an inspector's call? To begin the essay, the character of Gerald Croft is extremely significant, as he is the only perpetrator of the crime who is not part of House Birling. He is also the character who knew Eva Smith most intimately and has many important connections with the entire Birling family, the most important being that of Sheila. But it is also significant on a deeper thematic level: it plays a central role in conveying playwright JB Priestley's ideas of collective responsibility and constitutes one of the harshest examples of the rejection of these ideas. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of the play, Gerald is introduced as a member of the upper class whose position in society is held by the "old money." He almost flirts with Mr. Birling at his engagement dinner, and when Birling puts forward the idea of ​​lower wages and higher prices, in a private conversation with Gerald, Gerald applauded the idea, saying "Listen , listen! ". Here Priestley attempts to show how upper class ideals revolve around money. Gerald's outburst of joy signifies this, as the audience can infer that he is ecstatic about continuing his business and bringing him more prosperity. An audience in 1945 would be appalled, after a world war where the middle and lower classes fought together and learned about the struggle of the working class. However, contemporary audiences may be less affected by this, as they live in a world of billionaires who are only looking to further increase their own wealth. Gerald's reaction is also significant as it shows his contempt for Sheila, where Priestley once again highlights the unjust capitalist ideologies of the upper class. Later in the play, Gerald reveals an emotional exterior, when he discovers that he once knew Eva Smith. In his recollection of events, he describes Sheila as having "big, dark eyes", expressing his admiration for Eva. The fact that Gerald can remember Eva's feelings so clearly signifies his feelings towards her and that he actually cared about Eva Smith. Priestley is trying to make the audience believe that the upper classes are people who have feelings and that even though they are privileged and protected, they can still empathize with them. This can exactly arouse public sympathy, where Gerald took a huge social risk in front of the Birlings for being identified with a member of the working class. This once again confirms the true nature of Gerald's feelings for Eva. However, Priestly continues to point out the underlying issues with Gerald's way of thinking. He describes Eva's characteristics, signifying her misogynistic beliefs while he describes Eva's physical attributes as the only ones that have value to discuss, suggesting that Gerald might not actually value Eva as a human being, due to the objectification she receives from him. Priestley once again highlights the lack of change and development of upper class ideas. Towards the end of the play, Priestley uses Gerald to illustrate how the world with such class barriers in place will have a very conservative nature. After discovering that no girls were taken to the hospital, he says, "Everything is fine now." This single line destroys all hope of development and progress of the ideas defended by the upper class. Gerald is clearly relieved and the audience can therefore deduce that the only.