The Effect of the Inspector's Visit on Sheila Birling in J.B Priestly's An Inspector Calls An inspector calls was written in 1945 and was set the week the titanic sunk in 1912. It was written by J.B Priestly, J.B Priestly was born in 1894. He wrote the play in 1945 and set it in 1912 because he wanted people to see what life was like when class divisions all looked down on each other and politics was a big role in society. Edwardian Britain in 1912 was a lot different from today; there was a huge conflict between Capital versus Labour. It was a time when prices rose, and wages couldn’t keep up with the pace. One million miners went on strike in the biggest industrial walk out of that time; this was a big threat to businessmen because work wasn’t being done. It was also a year when the titanic first set sailed; this was a symbol of Britain’s wealth, power and might. The titanic also sank the same year. There was a lot of class division the upper class looked down on the middle class and they all looked down on the lower class. Women didn’t have power, as they couldn’t cote, so men thought they were the superior sex. Women in 1912 were not bothered about politics and society, they were fonder of how much money they had and materialistic things. In ‘an inspector calls’ Sheila is one of these women, and all she cares about is what size of diamond Gerald her fiancé is going to get her. Most of the women Sheila knows are into fashion, just like any normal woman, but Sheila thinks she is better than the women in the lower class. We see this through her actions especially in Milwards, when Eva/Daisy was meant to of offended Sheila... ... middle of paper ... ...s well off than the Birlings. J.B. Priestly has made Sheila’s character special by reflecting her views and responsibilities on to her parents at the end of the play. Sheila’s attitude on society had changed by the end of the play; she realises to respect everyone less well off than her and she doesn’t want to take anything for granted anymore. Sheila has made a big transformation, she has changed her views about society and she has learnt to respect people in the lower classes, she isn’t the jealous stuck up woman she was, and she has realised that she needed to change her ways. The inspector has taught Sheila that what she’s says affects people in such dramatic ways; Sheila is trying to get her parents to understand what she believes, by telling her parents her opinion and getting them to realise that she is right.
play was set in 1912 two years before the first world war so from this
There would be more of an effect on the audience at the time, as it
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
J.B. Priestley's Motives Behind An Inspector Calls J.B. Priestley was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1894. His mother
they are given a second chance at the end of the play - that their
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
The play is set two years before World War I, in 1912, and in the year
Gerald finds out at the end of the play when he takes a quiet stroll
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.
in jeopardy than how he may have driven a young girl down a spiral to
1945, and was first performed in 1946, though he set the play as if it
family, but it must not be 'cosy’ or homely. The lighting is to be a
Sheila Birling is another character in ?An Inspector Calls? who also points this out during the play, ?You fool- he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don?t know yet. You?ll see. You?ll see.?
In “An Inspector Calls”, during the extract, Priestley uses tension to create a dramatic scene. Tension is an important part of the play as in many situations, such as when the audience finds out about Eva Smith’s death, it leads to feelings like guilt and shameful confessions, among the characters.
but she seems to be a person who would only marry for love and not for