The Hierachy Of Class

It's apparent from the very start of the play the characters are ranked into a hierarchy and each one of them represents a particular class, with Gerald Croft at the top, however the Inspector may be the one exception.

Arthur Birling

Although this 'heavy looking man' is head of the house hold and may now be wealthy he comes from a middle-class background putting him somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy in terms of character class and profile. You can tell he comes from an unwealthy background when Priestley says he is "rather provincial in his speech" which may be why he is so proud of his present life and sees himself as above everyone else. Being the local magistrate and the former Lord-Mayor of Brumley, Mr Birling has set his targets high and someday hopes to become part of the upper-class society and be knighted "there's a fair chance that i might find my way into the next Honours List" pg 8 this shows he is extremely ambitious and greedy.

Sybil Birling

Sybil is married to Arthur and comes across as snobby and stuck up as she looks down on people with less money and judges the lower-class more harshly than her family. Like Mr Birling she influences a lot of decisions for other people because she is a "prominent member - of the Brumley Women's Charity Organization" pg 42, however just as with Mr Birling she doesn't understand the effect her decision may have on people until it is too late. 

Shelia Birling 

Being the brother of Eric Birling and also the daughter of Arthur and Sybil, Shelia, "a pretty girl in her early twenties, very pleased with life and rather excited", also finds herself somewhere between the middle and the top of the hierarchy triangle and being engaged to Gerald Croft she is soon to move up even more. 

Eric Birling 

Being the son of Mr Birling, Eric finds him self somewhere between the middle and the top of the hierarchy triangle, however this doesn't mean he is happy with his life and we gather from the play he is miserable with his life meaning he drinks too much and becomes a drunk as he has been steadily drinking for almost 2 years.  

Gerald Croft 

Gerald Croft is engaged to marry Shelia Birling and finds himself at the top of the hierarchy as he is the son of Sir George and Lady Croft. Being a man of the upper-class Croft some could say Mr Birling is intimidated as Gerald works for Crofts Limited, his fathers company, which is bigger and better than the Birling and company.

Edna the maid

Edna finds herself right at the bottom of the hierarchy as she is a maid and works for the Birlings. Priestley describes her as "the parlourmaid" as she clears away tables and makes sure everything is respectable making her part of the lower-class.

The Inspector

The inspector is probably one of the only characters that doesn't fit into a category of class and that's mainly because we don't know much about him and his background. Because of this the audience may portray him as being mysterious and secretive.

An Inspector Calls Front Cover