An Inspector Calls By J.B.Priestly J.B.Priestly's aim in writing "An Inspector Calls", was to show how the rich disrespect the poor. To place shame on the rich and prove you cannot hide behind money and titles, Priestly is attacking rich people's attitudes towards the poor, not how much money they have. By using the character of Mr Birling, he shows the audience how they can sometimes resemble him. Priestly asks the audience how they treat the poor and see if they understand how selfish they are towards them. Priestly does this through Mr.Birling's self interest and pride. Priestly already explains how the Birling family are before one word is spoken. In the stage directions we discover that the family are not warm or loving: 'The general effect is substantial and heavily comfortable, but not cosy and homelike.' Their house reflects their relationship. They do not have a cosy and homelike relationship but they have a comfortable and substantial connection. They disregard truth and honesty; they only care about their appearances. This also continues with Mr.Birling, Priestly describes Birling in the stage directions: 'Arthur Birling is a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech.' This shows Mr.Birling is strong minded and opinionated, it also indicates he is over weight. Priestly states Birling is 'provincial in his speech' showing he is not from the class he now is in. He is always trying to display how he worked his way up. This is also shown when Priestly tells us Mrs.Birling is of a higher class 'her husband's social superio... ... middle of paper ... ... accept any responsibility for Eva's death proves that he is generally selfish. He has no remorse for his actions showing how involved he is with hi future and how he can benefit himself. He is a head figure of a large household who should have achieved more. Disapprovingly selfish as a father and overly controlling as a boss, he shows how vain and self-serving he definitely is. Priestly used Birling to make a point, and needed Birling to be the most dislikeable character. Making Birling selfish and arrogant ensures the audience will dislike him. Birling is an insolent character, the way he ignores his actions and refuses to accept any responsibility for his consequences ensures that the audience will dislike him. This ultimately ensures Priestly's point about treatment towards the poor is certainly received.
of a Marine.’ Etc. & etc. At the time it seemed to me a very good speech,
Criticism in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley "An Inspector Calls" has been called a play of social criticism. What is being criticised. Explain some of the dramatic techniques which Priestley uses to achieve the play's effects. "An Inspector Calls" has been called a play of social criticism as Priestley condemned the many different injustices that existed in the society between the first and second world wars.
and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of a body. We are
Through all the different appeals he makes a successful argument for declaring was. He makes many statements that could have only been made by someone who really knew what was going on. With all the facts, he proves that he does know what he is talking about and that everyone should believe him. This speech gave just the right amount of information to be able to let people know what was going on without too much detail that may confuse them.
for each other. And I tell you that a time will soon come when if men
of patriotism in his speech. He wants America to be proud even in the face of
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
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
The Role of the Inspector in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls When the inspector is first introduced, it is as a Police Inspector. This leads both the other characters and the reader to assume that his role will be to ask questions and collect evidence, which he can use to solve the crime. However, as the play progresses, it becomes clear that there is more to the inspector that meets the eye, as he seems to know everything that has happened to Eva Smith, before the Birlings tell him so.
play is set in 1912, only 2 years before the outbreak of WW1, and in
He mentions the very recent violence that occurred in Selma, Alabama; where African Americans were attacked by police while preparing to march to Montgomery to protest voting rights discrimination. Without mentioning this violent event that occurred a week prior, there would not be much timeliness to his argument, and it wouldn’t have been as effective. The timeliness of his argument gave the speech a lot more meaning, and it heightened the emotions of many who heard the address. He is appealing to the emotions of many American people, both Congressmen and ordinary citizens, to encourage them to support his cause. He reminds us of all of the Americans around the world that are risking their lives for our freedom.
At the beginning of the speech he started off with a few jokes about breaking the award.
He speaks to all the citizens of the nation and specifically to the members of the Congress. The purpose of the speech is to pass the Voting Rights Act, mainly for African Americans, to create greater equality in our society. He mentioned the incident in Selma, Alabama, and he stated, “One good man, a man of God, was killed” (Johnson 1). He explained the situation and gave many other statements about the amount of hatred that was still around at the time.
Jobs starts his speech with humor. He said, “I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation,” this statement instantly added an element of humor to his speech and this was well observed by the audience. The opening statements of the speech automatically lightened the mood. Steve jobs’ introduction appeals to the emotions of the audience, giving Jobs a valuable opening into the rest of his speech. In the whole speech, Jobs recites three stories from his personal life, which gave him inspiration.