Old vs Young- An inspector calls

Old (Mr + Mrs Birling) vs Young (Eric and Shelia)

Old- The old are set in their ways. They are utterly confident that they are right and they see the young as foolish

Young-first seen early in Act 1 when both Eric and Sheila express sympathy for the strikers - an idea which horrifies Birling, who can only think of production costs and ignores the human side of the issue

Old-The old will do anything to protect themselves: Mrs Birling lies to the Inspector when he first shows her the photograph; Mr Birling wants to cover up a potential scandal.

Young- The young are honest and admit their faults. Eric refuses to try to cover his part up, saying, "the fact remains that I did what I did."

Old-They have never been forced to examine their consciences before and find they cannot do it now

Young-Sheila and Eric see the human side of Eva's story and are very troubled by their part in it. They do examine their consciences.

Old- Mr and Mrs Birling have much to fear from the visit of the 'real' inspector because they know they will lose everything.

Young- Sheila and Eric have nothing to fear from the visit of the 'real' inspector because they have already admitted what they have done wrong, and will change

Gerald Croft is caught in the middle, being neither very young nor old. In the end he sides with the older generation, perhaps because his aristocratic roots influence him to want to keep the status quo and protect his own interests.

Ultimately, we can be optimistic that the young - those who will shape future society - are able to take on board the Inspector's message.