The Death of Eva Smith in An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Inspector Calls is set in the fictitious North Midlands industrial city of Brumley during the Edwardian Era in 1912. Arthur Birling and his wife, Sybil, are holding a dinner party to celebrate their daughter's engagement. Among the guests is Gerald Croft, the daughter's fiancé. Gerald is the son of a business rival, Sir George Croft, and Mr. Birling is extremely pleased with the match partly due to the closer business links he hopes to develop with Gerald's father. The play centres on the arrival of a Police Inspector, who says he is investigating the suicide of a young working class woman. As the play progresses, we learn how each member of the family was involved with the woman, and how they all contributed to her apparent suicide. The Edwardian Era was a period of huge social divisions and distinctions. Characters such as Mr and Mrs Birling were very common. While they lived in luxury, over eight million people had to live on less that 25 shillings a week and as a result were in poverty. The working classes had virtually no rights and were separated into the "deserving" and "un-deserving" classes. J.B. Priestly was writing in 1946 at a time of great optimism, following the downfall of the Nazi Regime, and was trying to convey a message of responsibility throughout the play. Responsibility is one of the main themes of the play and J.B. Priestly was very politically minded. He was appalled and disgusted by the way the rich didn't seem to have any empathy for the poor in pre 1914 Britain. I think the play is inspired by the social situation of 1912 and is almost a his... ... middle of paper ... ... ignoring the truth. But on the other hand, Eric tried to escape from the world in which he grew up. He became a spoilt brat, spurred on by the idea of rebellion. He had no need to wreck Eva's life, but for a few nights of passion he couldn't care less. He was not educated about the "outside world", and acted like many young gentlemen of the upper-classes would have done. But he was naïve and foolish to think that he could watch life pass by, without growing up and seeing things as they should be. He deliberately stole, lied and blundered his way through those few months, not caring about the consequences. That, to me, is enough to find him guilty of driving Eva to commit suicide. Although it could be argued that he didn't directly affect Eva's actual suicide, I believe he was the "straw that broke the donkey's back".
On June 7th 2008, Sarah May Ward was arrested for the murder of Eli Westlake after she ran him over in a motor vehicle in St. Leonards. Prior to the incident the offender had been driving the wrong way down Christine Lane which was a one way street. Whilst this was occurring she was intoxicated, under the influence of marijuana, valium, and ecstasy and was unlicensed to drive. The victim and his brother who were also intoxicated, where walking down the lane and where nearly hit by the offender. This prompted the victim to throw cheese balls at the car and make a few sarcastic remarks regarding her driving ability. After a brief confrontation between the two parties the victim and his brother turned away and proceeded to walk down Lithgow Street. The offender followed the victim into the street and drove into him while he was crossing a driveway.
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
...his antagonist proves to be their own inner character which determines the trajectory of their decisions. As they all become aware, the consequences of their decisions prove to have an extensive impact on themselves and those around them.
Do you agree that Eva Smith is presented as a victim in the play ‘An
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
revenge on the rebels who had taken everything from him by taking part in the fight against
makes each of them aware of the part they had played that lead to her
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
technology and how a man should live. He says 'A man has to make his
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.
Written in 1947, J.B. Priestley's didactic murder-mystery, An Inspector Calls, accentuates the fraudulent Edwardian era in which the play was set. Britain in 1912 was inordinately different to Britain in 1947, where a country annihilated by war was determined to right the wrongs of a society before them. In 1912 Britain was at the height of Edwardian society, known as the "Golden Age". A quarter of the globe was coloured red, denoting the vast and powerful Empire and all Britons, no matter what class they belonged to were proud to be British - the "best nation in the world".
value his wife, Portia. He was never home for her and, eventually, part of her suicide
made him into someone who felt he had no control upon his destiny, because it
Morals are principles which help people to behave rightly. Also, they need to protect the rules. However, in Agatha Christie’s novel, Murder on the Orient Express, the characters act dishonestly: twelve passengers on the Orient Express murder Cassetti, they lie to the Belgian private detective, Hercule Poirot and the protagonist overlooks the passengers. Agatha Christie wrote these intensions fairly. From Murder on the Orient Express, the readers can learn that some set of morals are endorsed.