An Inspector Calls was written by J.B. Priestley after the Second World War. Written in 1945, however set in 1912, the purpose was to challenge the ideals of the general public of Great Britain and to convey Priestley’s own social and political message through the contrasting characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole who hold capitalist and socialist beliefs respectively. The date the play was set, 1912 represented an era that was largely controlled by capitalist principles and the mistreatment of the working class. By 1945 many of the class and gender boundaries central in the play were being questioned and partially addressed. Being a socialist, Priestley believed in responsibility, both individually and collectively. He wrote this play …show more content…
“It is a solidly built room, with good solid furniture of the period.” But a later section of this scene setting, on the walls are “imposing but tasteless pictures and engravings”, and the “general effect is substantial and comfortable and old-fashioned but not cosy and homelike”, suggests that although the Birlings have wealth and social standing, they are not loving or compassionate people. The setting of the play in a single room also implies their self-absorption and disconnectedness from the …show more content…
Priestley’s use of dramatic irony could be considered clumsy, but it underlines the fact that An Inspector Calls is a play with a point to make, strongly positioning it as anti-capitalist. In this way Mr. Birling’s credibility with the audience is undermined early on before the Inspector’s arrival. When Eric mentions the likelihood of war, Arthur cuts him off. “…you’ll hear some people say that war’s inevitable. And to that I say – fiddlesticks! The Germans don’t ant war. Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folks in the Balkans. And why? There’s too much at stake these days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.” He goes on to describe the Titanic as “unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable” and suggests that in time, “let’s say, in 1940”, “all these Capital versus Labour agitations and all these silly little war scares” will be long forgotten. The audience knows that two World Wars have been waged and the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. The audience are very aware therefore of the disparity between Birling’s predictions about the future and what actually happened between 1912 and 1945 making Birling’s views laughable. Priestley wanted his audience to dislike Mr. Birling and show his disagreement with capitalism through making Birling what he believed to be the epitome of it – pompous, self important and
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.
it will create. He makes a toast to the couple and to the fact that
she needed more money. So she said to him give me 25/6 because of that
Their maid, Edna, is replacing these items with cigars, cigarettes and a decanter. of the Port of. This shows that Mr Birling is wealthy and can afford luxuries. and does not hesitate to show off. In the stage directions we are told that their room ‘has good solid furniture.but is not cosy and homelike.’
The war was said to bring fire blood & anguish in to our lives. WW1 -
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
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.
An Inspector calls is set in 1912, in a time before the war, and when
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.
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.
J.B. Priestley wrote the play "An Inspector Calls" in 1945 and set it in 1912. These dates are both relevant because he wrote his play in a world emerging from the Second World War, at a time when people were getting nostalgic about pre-world war one. Priestley used his play to try and show people that the idea of a community in 1912 was gradually being washed away by the upper classes and that the world needed to change rather than return to the egotistical society that existed in pre war England.
Birling is presented as a self-centred capitalist very early on in the play. His pleasure in the marriage of his daughter is purely for his own profit. "Now you've brought us together and perhaps we may look forward to a time when Crofts and Birling are no longer competing but are worki...
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.
In “An Inspector Calls”, during the extract, Priestley uses tension to create a dramatic scene. Tension is an important part of the play as in many situations, such as when the audience finds out about Eva Smith’s death, it leads to feelings like guilt and shameful confessions, among the characters.
Written in 1947, J.B. Priestley's didactic murder-mystery, An Inspector Calls, accentuates the fraudulent Edwardian era in which the play was set. Britain in 1912 was inordinately different to Britain in 1947, where a country annihilated by war was determined to right the wrongs of a society before them. In 1912 Britain was at the height of Edwardian society, known as the "Golden Age". A quarter of the globe was coloured red, denoting the vast and powerful Empire and all Britons, no matter what class they belonged to were proud to be British - the "best nation in the world".