An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley

I am going to explore how J.B Priestley expresses his ideas and

concerns about society through the characters Mr. Birling and

Inspector Goole in "An Inspector Calls".

Priestley's Ideas and concerns were similar to Dickens's in "A

Christmas Carol", they both had concerns that the rich were not

looking after the poor and that they were not taking responsibilities

for their own effect on those less fortunate. They both stress the

idea that the poor should be given a helping hand to get their own

money, not just be punished for being poor because that doesn't help.

J.B Priestley set the play in 1912 because so much had happen between

the period he had set the play and written it (1945), which meant that

the audience would be knowledgeable about the time and he could then

use dramatic irony very effectively. Dramatic irony is where the

audience has knowledge that gives additional meaning to a characters

words, Priestley uses this technique with the character Mr Birling to

show that he didn't have a clue about what he was talking about like

other rich people of the time. Mr Birling says "the

Titanic…unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable" the Titanic sunk on its

maiden voyage. As the audience knew this fact, and as the audience

will know they realized Mr Birling was wrong so this causes dramatic

irony. He also talks about WW1 "just because the Kaiser makes a speech

or two, or a few German officers have too much to drink and begin to

talk nonsense, you'll hear some people say that war is inevitable. And

to that I say - fiddlesticks!" and of cause the war did happened, well

two wars happened between 1912 and 1945. Birling also says the workers

won't revolt and the labour party will never grow and again he is

wrong. The effect of using dramatic irony to make Mr Birling look

ignorant even though he is financially successful is to show that even

thought some people maybe be rich doesn't mean they now more about