The play “An Inspector Calls” makes us realize that the philosophy “no man is an island” (John Donne) is a lesson that we should learn. It means that no-one should isolate themselves and that if a person dies etc. then the lives of others are seriously altered. “An Inspector Calls” by J.B. Priestly gets this view across. The main plot involves the Birling family and the girl’s fiancé celebrating when a mysterious inspector turns up and asks some questions about a girl’s suicide. It turns out they are all, in some way, involved in her death. J.B. Priestly proves this famous quote through the basic storyline. Each of the characters possesses a mixture of the seven deadly sins. Sir Arthur Birling starts a chain of events when he sacks the girl, Eva Smith, from his factory, Birling & Co when she goes on strike for a pay rise. Mr Birling shows greed when he does not want to part with his money. He is a very vindictive man. Birling says she was a good worker and was about to be promoted but because he could not control his greed and anger, another deadly sin, he sacked her instead. His daughter, Sheila Birling, insists she has never heard of Eva Smith until the inspector shows her a photograph. Eva had got a job at Milwards (a posh clothing store) and was doing well when Sheila turned up. Sheila wanted to try something on but thought it didn’t suit her. Eva, who had brought the dress from the storeroom, held it up against herself and it suited her. Sheila was furious when she thought she saw Eva smirk at her and ordered the manager to sack Eva or she would no longer shop there and would make her mother close their account with them. Sheila possesses Anger and Envy. Sheila’s fiancé, Gerald, is also mixed up in things. The insp... ... middle of paper ... ... realising the inspector was not a policeman and that the whole thing was hoax. Sheila and Eric try to convince them to change one last time but they insist that nothing has changed. Then the phone rings. Mr Birling answers it and appears shocked. He puts the phone down and turns around. He then informs the others that the police had just phoned. A girl had died after drinking some disinfectant. A police inspector was going to ask them some questions. I think the inspector was a ghost come to warn the Birlings of their selfishness and untruthfulness before the actual policeman came round. To add to this, his last name was Goole with the same pronunciation as ghoul as in ghostly spirit. This twist and the rest of the features in the play help us to understand the saying “no man is an island” is a very important lesson that should apply to us all.
Sheila and Eric are convinced that this doesn’t change a thing. Just when Mr. Birling teases the family, he receives a telephone to find that there’s is a girl that has died in the infirmary and a police inspector is on his way to question
He tells the family that a girl has committed suicide and that in one way or another they are responsible. Mr Birling was responsible for sacking the girl from his factory. Sheila Birling was responsible because she got the girl sacked from a shop where she works. Eric Birling was seeing her but the broke it off, and Gerald Croft was having an affair with her
Complete with lessons of courage and honor this play demonstrates with humor the lengths one man will go to in order to fulfill his dutiful and unusually contracted obligation.
As the play was meant to be produced on stage, rather than to be written as a book format, 'An Inspector Calls' is very dramatic; to capture the audiences' attention, and to keep them thinking as the play develops. Each of the three acts are very dramatic, but I am choosing to analyse the first half of Act One of 'An Inspector Calls', because in my opinion, this is where J.B. Priestley's use of dramatic devices is most evident. This part of the play is very important, because it is the opening scene. Not only must the opening scene of the play grab the audiences' attention, it must also give impressions and introductions to the main characters. J.B. Priestley has used the scene to capture the audiences' attention and imagination, and gives a good introduction to the characters and their personality.
'An Inspector Calls' is a morality play - a form of play developed in the late middle ages in which a Christian moral lesson was brought out through the struggle between the forces of good and evil - set in 1912, and revolves around the questioning of a family by Inspector Goole about the suicide of a young woman (Eva Smith) that the family knew.The author, J.B. Priestley is trying to show us what some people's arrogance and selfishness can cause without them even noticing. Priestley was a socialist, therefore by writing this play he was drawing attention to the bad things about capitalism. The Inspector was intending to teach the Birlings that ?...we have to share something. If there?s nothing else, we?ll have to share our guilt? Act One. By saying this, he is telling them they are all as guilty as each other of the suicide of Eva Smith, this also links to Priestley being a socialist because he is putting the Birlings to shame.
An Inspector Calls' is primarily focused on he attitudes surrounding the higher classes in 1912, and how these attitudes can lead to actions with potentially devastating consequences. The attitudes are particularly aimed at women, especially those of working class status. In the play women are portrayed as second class citizens, after men. However the difference (e.g. in independence) between upper class men and women is greater than that of working class men and women.
The whole family’s actions are the cause of Eva’s death however the message about responsibility the Inspector presents is only take on board by Eric and Sheila. In conclusion, Priestley clearly gets across his message of responsibility towards others in the play. A clever script cunningly executed points out Priestley’s views to the audience. ‘Responsibility’ is the focal point of the play and is consistently addressed at the end of each interrogation, but the Birlings fail to recognise this.
Trifles by Susan Glaspell is a one-act play centered around a woman, Mrs. Wright, who allegedly murdered her husband, Mr. Wright, in the night. There are no witnesses of his death; only unofficial confessions and he-said she-said talk. Without viable evidence and information (and the absence of Mrs. Wright altogether), the play soon focuses on a group of people who gather at the Wrights’ home the day after the murder. These characters include a male sheriff, county attorney, and neighboring farmer and their two wives. It is their job to determine what truly happened to Mr. Wright and piece together any evidence that would enable the conviction of Mrs. Wright. It is with the plot, setting, and overall use of symbolism that Glaspell communicates her message and themes. These messages and themes, which are the glue to the play, allow the audience to understand how unhappy of a life Mrs. Wright lived and how men viewed women’s roles as unimportant.
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
In the play “An inspector calls” by J.B priestly, Mr Birling and Shelia Birling have contrasting attitudes to social issues. The author uses this to difference to highlight the diversity between generations and their reaction to situations faced. Arthur Birling is the father to Shelia Birling and is presented as the old fashion generation whereas Shelia is the young generation, who is more aware of the responsibility she has towards other people.The play begins with Mr birling and his family celebrating the engagement of Shelia and Gerald. The atmosphere is happy and light-hearted. Before the inspector arrives, Mr Birling is happy with life and himself “It’s one of the happiest nights of my life.” This shows that Mr Birling is quire selfish because he only thinks that it is one of the happiest nights of his life and not of Shelia and Gerald.
When the children become stranded on the island, the rules of society no longer apply to them. Without the supervision of their parents or of the law, the primitive nature of the boys surfaces, and their lives begin to fall apart. The downfall starts with their refusal to gather things for survival. The initial reaction of the boys is to swim, run, jump, and play. They do not wish to build shelters, gather food, or keep a signal fire going. Consequently, the boys live without luxury that could have been obtained had they maintained a society on the island. Instead, these young boys take advantage of their freedom and life as they knew it deteriorates.
comparing the quote to the rest of the themes of the play, we interpret a deeper meaning in the
With each analysis the reader gets a greater understanding of suicide and the mental state of those who commit it, as well as some of their motives. One could read only a single chapter of this book and gain a greater understanding than they previously had on the topic of suicide, but when one brings all the chapters together as a whole a much deeper understanding is obtained. Lester’s analyses start with diaries, using that of a girl he has called Katie as his first example. In this 14 page chapter he analyses her diary, not only comparing her to Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but using that comparison to show some of her motives and to make sense of them. It is this astute analysis that sets the tone for the rest of the similar chapters, in a way that is not boring but is not lighthearted in the slightest. The way that the whole book works together to give one insight on the topic of suicide makes it a useful resource for those who wish to understand it in a more in-depth way.
...ut the play, is a symbol of strength. It serves as an escape from the reality of a masochist society. Apart, the women must face the hardships alone, but together, they are able to find their humanity by becoming “an ocean of strength” (321).
The Message of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley An Inspector CallsA moral crime has been committed against a girl