The Thriller Like Suspense in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley
“An Inspector Calls is a perfect play. It contains theatrical
excitement in the thriller-like suspense of the Inspector’s inquiry;
it has a moral message and it is very tightly constructed.” Do you
agree with this statement?
The play “An Inspector Calls” was written by J.B Priestly. The play
is set in 1912, in the Edwardian Era, in a fictional town called
Brumley, an industrial city in the North Midlands.
When Priestly wrote the play in 1945, World War II was just ending.
The play is set two years before World War I, in 1912, and in the year
of the Titanic.
In the Edwardian Era, known as the “Golden Age” for some classes,
upper and middle classes led a pleasant life. They had everything
they needed and plenty of money.
The upper class, which, in the play, includes Mrs Birling, Gerald
Croft and his parents, Mr and Mrs Croft, were hardhearted people. The
upper class owned factories and businesses and employed the middle
class, like Mr Birling, to run them. The working class, like Eva
Smith, were the employees who worked for many hours and little pay.
The upper class did not work, but were wealthy and many of them were
associated with royalty.
It was not a “Golden Age” for the working class though. They had
little money and struggled to stay alive due to lack of food and
employment. They worked in factories or coalmines owned by the upper
class.
The entire play is set in one room, the dining room. The play begins
with the Birling family, who appear respectable, celebrating the
engagement between their daughter, Shelia Birling, and Gerald Croft,
when an Inspector calls to question them regarding a suicide incident
of a young...
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Shelia, but not at the same time. Gerald, Eric and Mrs Birling do not
see the photograph, this is because they knew her by name, but she had
several different names. She was known to Gerald as Daisy Renton
whereas, Eric knew her as Eva Smith and Mrs Birling said Eva Smith
called herself Mrs Birling.
The audience is left to wonder why the Inspector has only shown this
photograph to two people and whether or not it was the same
photograph. This is another clue to the audience to show that he may
not be a real Inspector.
“An Inspector Calls” has been a very successful play because it is
enjoyable to watch. The play holds the audience’s attention because
of the continuous action. The play today continues to be very popular
and the moral or message Priestly tries to put across, treat people
how you want to be treated, still applies to a modern audience.
play was set in 1912 two years before the first world war so from this
shall firstly do a summery of the play and give a basic image of what
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
The play was written in the 1945 but is set in 1912. The 1910's was a
Priestley’s Main Aim in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ to enhance the message that ‘we don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. This is something Priestly felt strongly about and he succeeded in representing his views through the character of the Inspector in the play itself. He wanted to communicate the message that our actions, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, always affect others.
The play is set in the 1950’s, and it has two narrators, called Voice 1 and Voice 2, which act as dramatic devices and move the play along in space and time.
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young
tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
These dates are significant because 1912 was the year the Titanic sunk and was just before the First World War. Both of These events are mentioned in the play and are taken for granted by Mr. Birling considers any mention of war or the Kaiser as ‘fiddlesticks’ and that ‘Germans don’t want war.’ We know now that. This was obviously not true because the play was first performed. At the end of the Second World War we can look back and see how ignorant and narrow minded the upper-middle class society the Birlings.
the play will be set in the same period as when it was written. The
An Inspector Calls by John Boynton Priestley The story “An Inspector Calls” is set in 1912 and is written by John Boynton Priestley. The story, which was written in 1934, is about an upper- class family who believe that because they are richer than other people that they are more important. The story was made as a play by Priestley in 1944-45 using the characters he had already thought up several years earlier. An inspector calls is what is known as a well-made play. This is because of the progression throughout the story from ignorance to knowledge for both the audience and the characters.
William Shakespeare has provided some of the most brilliant plays to ever be performed on the stage. He is also the author of numerous sonnets and poems, but he is best known for his plays such as Hamlet, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. In this essay I would like to discuss the play and movie, "Romeo and Juliet", and also the movie, Shakespeare in Love. The play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is set in the fictional city of Verona. Within the city lives two families, the Capulets and the Montegues, who have been feuding for generations.