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How Different Attitudes and Perceptions Are Shown Between Generations in the Play An Inspector Calls
Older and younger generations' perceptions on different aspects of
day-to-day life vary greatly in the play 'An Inspector Calls'.
Priestly uses character manipulation to highlight the conflicting
opinions, morals and social standards between the two generations. He
uses their emotions to unravel their attitudes towards their positions
in society, and roles in Edwardian society, through the death of
someone they all allegedly knew and whose life they affected
negatively.
Arthur Birling has money and status and although he has worked for
them: his social standards, expectations and opinions of himself and
others are dissimilar to those of people around him, or underneath him
in his opinion.
Birling's perceptions on life in general are very optimistic and he is
rather dismissive of possible threats, '….you'll hear some people say
war's inevitable. And to that I say - fiddlesticks! The Germans don't
want war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilized folks in the
Balkans. And why? There's too much at stake these days. Everything to
lose and nothing to gain by war.' Arthur foresees the future economy
to be blooming and to be reaching new heights in wealth, how he sees
it is: people are in work with a fair wage and so the economy is going
to continue to prosper.
Arthur believes a man's duty is to provide for his family and a man is
always head of the family, 'a man has to make his own way- has to look
after himself - and his family too, of course, when he has one'.
Children's roles are to behave, work hard and respect himself ...
... middle of paper ...
... generation should act as role models for the
young generation. The older generation give the younger generation
opportunities, for example; his father provides him with work,
although the older generation are far less forgiving and don't accept
any nonsense and any trouble that anyone gets into is their problem,
'Because you're not the kind of father a chap could go to when he's in
trouble'. He accepts the older generation are resistant to change but
can't understand why they can't or don't want to listen.
In term's of Edwardian society, Eric was only doing what was expected
of young men and he had no responsibilities to anyone else so there
wasn't anything stopping him having fun with Daisy.
Overall Eric was willing to admit his role but was still ready to
blame his father overly for the outcome of the situation.
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.
Mr Arthur Birling is the man of the house he has his wife Sybil, his
In this essay I will be comparing two playwrights, A Raisin in the Sun and A Doll’s House, to one another. I will also compare the two to modern time and talk about whether or not over time our society has changed any. Each of these plays has a very interesting story line based in two very different time eras. Even though there is an 80 year time gap the two share similar problems and morals, things you could even find now in the year of 2016. In the following paragraphs I will go over the power of time and what we as a society have done to make a change.
An Inspector Calls' is primarily focused on he attitudes surrounding the higher classes in 1912, and how these attitudes can lead to actions with potentially devastating consequences. The attitudes are particularly aimed at women, especially those of working class status. In the play women are portrayed as second class citizens, after men. However the difference (e.g. in independence) between upper class men and women is greater than that of working class men and women.
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.
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.
In today’s world the most important man besides from the men in the family in a female’s life would generically be their husbands, but
When deciding what element a play should contain, one must look at a large variety of options. These options can alter how the audience depicts the play and change their overall opinions. Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is a play set around 1895 where the protagonist, Jack Worthing, takes on two identities in order to avoid social obligations. This play’s era affects how the characters are dressed and how their households appear.
Traditions demonstrate a set of social norms that have been followed and adapted to for an elongated amount of time. In each of the plots, Medea, The Piano, and The Age of Innocence, the standard set by society was broken and the consequences imposed took form in varying degrees and shapes of violence. Whether it was outright murder as in Medea, or a more subtle but intense struggle as in The Age of Innocence, these consequences serve as the community's opinion of this breach of its expectations for its members.
Families are a source of love, not a place to dominate through order. Two people are certainly collectively smarter than one person. Male dominating treatment towards women is hard to comprehend. If one looks back on the stereotypical relationships of our grandparents during the forties and fifties, the many changes with today's generation easily juxtapose. We see women in high paying jobs and powerful positions in life.
Talcott Parsons and Robert Bales, two of the leading figures in sociology, may be considered the founding fathers for the ideas of the “modern family” and the “male-breadwinner family.” Collectively, their work has influenced how Americans analyze families and has sparked new ideas regarding the American family from sociologists such as Stephanie Coontz and Arlie Hochschild. However, when studying the American family, Parsons and Bales fail to understand that the “ideal” family may not be so ideal for everyone. They neglect to consider societal influences and economic changes when discussing patriarchal social norms as the most optimal family structure. Their description of the male-breadwinner family consists of the father being the “instrumental leader” within the home, providing economically for his family based on his occupational earnings. Meanwhile, the mother is considered the manager of the household, providing for her husband and children physically, emotionally, and mentally.
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.
J.B Priestley and William Shakespeare’s world-renowned plays ‘an inspector calls’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet’ discuss the importance of: class, gender and materialism. Both Shakespeare and Priestley use different emotions to present the relationship between children and their parents. In both plays, it is evident that parents use emotion as a way of communicating with their children.
Throughout history, the roles of men and women in the home suggested that the husband would provide for his family, usually in a professional field, and be the head of his household, while the submissive wife remained at home. This wife’s only jobs included childcare, housekeeping, and placing dinner on the table in front of her family. The roles women and men played in earlier generations exemplify the way society limited men and women by placing them into gender specific molds; biology has never claimed that men were the sole survivors of American families, and that women were the only ones capable of making a pot roast. This depiction of the typical family has evolved. For example, in her observation of American families, author Judy Root Aulette noted that more families practice Egalitarian ideologies and are in favor of gender equality. “Women are more likely to participate in the workforce, while men are more likely to share in housework and childcare (apa…).” Today’s American families have broken the Ward and June Cleaver mold, and continue to become stronger and more sufficient. Single parent families currently become increasingly popular in America, with single men and women taking on the roles of both mother and father. This bend in the gender rules would have, previously, been unheard of, but in the evolution of gender in the family, it’s now socially acceptable, and very common.