An Inspector Calls' is based in 1912, before the first and second world
war, before the sinking of the Titanic and before women had any rights.
An Inspector Calls
'An Inspector Calls' is based in 1912, before the first and second
world war, before the sinking of the Titanic and before women had any
rights. 'An Inspector Calls' was written in 1945, Britain was enduring
the final year of The Second World War and the country was united in
one community, together they were fighting for Britain.
JB Priestley liked what he saw; people were putting aside their class
and background and ignored their prejudices in an attempt to help
their country. The only problem was Priestley knew after the war, that
Britain may return to its previous state. Therefore Priestley wrote a
play, based in Edwardian Britain when class mattered and reputation
was everything. Priestley set the play in Brumley, an industrial town
where, like most places in Britain, the rich and poor rarely met. The
only places the two classes became more integrated were the bars where
prostitutes and rich men would meet. But these places were another
world, a form of escapism for family men yearning for more excitement,
they had double standards and these double standards appear throughout
the play. The story is about the Birling family and their involvement
with a young woman who tragically committed suicide, each member of
the family had their own input to her downward spiral, and it started
with Mr Birling.
'A man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his
own..' and it is with that there is knock at the door. Inspector
Goole enters the Birling household (and in my opinion acting as
Priestley's alter-ego), causing unrest amongst some of them and no
affect on others. The mood changes from a happy, celebratory
atmosphere to a tense and mysterious one. Maybe this could be shown in
a change of lighting, being more intense as apposed to before when the
family were rejoicing the fact of their daughter's engagement. When
the inspector begins to interrogate Mr Birling he refuses to accept
any responsibility for Eva Smith's death, he gives no thought to his
actions and this is obvious as he shows relatively little remorse or
guilt. However, Mr Birling has an honest approach to life, not ashamed
by his refusal to give Eva Smith a raise 'I refused of course,' and
seems surprised why anyone would query his actions. Money in this era
was a precious thing and all Eva Smith was to Mr Birling was a
problem, which must be rid off immediately, especially since it could
Priestley mainly uses the characters in the play to present his views, especially Mr and Mrs Birling, to present his ideas about class and society. In the Birling family, Mrs Birling is the most upper class, and is always referring to the lower class female factory workers such as Eva Smith as ‘girls of that class’. She seems to think that working class people are not humans at all.
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
How Priestley Presents His Ideas To An Audience In Act One Of An Inspector Calls
'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.
Socialism is one of the greatest messages that Priestley conveys. This message is spoken through the inspector. The Inspector represents Priestley’s strong moral views. Through the play, the Inspector’s character is shown as if he is Priestley’s image, and also shows that he is no ordinary Inspector. His character is shown as if he is more concerned with morality than legality, other than that of an ordinary Policeman/Inspector.
A ‘sharp ring is heard of the front door bell’ interrupting Mr. Birling’s dialogue that explicates “that a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself” as though the ‘sharpness’ of the ring is opposing Birling’s ‘solemnity’ in his words. The stage direction instantly demonstrates juxtaposition between the Birling and the other anonymous individual; this also generates tension because of the fact that the individual is yet to be introduced. Eric felt very ‘uneasy’ after Edna said to Birling that an Inspector has arrived which gives the audience clues of Eric being involved in a crime, Eric’s uneasiness also makes Birling ‘sharply’ stare at Eric- this creates suspense for the audience.
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.
The play is the tale of a rich family, that are accosted by a man
The Inspector, straight form his introduction, is commanding and authoritative. Upon his entrance he creates, “…at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”(PG.11) The Inspector continues to create this impression as he progresses through his speeches and through his interrogation of the family. The Inspector remains confident, sturdy and composed, while people around him crumble and fall to pieces. His ‘solidity’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Birling to digress from the points he is making. The Inspector is told to appear ‘purposeful’; this is shown where he explains to Birling that Birlings way of thinking “Every man must only look out for himself,” is not the case, and all warps of society are interlinked. The view is best illustrated in the Inspectors final speech, where he says, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”(p.56). This idea is one that Priestley, himself believed in deeply, and many of Priestleys writing shared this very theme.
The play is very simplistic and overtly political. It heavily features varying aspects of non-illusory theatre to semaphor Priestley's political message. When reading the play, it is important to remember that the characters are not people but caricatures Priestley employs to manipulate the reader. This combines with the artificiality of the plot to form a completely biased play, from whichever angle one looks at it. However at the time of its publication it was not so outlandish, because it upheld the New Labour government, struggling so hard to bring about its reforms and stay in favour of a people who had suffered many hardships and were now looking to more years of difficulty and discomfort.
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.
Discuss Priestley's depiction of the Birling household and Gerald Croft, prior to the arrival of Inspector Goole In this submission I hope to fully discuss Priestley's depiction of the Birling household and Gerald Croft, prior to the arrival of Inspector Goole. The play is set in the fictional town of Brumley, an industrial town in the North Midlands. It is evening in the town, in the spring of 1912. At the moment the play starts the characters are celebrating the engagement between Gerald Croft and the Birling family's only daughter Sheila. They are all very pleased with themselves and are enjoying the occasion.
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.
In 1947 Britain had just come to the end of a devastating world war where families had suffered immense losses and society was desperate for a fairer, more equal lifestyle. Socialism and left-wing Labour views were becoming increasingly popular and Priestley, himself a Socialist, was anxious to point out the flaws of a society which rewarded rich men who openly exploited the poor for profit. He effectively uses hindsight in his play to ensure the corruption, hierarchy and discrimination of Edwardian Britain was not repeated. There is an irrefutable message in Priestley's thriller, a feeling ... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Message of An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley An Inspector CallsA moral crime has been committed against a girl