An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley On page 56 of J.B Priestlys Play An Inspector Calls, the Inspector makes his final speech in which he says: 'But just remember this. One Eva Smith is gone - but there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives and fears, their suffering and chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives and what we think and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for one another. And I tell you the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire blood and anguish. Good night.' I am going to try to understand an explain the effect it is supposed to have on: 1) the other characters, and 2) the audience. I will study techniques the inspector uses in his final speech. And explore the meaning of 'Fire Blood and Anguish.' I will refer to the social context and the themes in the play. I will also discuss the inspector and analyse who or what he is meant to represent. There are three main themes in the play: Social versus individual responsibility, Capital verses labour, and Guilt verses denial. Throughout the play, Mr and Mrs Birling show the belief in individual responsibility (looking after yourself), Denial, and Capital views. Some of these are initiated in the first few pages, this is ignorance to the idea of society and social responsibility. Birling - 'But the way some of these cranks talk and write now, you'd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as is we're all mixed up together like bee's in a hive - community and all that nonsense. But take my wo... ... middle of paper ... ...xample of this is on page 48 where he says 'not yet, I'm waiting.' It is then discovered that Eric was the father of Eva's child and almost straight after that Eric enters. From this is could be said that the inspector was a time traveller from the future, however I think that there was a much stringer link between Priestly himself and the inspector. Priestly shared many of the inspector's views, and I think was trying to express his opinions through the inspector and what he says. The play centres mainly on the inspector and so it would seem fitting that Priestly chose the most important character to represent himself and what he feels. If he felt so strongly on a subject, I do not think that he would have the main character undermining his opinion. And so I think that the inspector was actually the voice of Priestly.
...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.
Throughout his play Priestley warned so... ... middle of paper ... ... l interrupts and takes them back to relive the events. It is this which allows the possibility that the Inspector was a real policeman who has slipped out of real time and will return. If they fail to learn from their experiences and are 'ready to go on in the same old way' the Inspector's threat of "fire and blood and anguish" will become their reality.
and say and do. We don't live alone. We are members of a body. We are
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.
This coursework focuses on how each character contributes to the suicide of a poor girl Eva Smith/Daisy Renton.
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley In the introduction of Act One, we are given a few brief details about
In this essay I will examine how Priestly ends each act on a note of
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.
worked for him and asked for a pay rise and was fired from her job by
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.
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.
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.
Birlings, as they find out that they have all played a part in a young
was genuine and this allows the audience to almost predict their own ending; how will the family react to the arrival of the real Inspector? Will they acknowledge this as a chance to admit to their mistakes or will they try and conceal their guilt? I thoroughly enjoyed studying An Inspector Calls and have learned a great deal about how society has changed and how moral ideals have evolved over time. I found the play effective although because of the way in which society has developed Priestley's morals may not be applicable to life today. As wealth and power have become increasingly more important socialist feelings of responsibility for one another have been progressively weakened.