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Priestley's ideas in an inspector calls
Priestley's ideas in an inspector calls
Priestley's ideas in an inspector calls
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J.B. Priestley’s ‘An inspector calls’ was written in 1945 but was set in 1912 which was a time before the first world war and Britain was divided into classes: the upper class who were the rich, the middles who were average and the lower class who were poor and did most of the work. Priestly was very socialist because he saw how times had changed in WW1. Women started to work, all rations in the war were the same so no one was greater than the other. He wrote the play to show the audience what life was like before the wars and how socialism improved the community. An inspector interrupts an upper class family, the Birlings (Arthur, Sybil, Sheila and Eric) who are celebrating the engagement of Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft when inspector interrupts their dinner saying that a young girl has committed suicide. He accuses the Birlings of leading the girl to suicide and he gets their inquiries one at a time. We find out that they all had a part to play in the girl’s death. Priestly uses Arthur Birling to show that most people at that time were more capitalist. Priestly tries to show ho...
The characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ are mainly upper-middle class (Mr and Mrs Birling, Gerald, Sheila, Eric), but the Inspector is middle class and Eva Smith is working class. Most of the characters in ‘An Inspector Calls’ have varied opinions about social classes, but there are mainly two sides. The first main opinion is that the upper-middle class are the most important and the lower working classes are not important and that it doesn’t matter what happens to them (this is the view of Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald). For example Sheila and Mrs Birling need to be protected from the horrid things such as Eva Smith’s death because they are upper-middle class, whilst Eva Smith doesn’t need to be protected from horrid things in life because she is working class. The other opinion is that although they are working class, they should still be treated fairly even if they are different classes and that Eva Smith’s death is very tragic even if she wasn’t upper class (this is Eric, Sheila and The Inspector’s...
J B Priestley clearly had a strong moral conscience which led him to hold socialist beliefs wanting to bring about change against the capitalists who were exploiting the poor working class. In 'An Inspector Calls' Priestley cleverly uses dramatic techniques, lighting and stage directions to produce an emotionally charged setting to bring home a very important message to the correct society of his day and remains a challenge to the society in which we live in now.
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.
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.
Priestley's Social Message in An Inspector Calls The play an Inspector Call’s was written at the time of 1945 but is set in 1912. Priestley conveys a lot of social and important messages in this play. He conveys the messages through the character of Inspector Goole. One most important message that Priestley conveys is about Socialism.
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.
The play is the tale of a rich family, that are accosted by a man
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.
A morality play is a medieval play designed to teach the audience right from wrong. JB Priestley uses An Inspector call to convey a moral message, which is that you should not judge people on their class i.e. lower working class/higher class. He also expands the views of socialism within the message; this is all made very clear by the use of dramatic devices. Although it is a morality play it is not in the traditional format. Priestley makes it very clear in what he wants the audience to think is moral and immoral. The play also conveys a strong political message. The play encourages the idea of socialism, a society in which responsibility and community are essential, also a place where the community all work together and are responsible for their actions. This is in contrast with capitalism. JB priestly wrote the play in 1945, but it was set in 1912 just before the war, it was later performed in 1946. The play was written after World War I and World War II, Priestley used this to his advantage, it makes the audience feel awful after what has just happened, the majority of the audience would have either lived through one or both of the wars. This helped Priestley promote socialism against capitalism.
Through his play Priestley endeavoured to convey a message to the audiences, that we could not go on being self obsessed and that we had to change our political views. He used the Birling family as an example of the Capitalist family that was common amongst the higher classes in 1912, who took no responsibility for other people and he showed this with the power of Socialism, represented by the inspector; the uneasy facade put on by the Birling family to cover up their real flaws and how they have treated those whom they considered to be lower class could not stand up to any scrutiny without shame for what had happened, showing that they know they have been wrong.
How Priestely Uses the Characters in An Inspector Calls to Show Us the Social and Political Situation in England in 1912
When Sheila begins to challenge the authority of her parents by agreeing with the beliefs of the Inspector, she is referred to as “hysterical”. This trope characterised women as less rational, disciplined, and emotionally stable than men. As a result female characters were coddled and their opinions were undervalued. This can be seen in ‘An Inspector Calls’, as it is used as a form of dismissal. Whenever Sheila is trying to state a point that is against the older generation’s ideology, they ridicule it by linking it with (what was thought to be) a psychiatric illness. This shows that Mr. and Mrs. Birling think that ideas not the same as theirs are literally insane.
Sheila Birling is another character in ?An Inspector Calls? who also points this out during the play, ?You fool- he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we don?t know yet. You?ll see. You?ll see.?
In Victorian society there is a rift between the extravagant upperclass, doctors, lawyers, and rich
J.B. Priestley, (13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright and broadcaster. He published 27 novels. His making included literary and social criticism. One of the reasons why Priestly thought in a social way was because of his childhood, when he was a young boy his father’s friend and Priestly used to discuss political and social ideas. He worked at a wool factory as a junior clerk he obviously felt it wasn’t working for him to be treated badly and getting disrespected. He hated how people thought about other people in different social class e.g. unfortunate working class person. Priestly also disliked his boss and he compared him to Mr Birling from ‘an inspector calls’. Priestly does not believe that unfairness should occur in communities. German shells exploded 2 or 3 feet away from him – more hatred for the war. After his military service Priestley received a university education at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He joined the army he had to work in a community with another man on the front line socialist. Individual’s actions and the theme of responsibility became a major theme in his plays. Society 1912-1945 and J.B. Priestly socialist message. The elections of 1912 saw the conservatives remain in power, with strong support from the gentry, the new industrialist and the middle classes, anxious to distance themselves from the working classes. There was a huge divide in the distribution of wealth, with rich capitalist often exploiting their workers.