Social Responsibility in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

Social Responsibility in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

An inspector call is a play written by JB Priestly in 1945. Although

the play is written in 1945, it is originally set in 1912 to

illustrate the audience a more dramatic look at the relationship

between the wealthy and the poor. It also allows Mr Birling’s

predictions to fail. The play shows an impressive contrast of the

younger and older generations. The play is based on various themes

such as pride and status. For example, Mr and Mrs Birling think that

people like Eva Smith are cheap labour and working class. The main

themes of the play are society and community. JB Priestly, a

socialist, believed that we are a community and have a responsibility

to look after each other. On the other hand, Mr Birling is a

capitalist, who believes that a man should only look after himself and

his family.

The play shows a gap between the young generations and the old

generations. In the older generation, we have Mr and Mrs Birling who

are refusing to accept their responsibility and their mistakes and

instead are trying to justify themselves. In contrast, we have the

younger generations like Sheila and Eric who have accepted their

mistakes and are willing to take the responsibility.

The play was set in 1912, which was just before World War I when there

was a vast status difference in society.

One of the main characters in the play is Mr Birling who is a selfish

man. His thoughts of life are that a person should just look after

himself and not bother about anyone else- “a man has to mind his own

business and look after himself – and his family”. He has views that

no one can depend on anyone else. He is a person who is always

lecturing people thinking that he is always right and does not give

anyone else a chance to speak. He is a selfish man who does not worry

about anyone else and tries to find his own profit.