J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls

I am currently studying a play called An Inspector Calls by J.B

Priestly. Basically, this play is about a suicide in which a whole

family, the Birlings are implicated. The play is set in the home of a

middle class family, on a spring evening of 1912. This play contains

an important message for today’s society.

The Birling family is celebrating their daughter, Sheila’s engagement

to a man called Gerald Croft, when Inspector Goole calls. A young girl

drank a bottle of disinfectant and died. It is thought that at

sometime or another each of the family members knew her and

contributed to her death. The Inspector questions each person

individually and shows them all the photograph individually. They all

recognize the photograph for all different reasons.

In an Inspector calls the Inspector plays various roles. He plays a

socialist as he is against capitalist views and because he is not just

looking out for himself but others as well. Also he is known as a

catalyst as he brings a split in the Birling family. He plays a ghost

as we find out he is not real. Additionally he plays a fraud because

he is not a real Inspector, but he does disguise as an Inspector. The

Inspector adds a great deal of tension between the younger generation

consisting of Sheila and Eric and the older generation consisting of

Mrs.Birling and Mr.Birling because of this Inspector. J.B Priestly

uses the Inspector as a substitute of him to put his socialists points

across, this adds drama because we have to think about what he is

trying to do.

In An Inspector Calls, J.B Priestly uses the Inspector to cause

dramatic tension ...

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the Birlings think they are not acquittal to Eva/Daisy’s death. But

the Younger generations do not agree with this. The younger generation

consisting of Eric and Sheila both say they still feel guilty for what

they have done even know they do not lead her to her suicide. But a

few minutes later the Birlings receive a phone call and hear that

there was a death at the Infirmary.

Now as you know the poor girl did die, but how do you know that it

wasn’t two different pictures and two different women.

Overall the Inspector is Priestley’s tool to expose societies

weaknesses in the play. He appears to know everything about the

families’ involvement with Eva/Daisy before they reveal their secrets.

J.B Priestley uses the Inspector as a substitute of himself to put his

social views across to the audience and readers.