J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

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J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls "Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Professor Azaria Frost and I am one of the leading experts on JB Priestley and his plays. Today I am here to talk to you about 'An Inspector Calls.' I have been lead to understand that all of you will soon be taking an A-level exam on this play. Is that correct?" (Pause for answer 'yes') "Good. I'll start by taking each character in turn and discussing with you the dramatic effect of this character in contrast with how Priestley used them to criticize society. We'll start with Arthur Birling. Arthur Birling is a pompous, blustering man who appears not to know right from wrong. As a dramatic device Arthur Birling is very useful. His poor judgment and sheer ignorance keep the audience almost laughing behind Birling's back. For example; '…I say there isn't a chance of war…' '…except of course Russia, which will always be behindhand, naturally.' '…I don't guess, I know.' These 3 quotes alone expose Arthur Birling's awful judgment as there was a war just before this play was performed for the first time (which is an excellent use of dramatic irony). Russia is now a super-power, and he doesn't know anything like what he thinks he does. Birling also shows his poor judgment when he admits to sacking Eva but does not think that what he did was wrong. His nieve attitude prevents him from seeing what is duty and what is right. He refuses to admit that he could be responsible for Eva's long downhill spiral that eventually led to her death. The more the Inspector questions him abo... ... middle of paper ... ...g 'who was the previous inspector then?' 'Who is the new inspector going to be?' 'Who is the girl who has died?' 'Did it really happen this time?' and 'Did it really happen last time?' The story of Eva Smith is a dramatic one. JB Priestley is full of good ideas as to how society should be changed and how the younger generation can inspire this change. I believe that JB Priestley cannot be either a dramatic genius or social critic, he must be both. If Priestley was not a dramatic genius then nobody would have come to see his plays, if he was not a social critic then there would have not been much point in performing his plays as they would have had no morals, no substance and no meaning. So I'll leave it up to you to decide what you think he is but think hard because there is no easy answer. Thank you and Goodbye.

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