An Inspector Calls 'An Inspector Calls' is a play written by JB Priestley in 1945 and set in 1912. Priestley demonstrates his concern with moral responsibility and his beliefs in Socialist values through the character of the Inspector, whom he uses as a mouthpiece throughout the play. He voices his opinions on these issues using this technique, and they are shown by the way the Inspector deals with the Birling family and are exemplified by the obstacles to social harmony in which the Inspector has to face before coming to a suitable and justifiable conclusion. The play was written in 1945 - within a week of World War Two ending - but set in 1912, when Britain still had its Empire and was doing very well financially. The time span between the two dates is Priestley's way of expressing a feeling of urgency he thought necessary to pass on to society after the events of 1945. Although the war had ended, society in Britain in 1945 was still experiencing the hardships that it had brought. New books were printed under the wartime economy regulations, continuing the shortage of paper and therefore resulting in the books being expensive - too expensive for any working class person to purchase. However, in 1912 some things were different. Society did not have the burden of the war hanging over their heads, but life for the poor did not differ much from 1945. Edwardian society was strictly divided into social classes; below the very rich were the middle classes, such as doctors, merchants, shop workers and clerks. After that came the craftsman and skilled workers, and 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... ... middle of paper ... .... It is also contradictory to a section of one of Arthur Birling's speeches: "By the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else" which is the complete opposite to what the Inspector is announcing. The passage also anticipates World War One, in the sense that at the very end, the Inspector says "if men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish" - this, to the Birlings, is a prophetic statement, but the reader and audience are aware of it as it has already come to pass. To emphasise that idea, the Inspector lengthens the list of words he mentions; instead of just using a comma between "fire" and "blood", he chooses to use 'and', which sensationalises the comment and makes it sound somewhat more important than if he had just normally listed those specific words.
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
and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of a body. We are
Set in Nazi Germany, with the occasional interruption from the 1980’s Reagan Era, A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner has more in common with 2016 America than one may first imagine. Political upheaval in the wake of a devastating economic crisis and the rise of an influential and charismatic leader certainly may resonate with many in America today, even as this may not have been what the play writer imagined having written this play in the 1980’s. The story follows the events of the 1930’s as Hitler gains ground in Germany, and a small, odd group of friends who work to do their part politically. While some succeed more than others at finding a voice among the chaos, others are left behind in the wake of the war. The play begins with a grand celebration, in which the characters toast to the New Year.
The play is set two years before World War I, in 1912, and in the year
coming to an end in 1945. The play was based in the time just before
the end of the Second World War. The play is set in 1912, just before
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.
in jeopardy than how he may have driven a young girl down a spiral to
Consider the role of the Inspector in “An Inspector Calls”? And what we learn about Priestley’s view on society through the character and his effect on others.
the suicide of Eva Smiths death. The aim of the story is to, try to
I have decided to stage a section of the play from where Eric says "He
WORKS CITED Meyer, Michael, ed., pp. 113 Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, John J., 2001. o Joan Murray, "Play-By-Play".
"A View From A Bridge" is a play by Arthur Miller. It is set in 1950s
... may mean that if a person does not learn from their mistakes the first