Thursday, November 28, 2019

Analysis of the first sequences of the film Punch Drunk Love Essay Example

Analysis of the first sequences of the film Punch Drunk Love Paper Punch-Drunk Love is above all a portrait of a personality type. P.T. Anderson utilizes many techniques to synchronize the experience of the protagonist, Barry, and the viewing audience, in order to effectively immerse the viewer in the universe Punch Drunk Love inhabits. Barry Egan has been damaged, perhaps beyond repair, by what he sees as the depredations of his domineering sisters. It drives him crazy when people nose into his business. He cannot stand to be trifled with. His world is entered by alarming omens and situations that baffle him. The character is vividly seen and the film sympathizes with him in his extremity. Music was an important mise en scene element through out this film. Music in this film plays two main roles: representing Barry Egans crippling,sometimes violent, anxiety and First scene starts with fade in to show the contrast between the large area and the small desk which is located in the corner of the large empty area. A wide angle lens is emphasizing Barrys smallness in it. Limited light emphasizes on Barry, and the limited light and limited colour will be important during the movie to show the abstract meanings. The first sound of the movie is heard by the Barrys phone conversion with the Healthy Choices representative to take advantage of the loophole in the promotion campaign of the firm. The phone calls are important during the movie which show the isolated Barry from the community and show the way of communication with people. He expresses himself clearly via telephone then contacting with face to face. The shade of blue on the warehouse wall and on the suit Barry wears are nearly same colour. Concept of the colour is an important mise en scene fort his movie, that is why some basic colour is used during the whole movie. While he is on the phon e he hears something. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of the first sequences of the film Punch Drunk Love specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of the first sequences of the film Punch Drunk Love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of the first sequences of the film Punch Drunk Love specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer When he hangs up he picks up his thermos and walks across the room to understand the reason of the sound. The camera follows him into what seems like complete blackness while he is walking from the corner of the room to the door. Then the abrupt, rackety sound of the large metal door opening upward fills the soundtrack, and we see the dirty blue haze of a Los Angeles dawn. Barry shuffles outside and the camera swoops around his head, making sure to capture the tranquil ambiance of the morning atmosphere, and looks in the direction Barrys looking. The parking lot is out of focus, but after a few beats, the focus pulls back and we see everything that Barry sees. He looks down a long alley, which leads to a main road. It introduces the audience to its unorthodox presentation of its maladroit main character, startling noises, quirky humor, suggestive lighting, alternately static and sweeping camerawork, and complete spatial reorientation. Barry is then shown at the mouth of the driveway, looking out at the road. The color of his surroundings has become dull and darker than they first appeared. The street is deserted, and the cameras perspective is now assumed to be Barrys. As the ambient noise dies down, the audience now views the street from the protagonists point of view, fixed on two cars approaching from the distant left corner of the screen. Suddenly, one flips without warning, loudly tumbling closer to the viewer as the camera follows it down the street. The accident, a taxi immediately pulls up to the driveway, leaving a harmonium. Stunned and confused, Barry walks up to it and examines it for some time. Once more, the ambient noise fades away, and he is shown in an extreme longshot from the other side of the street. Suddenly, a truck noisily passes by, prompting Barry to quickly pick up the Harmonium and run to his office. The second secene starts with Barry (Adam Sandler) is making a business talk over the phone on his desk. After his phone call, he goes outside to look for the piano. In the mean time a car entered to his offices garage. This is the time when Barry meets Lena Leonard (Emily Watson) with her attractive red drees. She asks him to look after her broken-down car (In the future he meets Lena Leonard again. She is introduced to Barry by his sister Elizabeth, one of her co-workers). It seems like she dropped her car off because she wanted to see him after seeing a picture of him with Elizabeth. When Lena leaves the garage, Barry he hides back of the door and gasps of breath. Scene ends with when Barry watching Lena from back the door. It seems like he is attracted from her. Second scene starts with Barrys phone call with a medium shot giving an impression of the Barry expressions. The shot emphasizes the color blue the visual backdrop is slightly tinted, and Barry`s suit is also dark blue. Then the camera moves tracking forward when Barry walks out of his office. A long shot is made when Barry is looking to the piano and with the enterance of Lena`s car. At the mean time the audience hears natural sounds like the voice of the brake. The camare stopped at the medium shot to show Barry`s and Lena`s conversation and their acting more clearly. The audience sees that Barry is acting weird (it was like he gets excited). Steadicam shot follows Lena from behind as she is walking away from the camera, but Anderson holds it for longer than we expect and through it we somehow understand all we need to know about this woman. Then Lena turns back to see Barry and a subjective shot made from Lena`s point of view. Camera exits from subjective shot and turned into a long shot. A cut made and camera starts to show Barry in a dark corner. Again we heard the sound of klaxon of the truck (natural sound). Anderson is using the sound as an additional form of expression, used to heighten the connection with Barrys emotional and psychological feelings. So the audience understands that something happens in the emotions of Barry. A shallow focuses (the opposite of deep focus, which keeps only one plane in sharp focus, Direct the viewers attention to one element of a scene) used which makes audience`s attention to Barry with an extreme close up to his eyes. Anderson uses a different visual technique in the second scene is the lens flare. When Lena and Barry is talking a lens flare appears (looks like a rainbow) with a mixture of colors red, blue, white, yellow. Anderson is embracing the lens flare as a form of expression in this film. The lens flare is does heighten the emotion of a particular scene. Ultimately the lens flare is representing the presence of love. Through the use of the lens flare, Anderson is heightening the feeling Barry and Lena have for each other as an additional form of visual expression In the scene the most important mise en scene element is the blue suit or the blue color. Blue is used throughout the film as an indication of Barrys emotional state of loneliness. Obviously the most notable example is the blue suit Barry is seen wearing throughout the film. Blue is found in both Barrys home and at his office, and very much represents a part of him. This scene is the first time that Barry feels something to woman (meta movement). Additionally this scene foreshadows that the life of Barry will change after meeting with Lena Leonard, the loneliness will end. However the audience can have absolutely no idea what will happen next. One more interesting thing that the clip shows is after the main theme starts To swell; the film cuts to several slowly moving, colorful, nondiegetic images. Over The colors, a collage of all the different types of music can be heard. In a way, this Scene gives away the whole movie (at least musically), which implies a sort of fate For Barry and Lena. The artwork (even in short moments) is beautifully breathtaking, and seem to work perfectly within the mood and flow of the films narrative. Anderson is essentially stretching the boundaries of cinematic narrative with this visual expression. Aside from Blakes artwork, Anderson uses several key colors to express the emotions and narrative of the film. The most obvious is the use of Blue, Red, and White. Throughout Punch-Drunk Love, Anderson places these colors within the emotional and physical environment of Barrys character Punch-Drunk Love (2002) Analysis of excerpt [09:35-10:35] The movie Punch-Drunk Love, tells the story of a small-business owner, whose mundane life starts to become interesting after he finds a harmonium and meets a woman, with whom he then falls in love. The excerpt consists of two shots. The first shot takes place in an office, where the main character is in a dialogue with a supporting character. The shot begins with a Medium Long Shot and becomes Medium Close Up as the main character moves towards the camera. The character is centered and the camera follows the character from inside the office to the outside, which is actually a warehouse. The cam seems to be a steady cam, because the image seems stable, it is probably a Dolly cam. The door of the warehouse was observed to be open in the previous scene, so while we were only hearing a slow background music at the beginning, it is then mixed with the street-noise, as the main character gets out of the office, into the warehouse. After that, we hear the sound of another person, a possible customer, who just entered the warehouse and took the attention of the main character. He then, turns to the camera, which is an example of Frontality. The scene decor consists of ordinary office equipments and in contrast to that, a harmonium in the middle, which is the point of interest of both the characters in this shot. The light looks like a natural light without much contrast difference, it can even be considered as dark. The costume of the supporting character is daily work clothes, but the main character wears a suit, which surprised the supporting character in the previous scene. This shows that the main character put extra effort on that day, because of a certain reason. The second shot is basically, a continuous change of images and colors, fading, changing forms and colors, then changing into an image, which looks like a sky full of stars, that shine spontaneously and then again fades and changes to a different type of color shapes. This shot can have different meanings, but considering the next scene, where the characters have the same clothes on, but seems like a different time; this shot shows that it is just an ordinary day, just like the other days, no distinguishable differences. It just indicates a time difference in the same day. The music in the background is still the same as the previous shot; a slow-music, which sort of moves with the changing colors and images. But the noise from the street is filtered in this shot.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

What You Need to Know About the Black Death

What You Need to Know About the Black Death When historians refer to The Black Death, they mean the specific outbreak of plague that took place in Europe in the mid-14th century. It was not the first time plague had come to Europe, nor would it be the last. A deadly epidemic known as the Sixth-Century Plague  or Justinians plague  struck Constantinople and parts of southern Europe 800 years earlier, but it did not spread as far as the Black Death, nor did it take nearly as many lives. The Black Death came to Europe in October of 1347, spread swiftly through most of Europe by the end of 1349 and on to Scandinavia and Russia in the 1350s. It returned several times throughout the rest of the century. The Black Death was also known as  The Black Plague, the Great Mortality, and the Pestilence. The Disease Traditionally, the disease that most scholars believe struck Europe was Plague. Best known as the bubonic plague for the buboes (lumps) that formed on the victims bodies, Plague also took pneumonic and septicemic forms. Other diseases have been postulated by scientists, and some scholars believe that there was a pandemic of several diseases, but currently, the theory of Plague (in all its varieties) still holds among most historians.​ Where the Black Death Started Thus far, no one has been able to identify the point of origin of the Black Death with any precision.  It started somewhere in Asia, possibly in China, possibly at Lake Issyk-Kul in central Asia. How the Black Death Spread Through these methods of contagion, the Black Death spread via trade routes  from Asia to Italy, and thence throughout Europe: Bubonic Plague was spread by the fleas who lived on plague-infected rats, and such rats were ubiquitous on trading ships.Pneumonic Plague could spread with a sneeze and jump from person to person with terrifying speed.Septicemic Plague spread through contact with open sores. Death Tolls It is estimated that approximately 20 million people died in Europe from the Black Death. This is about one-third of the population. Many cities lost more than 40% of their residents, Paris lost half, and Venice, Hamburg, and Bremen are estimated to have lost at least 60% of their populations. Contemporary Beliefs About the Plague In the Middle Ages, the most common assumption was that God was punishing mankind for its sins. There were also those who believed in demonic dogs, and in Scandinavia, the superstition of the Pest Maiden was popular. Some people accused the Jews of poisoning wells; the result was horrific persecution of Jews that the papacy was hard-put to stop. Scholars attempted a more scientific view, but they were hampered by the fact that the microscope wouldnt be invented for several centuries. The University  of Paris conducted a study, the Paris Consilium, which, after serious investigation, ascribed the plague to a combination of earthquakes and astrological forces. How People Reacted to the Black Death Fear and hysteria were the most common reactions. People fled the cities in panic, abandoning their families. Noble acts by doctors and priests were overshadowed by those who refused to treat their patients or give last rites to plague victims. Convinced the end was near, some sank into wild debauchery; others prayed for salvation. Flagellants went from one town to another, parading through the streets and whipping themselves to demonstrate their penitence. Effects of the Black Death on Europe Social Effects The marriage rate rose sharply- in part due to predatory men marrying rich orphans and widows.The birth rate also rose, though recurrences of the plague kept population levels reduced.There were notable increases in violence and debauchery.Upward mobility took place on a small scale. Economic Effects A surplus of goods resulted in overspending; it was swiftly followed by a shortage of goods and inflation.A shortage of laborers meant they were able to charge higher prices; the government tried to limit these fees to pre-plague rates. Effects on the Church The Church lost many people, but the institution became richer through bequests. It also grew richer by charging more money for its services, such as saying mass for the dead.Less-educated priests were shuffled into jobs where more learned men had died.The failure of the clergy to help the suffering during the plague, combined with its obvious wealth and the incompetence of its priests, caused resentment among the people. Critics grew vocal, and the seeds of the Reformation were sown.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Social Injustice Shell Gas is Putting on the Nigerian Delta Research Paper

The Social Injustice Shell Gas is Putting on the Nigerian Delta - Research Paper Example The typical day of the Nigerian Shell employee is filled with inhaling the dangerous gas fumes from the daily extraction of the natural gas emissions. Likewise, some of the gas pipes often break from the pressure coming from the earth’s exiting gases (Rosenau 9). Consequently, some leaks occur from cracks in the weakened gas pipes. Some of the people are happy with the current situation. Some place more importance on earning money from the Shell jobs over their health. The Shell Company jobs help reduce the poverty level in the Nigerian Delta. Priority should be placed on emphasizing how many people must die for our oil intake in (Paden 47). Mass genocide, through oil spill poisoning, that is being implemented by the government and the Shell Corporation on the Nigerian people should be stopped. Nigeria’s culture, ecosystem, and sustainability before shell. Before Shell Company’s intrusion, the Nigerian Delta was a densely populated enjoying daily breath of fresh unpolluted air. The people lived on fishing and other maritime jobs. The ecosystem before the intrusion of Shell Company was in a better balance. Human rights violation was absent before the entry of Shell Company into the lives of the Nigerian Delta people. The government was less corrupt prior to the entry of the Shell pipelines when compared to the government corruption after the entry of Shell Company . The skies were bluer then. The people can swim in the water. In addition, fishing was a thriving business endeavor. In terms of economics, the people can now work for Shell as one of its pipe maintenance engineers. The job entails ensuring that there are no leaks. Leak prevention is a vital job of the Shell employees. The lives of the people living in the community are at the hands of the employees of Shell Company (Nigeria 66).

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Challenging Banning Boxing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Challenging Banning Boxing - Essay Example Lately, health and fitness-conscious people have included boxing in their exercise regimen since it also increases stamina and makes dieting more effective. People's interest in boxing increases as years pass by. More kids would want to follow the footsteps of boxing icons like Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano who rose to fame and became financially able because of boxing. It can be noted that most of the boxers came from a lowly background; it could be because some view this sport as an avenue to escape from poverty. For boxing aficionados, the level of excitement that the action-packed sport brings is incomparable to any martial arts. But the boxers' dilemma does not vary that much whether they are in the boxing ring at the rural areas or in world-class arenas. But is the few critical injuries incurred in boxing enough to make the authorities decide to ban the sport I'd say, not! Banning boxing because of its close proximity to savage violent behavior is wrong. Prohibiting this sport will defeat its purpose of instilling a sense of disciple particularly in young individuals who are working hard to reach their dream of becoming a world boxing champion. Discipline in a sense that boxing keeps the youth away from engaging in prohibited drugs and other vices. Many of life's lessons are ac

Monday, November 18, 2019

French Culture vs American Culture Research Paper

French Culture vs American Culture - Research Paper Example As in playing a game of chess, knowing how to plan several moves ahead and anticipate what move your opponent could make accordingly, is essential to winning or the success of a goal. Culture, as defined by Brooks Peterson (2004), is a composition of several aspects of a people. â€Å"Culture is the relatively stable set of inner values and beliefs generally held by groups of people in countries or regions, and the noticeable impact these values and beliefs have on the peoples’ outward behaviors and environment (Peterson 17).† Understanding values of a society does not always mean that a person will act according to those values, given a certain set of circumstances. As Japanese children are trained early on to work together in a group and value this aspect of working, this may not actually occur in a business situation unless the right elements of understanding the goal and who does what, is precisely defined for them. Themes can be viewed as big themes such as famous actors, or little themes, such as the latest trend in android phones. In the United States, technology and new media are considered little themes and Angelina Jolie is a big theme. For the French, foreigners who can speak French while in their country, will fare much better than the Americans, who float from one town to the next, asking who can speak English. It is a certain type of snobbery that the French have about foreigners being in their country (Peterson 25). The ‘Big Five’ personality traits used in determining cultural intelligence, as proposed by both Peterson (2004) and in the work of Engle and Nehrt (2012), are neuroticism versus emotional stability, extraversion, openness to experiences, agreement versus antagonism, and conscientiousness versus undirectedness or lack of focus (Engle and Nehrt 36). In having these attributes, a person is able to adjust and assimilate with another culture without standing out as a sore thumb, thus providing a company the oppo rtunity to work with others on a global basis. Americans, however, in business situations, are more readily adaptable to other cultures than those who have cultures that are not so heavily integrated as is found in the United States (Earley and Mosakowski 139). As many Americans, particularly in large Northeastern cities, come from foreign countries or at least grew up in a family with a non-American background, it is easier to assimilate other cultures than those people who come from a predominantly one-culture world in their country. As global companies move their businesses to Southern states in the U.S., this trend is also growing here as well. Different styles of how to approach a joint project between two global countries, one, French and one, American, may show that Americans are ready to move ahead while the French prefer to have all the details worked out and the numbers in place before even taking the first step (Peterson 54). Some of this could be put down to the fact tha t governments work differently from one country to the next and therefore, have learned to work according to the criteria presented by regulations and government restrictions. Working this side out, takes a bit of doing, depending on which country the project will actually be implemented in (Earley and Mosakowski 140). In choosing those with cultural intelligence for positions of conducting projects with foreign companies, it is

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Changing Value Of The Currency Economics Essay

The Changing Value Of The Currency Economics Essay Exchange rates are relatively the most common issue that any government are willing to analyse. Except from factors such as interest rate and the inflation, the exchange rate is the most important economic indicators that are more likely affecting the largest economy in the world (Hill 2006). This report is aim to provide an overview of the international currency wars in between China and the US which recently have been highlighted in the medium. The Republic of China is one of those countries which economically called as an emerging economy. This decade has seen the rise of China economy in international trade, according to the World Trade Organisation; it is currently the third largest trading nation (WTO.org, 2010). In Section 1, graph figure 1.1 will be analysing the China Yuan against the US$ for the past 12 months starting from 2010 October. Part 2 of the report will be discussing and evaluating the merits of appreciation and depreciation of the Country`s currency related to its economic and business aspect. Briefly describe (with a Figure, labelled Figure 1.1 etc with a title, key and source of the data) the path of the currency against the US$ over the past 12 months Part 2 Figure 1.1 (Source: yahoo.com/finance) Table 1.1 Percentage change Calculation : 1 US$ to China (Renminbi/Yuan) = 02/11/09 = 6.82890 02/11/10 = 6.70090 Source: http://www.oanda.com/currency/historical-rates Percentage change for the past 12 months is 1.9% decreases of Renminbi/Yuan to US$. In other words, the US dollar has appreciated over the 12 months from November 2009 to November 2010. The reason behind this change as compared to previous months, when the Renminbi/Yuan has remained almost fixed for more than a year is government intervention policy. In the next part of this report, further research will justified this change. Explain the key factors that have contributed to the changing value of the currency and comment on the relationship of these factors to exchange rate theories. In 2009, the China Yuan remained more likely constant by floating averagely around 6.85Yuan to 1$. This constant fixed float have been caused by inflation furthermore The Chinadaily.com (2009) pointed that the National Bureau Statistic measured the rate of inflation in China in November 2009 and concluded the inflation as the major problem in the economy. On the other hand, FT.com (2009) reported that the inflation rate rose by 20% from 1995 to 1995 and this fixed rate anchor has helped china to gain price level stability which lasted until May 2010. In mid 2010 June/July the Central Bank of China has announced that the increase of Yuan would led to more flexibility, in the same way from July 2010 the exchange rate of the Yuan drastically slumped as a result of government intervention for example; According to Reuters (2010) china has deliberately devalued its currency thus making them having more emphasize on purchasing power parity and world market competition in terms of exports. This debate has been recently discussed during a G20 meeting in South Korea (Reuters, 2010). In addition, the US have also planned to buy bonds through quantitative easing, all this part of a planned strategy by the Obama Government who were focused for a weaker dollar for hope of more export in the next five years but with the appreciation of the dollar, there are no hope of more exports in the future. (Reuters.com, 2010). To an extent, the decrease of 1.9% of the Yuan/Renminbi and the appreciation of the US$ might affect directly FDI and MNE`s, in the contrary a dollar depreciation will serve a longer term interest by generating inflation and lessen the debt of the US. Discuss the relative merits of currency appreciation/depreciation; including the economic and business implications in the country you are looking at. The value of a currency can vary with time and affect different factors in an economy, either domestically or internationally. Various factors such as inflation, employment rate, balance of payment and GDP (Hill 2006:?) Changes in exchange rates are described as depreciation and appreciations, for instance if the Yuan changes from 6.68 Yuan per dollar to 6.58 Yuan per dollar, it shows depreciation (Krugman 2006). Depreciation will also serve as long term interest by generating inflation and also help in reducing the national debt (Hill 2006). Furthermore a depreciation of a currency for instance China; can add more value to economic terms of a country for example more future prospect of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) which other words promotes MNE`s to adjust their organisation on a local based operation. Secondly, the public and private transfer payments, thirdly, the house of property might be cheaper for foreign investors who wish to buy land or real estate investments. In brief, if China does not raise its currency, the imports of the country might increase thus leading more deficits in their national debt which is bad for economic growth. To solve the problem an increase in monetary policy with an increase of money supply. With the introduction of the Quantitative Easing (QE), the value of the currency depresses to those printing money and forces the value of other currency upfront (Salvatores, 2006). Consequently, the Economist (2010) stated that China`s government in mid-2010`s have been printing more money in order to buy bonds thus it shows that there has been a result of quantitative. Further research was mentioned by Krugman et al (2003) who suggested that an appreciation of a country`s currency makes its goods more expensive for foreigners. In theory, a rise of China currency would benefits the country as the consumers would have more purchasing power, secondly lower inflation rates. To back up this theory, a report from Reuters (2010) indicate that the Chinese governments are planning to raise their currency exchange rate but this could result to an economic downturn in its microeconomic environment such as unemployment and downturn to small businesses and if it happen to appreciate more in the future, it would eventually have a big impact for the exporters. Furthermore, The New York times (2010) argued that China is manipulating its currency by keeping it artificially under-valued as a mean of increasing its exports and boosting its economic growth (NewYork Times, 2010). On the other hand, a devaluation of the Yuan would benefit multinational corporations (Hill 2006). Multinational organisations have been outsourcing and relying on China for their product and services, a weaker Yuan would help them be more productive for example the case of Nike, apple and others American Companies which have joint ventures with Chinese company for manufacturing their product at cheap reliable price.(Ref) Conclusion The battle of currency wars in between the China and the United States are well discussed into the medium, until recently the appreciation of the dollar to the yuan in Mid- 2010 after more than a year of the exchange rate being relatively fixed. This international currency wars might start to be a common practice used by other countries to take advantage of economic downturns of certain countries weaken by recession or economic growth for example countries such as Greece and Iceland. To sum up, China managed to initiate its floating currency which was based on market demand. This mechanism has productively promoted an economic restructuration and sustainable development on leveraging its macro- economic environment (Nexis.com, 2010).

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Who is Most Responsible for the Death of Eva Smith in An Inspector Call

Who is Most Responsible for the Death of Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls An Inspector Calls is what is known as a well constructed play. Its progression is that of ignorance to knowledge. The characters are the Birling family, Gerald Croft and of course the formidable Inspector Goole. All the characters start off in a lulled sense of security. Sheila begins very pleased with her life and with her fiancà © Gerald Croft, as one might who is getting married. Gerald is introduced as the well-bred upper-class man about town. Eric, Sheila’s brother starts off shy and progresses through the play, as does Sheila. Meanwhile Mr and Mrs Birling are self-centred upper class adults who look down on anyone below them, even their own children. The entrance of the inspector shatters the whole family’s security and confidence as he tells them a girl called Eva Smith has died in the Infirmary after drinking disinfectant, consequently burning out her insides. The cracks in the Birling family ship begin to show. All of this is represented by the Titanic as people considered the boat to be unsinkable and yet it proved them wrong and sunk, the Birling family think themselves unsinkable and yet their boat eventually sinks too. Arthur Birling is moved to anger by the Inspector’s confrontational manner and accusation of sacking Eva Smith. Gerald, meanwhile, is in agreement with Birling and says, â€Å"I know I would have done the same thing.† Eric takes his father’s sacking of Eva personally and replies, â€Å"It isn’t as if you cannot go and work somewhere else.† Mr Birling sacked Eva because she went on strike with several other girls to get twenty-five shillings a week instead of twenty-two and six. Sheila is next to be examined by... ...s thing to do. Eric and Sheila, characters representing the younger generation learnt from this tragic episode and finally realised that their actions do have consequences, and progressed and matured by the end of the play. In my opinion, Gerald also learnt to be more humble and considerate, and clearly demonstrates his sorrow at the tragic death of Eva – he is also a member of the younger generation of the Birling family, although obviously one episode is not going to wipe out years of indoctrination by the Birling family! Mr and Mrs Birling do not change at all and have obviously learnt nothing from the death of Eva. They are the same cold-hearted people as previously. The Birlings and Gerald Croft are examples of the unscrupulous people in the world who exist the. Play highlights that you never know who is aware of your wrong doings and actions.