Socialist Beliefs in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

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Socialist Beliefs in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

"No man is an island, entire of itself.

Everyman is a piece of the continent a part of the main

* * *

Any mans death diminishes me for I am involved in man kind.

Therefore do not send to know for whom the bell tolls.

It tolls for thee."

JohnDonne(1627)

This piece of writing means that we are all linked. No man can stand

alone. Everybody needs everybody else for help, and if one person dies

over the other side of the world it is still very important.

This piece of writing is very humanistic. The Inspector had a very

socialist views, he was the complete opposite to MrBirlingwho was

conservative. The Inspector made his views clear in the play, when MrBirlingtells

the Inspector that he refused to pay the workers 25 shillings a week.

The Inspector asks "why?" this gives us good reason to believe he

wanted fairer pay for people and better basic lives.

I think Priestleychose this message to be the theme of the play

because he wanted to teach his audience about socialism and the

dangers of cutting yourself of from the world just because of your

class.

Priestley joined the army in 1914, in which he met the young

inexperienced officers who were given the job because of their social

standing. Priestleyfelt that these officers often made foolish

decisions that cost hundreds of people their lives. Priestley's

experiences with the young officers opened Priestley's eyes to the

class ruled society that he lived in. I believe this was one of the

main reasons Priestleybecame a socialist. I think there was another

reason for why Priestleychose this theme for th...

... middle of paper ...

....

I have already mentioned the elder Birlings, Mr Birling, Mrs Birling

and also Gerald all revert back to their old beliefs where as Sheila

and Eric both change their beliefs quite radically. I think Priestley

changes the younger generation because he believed that things would

be better in the future and as the younger generation symbolises the

future so if they change so will the future.

I think Priestley conveys his socialist views to the audience through

the character of the Inspector very cleverly he does not tell them how

to think, but he show them a new way of thinking. I thing John Donne's

words are very inspiring and may have inspired Priestley quite a lot

and probably helped him become a better person and a socialist " no

man is an island" is a good message, and more people should try and

remember it.

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