The Dramatic Importance of Arthur Burling's Speech in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
For my English coursework I shall write about the dramatic importance
of Arthur Burling's speech after dinner.
An Inspectors Calls was written by J.B Priestley in 1945 however it
was set in a pre-first world war setting (1912) in the fictional town
of Brumley. J.B priestly uses this difference of 33 years to create
dramatic importance as the audience would know about the outcomes of
historical events which the characters in the play had no knowledge
of. This allows Priestley to make the characters sometimes look quite
naive and silly especially Arthur Burling. The play is mainly about
how a rich upper middle class family are all made to confess about the
major parts they played in the events leading up to the suicide of a
lower class girl by a rather odd police inspector.
In the play Arthur burling can be viewed as a traditionalist who
preaches and practice the values of Edwardian Britain. He is a
prosperous business man who has worked very hard for his money, and is
very pleased with himself. He has also been active in local politics
and in the past has been the lord mayor of Brumley, however at present
Mr Burling is a magistrate.
The play starts with the Burling family celebrating Shelia Birling's
engagement to Gerald Croft. Mr Burling speaks on this happy occasion
about his daughter's engagement although he only touches upon the
topic of his daughter's future and happiness he seems more interested
in the business side of his daughter's engagement. This shows that he
is money orientated as he talks about his daughters future as though
...
... middle of paper ...
...an see that J.B. Priestly was a very political writer
who had very strong socialist views. His political and socialist views
were undoubtedly influenced by what happened to him during World War
One these experiences caused him to become a pacifist, which is
somebody who strongly believes in world peace.
The play 'An Inspector Calls' is a channel for Priestley's views and
criticisms on the social mores of the time. The message of the play
would have been particularly effective to the audience of 1946. J.B.
Priestley knew that the message of his play would reach the war-weary
audience of 1946 more effectively than it would reach the audience in
a different period of time. I believe that Priestley is trying to tell
the audience that they must learn from the harsh lessons of war and do
not repeat the mistakes of the past
...are lower class or upper class (‘[W]e don’t live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.’). Priestley believed in socialism, he uses the Inspector to express his thoughts about this. This is the main message that he wanted the audience to take away.
audience in his play. I will be analysing act one of the play to try
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.
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
Examine Priestley's use of dramatic techniques to create tension in the play. Priestly was a socialist writer, and 'An Inspector Calls' is one of the plays in which he tried to display his socialist ideals in. The play was written in the 1940's, a little after the end of the Second World War, and it was first performed in 1946, in Russia, then later in England. Priestly had served in World War 1, and the terrible scenes he saw lead to him having socialist views. He was inspired by other writers whose views he shared, especially George Orwell and H.G.
Victorian rich life out to be less than what it seems. I think it was
audience is left in suspense at the end of Act One, this is done so
In this essay we will be comparing two female characters from different texts and different time periods. We will be looking in depth at Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth', and Sheila from J.B. Priestley's 'An Inspector Calls'. We will be looking at their roles in their respective plays, and how their characters develop over time.
Priestley's Social Message in An Inspector Calls The play an Inspector Call’s was written at the time of 1945 but is set in 1912. Priestley conveys a lot of social and important messages in this play. He conveys the messages through the character of Inspector Goole. One most important message that Priestley conveys is about Socialism.
JB Priestley’s intent in ‘An Inspector Calls’ was to convey the attitudes of socialism to the minds of the society in the Edwardian Era as he was a passionate believer of the concept. Priestley has attempted this through the employment of ‘Inspector Goole’ in the play. In the play drama is displayed through a variety of methods for the interest of the audience and the communication of personal views from JB Priestley.
An Inspector Calls is a play with lots of political messages as well as social messages. J. B. Priestley believed in socialism and he used large amounts of his plays to try and convince people to his way of thinking. It was written in a time when Britain was ruled by a Labour government and socialist policies were seen to be a good way to go. It was a common way of thinking at that time so Priestley's aim for the play was to influence the unconvinced in society.
Goole. Some the Birling family are used to show how we are not to act
... checks himself). As well the whole of act one is ironic as Eva Smith's
The first impression of Arthur Birling is in the initial stage directions, when he is described as ‘a heavy looking, rather portentous man in his fifties.’ The fact that he is described as ‘heavy looking’ and ‘portentous’ suggests that he has a fairly comfortable lifestyle, and has an inflated opinion of his own importance. Priestley has done this to fit the typical man of the house during the 1910’s.