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Character analysis of the inspector - an inspector calls
Essay on the character of an inspector calls
Character analysis of the inspector - an inspector calls
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Within the play “An Inspector Calls, J.B Priestley uses ideas and themes to form the play and explore areas of our society and real problems to structure the play. One of the main themes of the play is responsibility. Responsibility is used by all of the main characters in the play and presented in different ways by each of them, by their different outlooks on responsibility and how they have varying degrees of their thought of their involvement with Eva Smith that resulted in her suicide. As responsibility is a key theme, Priestley uses it as a way to connect with us and to understand our personal responsibility in society. He wants us to learn to accept responsibility like Sheila and Eric and not avoid it like Arthur and Sybil. The play …show more content…
is used to explore class, age and prejudice in life and society. Priestley uses the play to explain about how he cares about socialism and capitalism and is passionate about the way we are living our lives and we should be more concerned about responsibility. Socialism was a key motive of the play, as Priestley was a socialist. Social responsibility is shown throughout the play in many different ways and by all of the characters. During the final act of the play, the Inspector gives a speech to the family to express to the family the importance of social responsibility, the speech is presented to the audience and is used for Priestly to connect with us, as the Inspector is represented as to be Priestly’s conscience. Priestley uses the inspector to explore his opinions about responsibility. The language used in the final speech is what drives the sense of responsibility and finds that connection and explains Priestley's passion for socialism and equality. “We don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other”, The power of three of the collective pronoun ‘we’ emphasises the audience involvement with the viewpoints of socialism and that our actions affect everyone like the “Eva and John Smiths”. By using the collective pronouns, Priestly connects with us through the conscience and the powerful message behind the play. When the Inspector talks about “we are members of one body” it has the underlying message of being respectful to each other and helping each other out and we are all the same and equal as we are one body. It also has some a Biblical tone which elevates the impact and thought of responsibility as people respect the Bible and connect with it. “Fire and blood and anguish” links to the theme of war and refers to the two world wars that took place after the setting of the play but it was written before the wars took place. This reference allows the audience to reflect on the past and how our actions and responsibility fueled the war. As the play develops, Priestley shows how the different family members have varying levels of accepting their personal responsibility.
Priestly wants us to all accept responsibility for our own actions and understand that they have consequences. Throughout the play, the Inspector is pushing the characters to accept their own personal responsibility and for them to understand their actions will have repercussions and effect people like Eva. The inspector is Priestley's voice and conscience through the play, and is telling the audience that we need to accept personal responsibility in society. Sybil Birling said “He certainly did not make me confess- as you call it”. Mrs Birling is denying her personal responsibility with Eva and denying that she confessed to having dealings and confessing to her problems and qualms with Eva, her thoughts that she was in the right and did not do anything wrong with Eva. “In spite of what's happened to that girl since, I consider I did my duty.” Mrs Birling is cutting off all ties and denying the fact she played a huge involvement with her by not giving her the help and support and treating her with the capitalist viewpoint, and not giving her respect like she would if Eva was rich and in a higher class. Although Sybil and Arthur continue to refuse to take responsibility for what happened to Eva Smith, their younger children Sheila and Eric accept to their doings with Eva, they are willing to listen to the Inspector and do not shut down the possibility of being involved with her from the word go. This is evident when Sheila said “And probably between us we killed her”. This is showing us that she is accepting to the fact that by her actions she knew that it affected her and it was what lead to Eva commiting suicide. She accepted her responsibility, like Priestly wants us to accept our responsibility within society and realise that actions affect others. Both of the children know and understand and accept their doing with Eva. Eric
also accepted responsibility with Eva, this is shown when he said “The money’s not the important thing. It’s what happened to the girl and what we did to her that matters.” This shows that unlike his father, Eric’s life does not revolve about being powerful and rich and maintaining his social standing instead of accepting to be one of the main factors that drove a lower class girl to commit suicide. It shows that he cared about Eva and understood that what he did to her was wrong and drove her to kill herself and her baby. Eric treated Eva like a normal, equal human being but did use her for easy sex, but primarily he had the viewpoint that she was equal to him and did not treat her with disrespect because of her class like Sybil and Arthur did. In “An Inspector Calls”, Priestley uses characters in the play to express his concern for society's use of responsibility and social inequality and their consequences in our everyday lives. The play is used to convey his political message and war induced thoughts and feelings. Arthur Birling is introduced at the start of the play as “a heavy-looking, rather portentous man in his middle fifties with fairly easy manners but rather provincial in his speech.” Biring is head of the family and a rich businessman, he had made his living as he was not born into money. His company employs many young girls, which is how he got involved with Eva Smith. Once the inspector began to interrogate Arthur, he was quick to deny having any involvement with Eva and did not take any responsibility as to what happened to her. Arthur said to the Inspector that “obviously it has nothing to do with the wretched girl’s suicide.” This is implying that Arthur couldn't care less about this young girls suicide. This would be shown by the actor changing his tone of voice and applying emphasis to the words wretched and obviously for dramatic effect. Arthurs view is very capitalist and believes he is above this girl and not treating her with equality by not giving the whole body of his employees of women a pay rise and then proceed to fire Eva like she was worthless and not a real human. Throughout the play, Birling’s view about his responsibility did not change and he was adamant until the end that he had no involvement with Eva and did not take responsibility for her death. Like most rich old men, Arthur only cared about himself and protecting his self made image, this is shown at the end of the play when he said “There’ll be a public scandal... and who here will suffer for that more than I will?”. This is showing that no matter what he may have done, he only cared about protecting himself through all of this. He was quite protective over the rest of his family as he would have understood that their actions will have also affected his image. Mrs Birling is very much alike her husband, she is described as “about fifty, a rather cold woman and her husband’s social superior.” Unlike her husband, Mrs Birling was born into money and bought up in a very rich household and because of that bought up with a very much capitalist attitude. Mrs Birling is very controlling over her children, this is shown when the Inspector she took Sheila and herself into the drawing room to leave the men do the talking and for the men to be in charge, as she is her husband's “social superior” this is also shown when she said “I think you ought to go to bed – and forget about this absurd business”. This is showing Mrs Birlings bossy and controlling side but also showing that she is being dismissive about the incident as she called the whole situation of Eva Smith is absurd business, again not accepting responsibility for the situation. During Act 2 when Mrs Birling was being questioned, she stated that “Unlike the other three, I did nothing I’m ashamed of or that won’t bear investigation.” This is showing how Mrs Birling is not accepting responsibility for her doings with Eva. She is being very shallow and self centred when she says “unlike the other three” this is implying that she is throwing her family under the bus and may believe that they have involvement with Eva Smith's case, but saying that she had no involvement with Eva, she did not affect her at all and her actions by not helping her with her baby was right and just. Sybil, all throughout the play, refused to accept personal responsibility for her actions with Eva Smith.
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
...are lower class or upper class (‘[W]e don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’). Priestley believed in socialism, he uses the Inspector to express his thoughts about this. This is the main message that he wanted the audience to take away.
BIRLING I thought you must be. I was an alderman for years - and lord
The whole family’s actions are the cause of Eva’s death however the message about responsibility the Inspector presents is only take on board by Eric and Sheila. In conclusion, Priestley clearly gets across his message of responsibility towards others in the play. A clever script cunningly executed points out Priestley’s views to the audience. ‘Responsibility’ is the focal point of the play and is consistently addressed at the end of each interrogation, but the Birlings fail to recognise this.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
Difference in Reactions of Sheila Birling and Her Father in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
The function of Priestley’s Inspector is an intriguing and inspirational one. The play was first performed in 1946, just one year after the end of the Second World War. The play is set in the year or 1912 when a harsh figure of a police Inspector joined the capitalist family home for an evening of interrogation and revelation. The Inspector cross-examines all of the Birling family about a young working-class woman who is, surprisingly, connected in some way to them all. He lectures the family about their inconsiderate ways and forces confessions out of them about their role in Eva Smith’s suicide. He preaches to them a socialist message and makes them feel sympathy for the girl, taking responsibility for their actions towards others. The Inspector then leaves the family home with a powerful closing speech of “we are responsible for each other … if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish”, thus leaving the family subdued and startled. Priestley also conveys this message to the audience as they will be aware of the consequences of war all too well. The Inspector becomes a dominant socialist mouthpiece for Priestley’s views, influencing the audience as well as the Birlings.
Sheila's remorse is clearly evident when her involvement in the suicide is revealed showing that she does in fact feel responsible for Eva's death, in sight of this, through the play we watch Sheila grow and become a more mature individual as oppose to the self-centered child she was at the beginning.
Sheila aligns herself with the Inspector very quickly, and mimics his behaviour in her stage directions, ‘cutting in’ and ‘sharply attentive’. Sheila seems to be the most perceptive member of the family, and connects Eva’s story before anyone else. This idea is further developed when she suspects that Gerald knew Eva Smith previously. During Gerald’s confession Sheila keeps the Inspector on stage, by using metaphorical language when she mimics the inspector ‘giving us a rope so we’ll hang ourselves’, mirroring his manipulative methods, and causing Gerald to confess. Like the inspector, Sheila uses monosyllabic language, ‘we can’t leave it at that’ to question Gerald, thus creating a tense atmosphere, which demonstrates her newfound confidence. This is symbolic of the time, because women were on the cusp of change, and gaining more rights, Sheila challenges the gender roles of the time, transforming herself, and intensifying Priestley’s message of equality. Sheila’s full transformation is realised when the Inspector is no longer there to guide her, as she has absorbed the Inspector’s message of community, and does not want her family to regress back to their previous façade ‘you don’t seem to have learnt anything’. This was particularly relevant for the audience in 1946 as the destruction caused by WW2 had changed their outlook, and the younger generation was seeking change. The Inspector
“An Inspector Calls” is a play written by J. B. Priestley. This play is based in 1912 in a small county called “Brumley” and is about how each of the Birling's had a part to play in the death of Eva Smith. In this essay I will be discussing the sackings of Eva Smith and how they are different. The relationships she had and how they affected her emotionally as well as physically and the troubles she faced due to society and expectations of women in those days.
An Inspector Calls was written by J.B. Priestley after the Second World War. Written in 1945, however set in 1912, the purpose was to challenge the ideals of the general public of Great Britain and to convey Priestley’s own social and political message through the contrasting characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole who hold capitalist and socialist beliefs respectively. The date the play was set, 1912 represented an era that was largely controlled by capitalist principles and the mistreatment of the working class. By 1945 many of the class and gender boundaries central in the play were being questioned and partially addressed. Being a socialist, Priestley believed in responsibility, both individually and collectively. He wrote this play
“An Inspector calls” is a play written by J.B Priestly with lot a lot of political messages. The play was written in 1945 but is set during the pre world war 1 period during 1912, in a house located in an industrial city. The play revolves around an inspector and the Birling's who are a wealthy family living in the North Midlands, as it goes along it is revealed how each of them played a death in Eva Smiths death. I feel like Priestly has used the inspector as a puppet to convey his socialist views to the and I feel like he has done so in a very smart way- by putting it in a play, a more entertaining method of getting his message out to the people. Priestly a socialist uses inspector Goole as a puppet to convey his message to the public.
The play is written in 1945, after the end of Second World War but the play was set on a spring evening in 1912, which is two years before the World War One. J.B. Priestly have set the play 35 years in past so that he can involve the audience in the play. The play is about social responsibility. Priestley uses the play to present his ideas on responsibility and society. He uses the character of the Inspector as a mouth-piece for his ideas. For example the Inspector exclaims ‘We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other’. Priestley is suggesting that we should all look after one another, and that those who have power over others should use it for the common good, not just for their own benefit. It is clear by the end of the
Tense, clever and ambiguous, J.B. Priestly’s dramatic morality play “An Inspector Calls” presents the idea of social responsibility and the effect our actions can have on others. In 1912, the wealthy Birling family are enjoying a celebratory engagement dinner when an Inspector calls. A young girl had died and the Inspector reveals that all the Birling family are involved.
Priestley shows the theme of responsibility in An Inspector Calls through the way he chose the setting of the play and adapted his characters to portray the different aspects of society and the role that each type of person has. This is done as the play is a social commentary that conveys the responsibilities of everyone no matter if they are upper class, upper-middle class or the working class - these are the classes that Priestley made his characters to draw attention to the issues of the public at the time amongst the hierarchy in place.