Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Inspector calls inspector analysis
Inspector calls inspector analysis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Responsibility is explored in JB Priestley’s play ‘The Inspector Calls’ by showing the contrasting opinions of the younger and older generations. The older and younger generations in the story take the Inspector’s messages differently. Mr Birling and Mrs Birling both choose to protect themselves, where Mr Birling tries to hide from his responsibility by saying if he were to be responsible for something that happened due to a choice made two years ago, it would be a very awkward world. Mrs Birling shrugs off responsibility by telling the inspector that the father of the unborn child is responsible for looking after Eva, not her charity organisation. Eric and Sheila are the young members of the family, and both are honest and admit their roles in the …show more content…
Midway through act one, Mr Birling is interrogated by the inspector. The inspector proclaims in front Eric and Gerald that due to Mr Birling’s decision to fire Eva after going on strike (pg 172) “I can’t accept any responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody we’d had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldn’t it?”. Mr Birling’s response to the inspector’s accusation shows that he couldn’t see that he had any responsibility for what happened to Eva afterwards. This notion is contrasted to Sheila's response (page 179) “I felt rotten about it at the time and now i feel a lot worse. Did it make much difference to her?”. Sheila showed elements of responsibility, although belatedly, eventually realising that her actions in Milwards had a devastating impact on Eva Smith’s life. JB Priestley’s use of contrasting responses shows Mr. Birling’s outdated opinion that he doesn’t hold any responsibility for an event that occurred two years before his confession. Sheila's response is far more responsible towards her actions of which she is extremely guilty
The characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ are mainly upper-middle class (Mr and Mrs Birling, Gerald, Sheila, Eric), but the Inspector is middle class and Eva Smith is working class. Most of the characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ have varied opinions about social classes, but there are mainly two sides. The first main opinion is that the upper-middle class are the most important and the lower working classes are not important and that it doesn’t matter what happens to them (this is the view of Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald). For example Sheila and Mrs Birling need to be protected from the horrid things such as Eva Smith’s death because they are upper-middle class, whilst Eva Smith doesn’t need to be protected from horrid things in life because she is working class. The other opinion is that although they are working class, they should still be treated fairly even if they are different classes and that Eva Smith’s death is very tragic even if she wasn’t upper class (this is Eric, Sheila and The Inspector’s...
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
Wells, both of whom references are made to in the opening pages of the play. A lot of the tension in the play is between Birling and the Inspector, both of who are powerful figures in the household and are both vying for dominance, creating a lot of tension. This is symbolic of the global struggle between capitalism and socialism, the Inspector represents Priestley's socialist views, and Birling, the antithesis of the Inspector represents capitalist views, which is made clear through his speech "the interests of Capital steadily increasing prosperity." When the Inspector is there, Birling is very fast to drop the blame on someone else, insisting "I can't accept any responsibility" which is a complete contrast of what the Inspector says, telling the family to "share the blame among yourselves when I have left" This constant conflict, which is often at the heart of the dramatic genre itself, makes sure there is tension whenever the two characters are talking to each other. This conflict is not the only one within the play.
technology and how a man should live. He says 'A man has to make his
talks with. He is a man who has come to the Birling's house to do his
JB Priestley’s intent in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to convey the attitudes of socialism to the minds of the society in the Edwardian Era as he was a passionate believer of the concept. Priestley has attempted this through the employment of ‘Inspector Goole’ in the play. In the play drama is displayed through a variety of methods for the interest of the audience and the communication of personal views from JB Priestley.
In fact, many of the events that involve Eva Smith are revealed to the Birlings by the Inspector: "This girl was going to have a child" It can be argued that the Inspector uses his knowledge of the events to induce confessions from each of the other characters, so that they are able to see the consequences of their actions. They also reveal all of their wrong-doings to their family in the process. This public confession is often thought to be a deliberate method used by the Inspector to create conflict amongst the Birlings, stripping away the image of a 'happy, middle-class family' that was presented at the beginning of the play: "…You're not the kind of father a chap could go to…" This conflict amongst the family members, as well as the knowledge provided by the Inspector allows each of the characters to develop. Mr Birling, for example, becomes more and more irritable as the play progresses, revealing his stubbornness and lack of compassion for others. Sheila on the other hand is not only remorseful, but also becomes much more confident and out spoken: "Sheila, I simply don't understand your attitude.
Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls
The Inspector, straight form his introduction, is commanding and authoritative. Upon his entrance he creates, “…at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”(PG.11) The Inspector continues to create this impression as he progresses through his speeches and through his interrogation of the family. The Inspector remains confident, sturdy and composed, while people around him crumble and fall to pieces. His ‘solidity’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Birling to digress from the points he is making. The Inspector is told to appear ‘purposeful’; this is shown where he explains to Birling that Birlings way of thinking “Every man must only look out for himself,” is not the case, and all warps of society are interlinked. The view is best illustrated in the Inspectors final speech, where he says, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”(p.56). This idea is one that Priestley, himself believed in deeply, and many of Priestleys writing shared this very theme.
Consider the role of the Inspector in “An Inspector Calls”? And what we learn about Priestley’s view on society through the character and his effect on others.
play is set in 1912, only 2 years before the outbreak of WW1, and in
Through his play Priestley endeavoured to convey a message to the audiences, that we could not go on being self obsessed and that we had to change our political views. He used the Birling family as an example of the Capitalist family that was common amongst the higher classes in 1912, who took no responsibility for other people and he showed this with the power of Socialism, represented by the inspector; the uneasy facade put on by the Birling family to cover up their real flaws and how they have treated those whom they considered to be lower class could not stand up to any scrutiny without shame for what had happened, showing that they know they have been wrong.
In 1946, Britain was not in the best state, after two heavy conflicts (WWI and WWII), many towns had suffered damage during the Blitz. The political situation was about to change massively with a Labour government, 1946, the same year ‘An Inspector Calls’ was performed. The two wars had promoted the idea of equality and many were keen to try and end the social problems that were attributing to the class system. Priestley used his ‘surroundings’ and the problems at the time to write ‘An Inspector Calls’.
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.