How Priestly Uses the Characters to Represent His Own Views on Society

How Priestly Uses the Characters to Represent His Own Views on Society

The play "An Inspector Calls" is set in 1912 but was written in 1945.

Edwardian society at that time (1912) was strictly divided into social

classes and over two-thirds of the nation's wealth was in the hands of

less than 1% of the population. Below the very rich were the middle

classes (doctors and merchants, shop workers and clerks), after that

came the craftsmen and skilled workers. At the very bottom of the

social ladder was the largest class of all - the ordinary workers and

the poor, many of whom lived below the poverty level. The men of

industry treated the workers very badly and they were paid pittance.

This caused workers to become better organised and strikes were

becoming more frequent as they demanded better conditions and higher

pay. J.B. Priestley was writing the play for a middle class audience

and was trying to speak up for the working class by showing how the

Birlings and Gerald Croft were all involved in making a young working

class girl's life a misery. Priestley wants to show us that we have a

responsibility to others to act fairly and without prejudice and that

we do not live in isolation. Our actions affect others. This is the

concept of collective responsibility. Priestley says, 'things could

really improve if only people were to become more socially responsible

for the welfare of others'. We have to confront our mistakes and learn

from them.

The play starts off with the Birling family celebrating their

daughter's engagement to Gerald Croft. The family included Mr Birling,

Mrs Birling, Eric Birling, Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft. Arthur

Birling is glad because Gerald is the son of his business competitor

and it will be a merger of businesses. Through the middle of the

dinner there is a knock at the door. This is where we meet inspector

Goole. He tells the family that a girl has committed suicide and that

in one way or another they are responsible. Mr Birling was responsible

for sacking the girl from his factory. Sheila Birling was responsible

because she got the girl sacked from a shop where she works. Eric

Birling was seeing her but the broke it off, and Gerald Croft was

having an affair with her but he also broke it off. All of their

morals are tested and they are all put to the test because none of

them really know the truth about what they have done until the

inspector brings it out of them. After the inspector goes the family

finds out that he was a fake and that no girl had died.