An Inspector calls, written by famous playwright J.B Priestly, was first performed in 1945. The play’s focus point is a wealthy family known as the Birlings. A visit from an unexpected, peculiar and very curious Inspector Goole emerges into something quite horrific and quite worrying for the Birling household, as they discover that they have participated in a suicide of a young woman known as Eva Smith, who died consuming a bottle of disinfectant. Priestley’s aims are to address people to take responsibly for their actions, not to allow others to be held accountable for their actions. Each and every member of the Birling family and Gerald Croft, have met Eva Smith, however, none of them is aware of the others being involved in the …show more content…
We gain the feeling that Mr Birling cares very little for his staff, and in fact didn’t associate himself much with many of his employees, as he gladly says, “I have a couple of hundred workers under me, who keep changing”. Mr Birling showed no personal feelings for any of the staff working under his name. Eva Smith was struggling financially at the time and felt that the company in which she was working for gave very little and so decided that a strike should take place, as a result of the strike she, unfortunately, was fired. Mr Birling exclaims, “In spite of what happened to the girl since, I consider I did my duty”. Here, ‘I did my duty’ gives the impression that he is very a cold-hearted character, refusing to treat Eva with any respect or take moral responsibility for her and limiting her prospects. When being interviewed by the inspector he always wanted to remain in control of the situation wanting people to see things from his perspective. We sense Mr Birling doesn’t like to be asked too many questions and so he threatens the Inspector by saying, “Perhaps I ought to warn you that he is an old friend of mine (Referring to the Chief Constable)”. Despite the Inspector trying his absolute best to try to allow Mr Birling to understand his actions he seems to be very abrupt and firm and shows no regret for firing Eva
He was particularly scathing about the class system and the extreme contrasts of wealth and poverty prevalent at that time. He also disapproved of the selfishness within the individual and the fact that many people were only concerned with their own power, profit and gain. Priestley powerfully highlighted the exploitation of women and through the character of Eva Smith, he illustrated the rights that women were beginning to voice in society. Finally, Priestley used the different characters in his play to show the how the sins of greed, pride and selfishness have so corrupted society that the individual has become oblivious to the consequences of their actions, in this case culminating in the death of Eva Smith. Although 'Inspector Calls' is set in 1912, it was first written in 1945 and produced on the lst October 1946, just after World War 11.
Eva and his son Eric is annoyed by this. He seems to be a very hard
was on his way and that a girl was on her way to the hospital after
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
Do you agree that Eva Smith is presented as a victim in the play ‘An
The Reflection of J. B. Priestley's Political and Philosophical Beliefs in An Inspector Calls In 1945 J. B. Priestley wrote the play "An Inspector Calls". It is a very tense play; the audience are always on the edge of their seats. It is didactic as it conveys a social and moral meaning to the play.
An Inspector Calls' is primarily focused on he attitudes surrounding the higher classes in 1912, and how these attitudes can lead to actions with potentially devastating consequences. The attitudes are particularly aimed at women, especially those of working class status. In the play women are portrayed as second class citizens, after men. However the difference (e.g. in independence) between upper class men and women is greater than that of working class men and women.
Examine Priestley's use of dramatic techniques to create tension in the play. Priestly was a socialist writer, and 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the plays in which he tried to display his socialist ideals in. The play was written in the 1940's, a little after the end of the Second World War, and it was first performed in 1946, in Russia, then later in England. Priestly had served in World War 1, and the terrible scenes he saw lead to him having socialist views. He was inspired by other writers whose views he shared, especially George Orwell and H.G.
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.
Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls
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 "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as "dramatic irony" and "direct mouthpieces", which define the genre of the play as non-illusory, to impart his left-wing message.
J.B Priestley is the writer of the play 'An Inspector Calls'. The play is based in the period of 1912, however, it was in the year 1946 that he decided to get his message across: The importance of the welfare state.
seen or heard in the play. It may point to the attitudes of the middle
was genuine and this allows the audience to almost predict their own ending; how will the family react to the arrival of the real Inspector? Will they acknowledge this as a chance to admit to their mistakes or will they try and conceal their guilt? I thoroughly enjoyed studying An Inspector Calls and have learned a great deal about how society has changed and how moral ideals have evolved over time. I found the play effective although because of the way in which society has developed Priestley's morals may not be applicable to life today. As wealth and power have become increasingly more important socialist feelings of responsibility for one another have been progressively weakened.