J.B.Priestley’s play, An Inspector Calls

AN INSPECTOR CALLS

COMPARE THE LIVES OF EVA SIMTH AND SHEILA BIRLING

“Property is that old fashioned way of thinking of a country as a

thing and a collection of things on that thing.” This quote is taken

directly from J.B.Priestleys late night post scripts on BBC radio in

1940, which were banned for being to critical of the governments

actions, and can be used to sum up the capitalist view perfectly. I

think this quote is made from the point of view of a capitalist who

believes that the old-fashioned belief is to think of property as

belonging the country and its people however the new belief, his

belief, is that property can belong to individual people and not to

the state or its people at all, and when a person owns his own

property he can run it any way he sees fit. This is a belief which

Priestly continually criticizes throughout his play.

An Inspector Calls was written in 1945, the year the Second World War

ended, but was set in 1911. The social climate of both years was of

great unrest as was many areas of industry in Britain and many strikes

took place all over the country much like the strike which took place

in Mr. Birling’s factory. Priestley set the play in 1911 because of

the onset of the First World War and he would be able to write the

play with the advantage of hindsight, he could also make Mr. Birling

look bad with his portentous beliefs and his promises of no war. He

may have also set the play in 1911 because at this time he was 18

years old, working as a junior clerk in a wool firm and was about to

gain his first insight into the differences between the social

classes. The people he met at this age encouraged him to take part in

their political arguments and discussions which were soon to influence

his opinions and frame the values he was to later write about. These

also led to him eventually attending university already politically

aware at the age of 25.

By writing the play 35 years after it was set, Priestley gave his

audiences the advantage of hindsight. He wanted to do something about

the injustices of society, and because only the middle and upper

classes could afford to go to the theatre, his audiences were exactly

the kind of people he was attacking. They were witnessing their own

lives on stage and for them it may not have been a very pleasant thing

to see. I believe that at the time only the middle and upper classes