More handpicked essays just for you.
What is the moral message of an inspector calls
Essay about an inspector calls
Dramatic conventions in An Inspector Call
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In act one J.B Priestly the writer of ‘An Inspector Call’ uses several dramatic devices and ironies to draw in the audience. This story was first performed in 1945 which was at the end of the World War 2, but was set in 1912 before the upsetting disaster of the titanic. These dates are vital as they all link into the message and flow of the story. As in 1945 the World War 2 ended and this was when the labour party got elected as government. Also this is when the welfare states were created which Priestley was much in favour of setting up , this is when you are looked after for example free housing, health care and many more. Priestley’s main concerns were to get his message across-social collective responsibility this is when we are all responsible for each other. The genre of ‘An Inspector Calls’ is a murder mystery detective story with allot of suspense and superstition. The inspector in this story is trying to teach the Birlings a lesson that we cannot cut ourselves out of from the rest of the world we have to work and interact as a community this is also one of the main messages that occur during the whole story.
J.B Priestly added in many different dramatic devices and ironies in the first act to insure that the audience was fully drawn in so they would want to read on and find out what happens next. One was used very early on in the story “the titanic – she sails next week –forty six thousand eight hundred tons – New York in 5 days... Unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable”. As the audience were in 1945 and the story was set in 1912, they absolutely knew this was totally untrue. The Birlings had very big egos and only liked to think about themselves and no one else. The stage directions and Lighting effects are used to signify t...
... middle of paper ...
...to which was surpossingly of Eva smith. Priestly got the audience thinking as he doesn’t show the picture to everyone at the same time, he shows all the characters individually. How do we know it the same picture? How do we know he’s showing every one the same thing? Priestley knew exactly how to drawn in the audience and pass his message across and I still think his message is relevant even today. I think social collective responsible is relevant today as we have all different kinds of tragedy all over the world for example the tsunami which hit Asian on Boxing Day and the terrorist attack on 9/11 these events showed how everyone worked together to gain back people surroundings and lives. Overall J.B Priestly got his message across to the audience and characters. He made his characters feel guilty about Eva smith and the audience think about there very own actions.
...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.
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.
As the play was meant to be produced on stage, rather than to be written as a book format, 'An Inspector Calls' is very dramatic; to capture the audiences' attention, and to keep them thinking as the play develops. Each of the three acts are very dramatic, but I am choosing to analyse the first half of Act One of 'An Inspector Calls', because in my opinion, this is where J.B. Priestley's use of dramatic devices is most evident. This part of the play is very important, because it is the opening scene. Not only must the opening scene of the play grab the audiences' attention, it must also give impressions and introductions to the main characters. J.B. Priestley has used the scene to capture the audiences' attention and imagination, and gives a good introduction to the characters and their personality.
· The social class system at the time when the play is set, (rich and
'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.
"And be quiet for a moment and listen to me. I don't need to know any
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.
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.
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.
the perfect son in law. But in the process of doing this she puts hr
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.
J.B Priestley is the writer of the play 'An Inspector Calls'. The play is based in the period of 1912, however, it was in the year 1946 that he decided to get his message across: The importance of the welfare state.
On overall, Priestley has presented the two characters, Arthur and Sheila Birling as completely differently. He wanted to match the story to the historical context of the 1910’s, but he has done this differently with Sheila. This is because the play was written in 1946 and the world had two wars and has started to comprehend the strength of community. She is the young generation of the 1910’s this means in a few years down the line, a war is going to break out and if they keep making the same mistake over and over again, it’s not going to turn out any better, by this, we see what happens in the second world war. This is why Sheila has been presented so that she understands consequences of what might happen if we don’t pull ourselves together.