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. At the start the playwright creates slight allusions that produce tension; Sheila wondered ‘half seriously what had happened to Gerald previous summer when Gerald never went near Sheila’. Lady Croft and Sir George have not come to the engagement feast and Eric is behaving quite anxiously. Eric’s strange behaviour on the cheerful occasion creates trepidation and foreshadows a rather surprising event which interests the audience. A ‘sharp ring is heard of the front door bell’ interrupting Mr. Birling’s dialogue that explicates “that a man has to make his own way- has to look after himself” as though the ‘sharpness’ of the ring is opposing Birling’s ‘solemnity’ in his words. The stage direction instantly demonstrates juxtaposition between the Birling and the other anonymous individual; this also generates tension because of the fact that the individual is yet to be introduced. Eric felt very ‘uneasy’ after Edna said to Birling that an Inspector has arrived which gives the audience clues of Eric being involved in a crime, Eric’s uneasiness also makes Birling ‘sharply’ stare at Eric- this creates suspense for the audience. The lighting is used as colour symbolism through Priestley’s decision to imitate the emotions in the act, ‘the lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should... ... middle of paper ... ...ute the ‘responsibility’ for the death as he tells them that “each of them have helped to kill her” though his final words supposed that “there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us”, they were clearly implicated to the audience as he is talking about collective ‘responsibility’ and wanted the audience to acknowledge their own faults revealed in the characters (Shelia, Eric Gerald etc.); this is an use of a dramatic monologue to convey the message. He is talking about the society being ‘responsible’ for the women’s death as everyone is part of ‘one body’, as everyone is part of a unity and if this is not put into practice it will result in "fire and blood and anguish”, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek”. I think...
An Inspector Calls was written in 1945 but set in 1912. The play shows the stark difference between 1912 and 1945. J. B. Priestley reveals the errors of society and the faults of capitalism as well as the bias of the upper class and social status. As a firm believer in the concepts of socialism, he uses this play to expose society’s poor attitudes to the working class of the period. The way they treat Eva Smith reflects on how many of the working class may have been treated by their social superiors. Eva was a victim in society as she was very low in the financial hierarchy as well as in reality where she was at the bottom of the classes. Women at that time were seen as being delicate, obedient to their husbands. The inspector is used to correct the
A Comparison of Characters of Mr. Birling and Inspector Goole in J.B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls
The Dramatic Techniques J.B. Priestley Used to Create and Develop Tension in Act one of An Inspector Calls
talks with. He is a man who has come to the Birling's house to do his
Priestley's Use of Characters to Send a Political and Social Message to the Audience in An Inspector Calls
The Inspector, straight form his introduction, is commanding and authoritative. Upon his entrance he creates, “…at once an impression of massiveness, solidity and purposefulness.”(PG.11) The Inspector continues to create this impression as he progresses through his speeches and through his interrogation of the family. The Inspector remains confident, sturdy and composed, while people around him crumble and fall to pieces. His ‘solidity’ is proven by the fact he remains on task despite numerous attempts from Birling to digress from the points he is making. The Inspector is told to appear ‘purposeful’; this is shown where he explains to Birling that Birlings way of thinking “Every man must only look out for himself,” is not the case, and all warps of society are interlinked. The view is best illustrated in the Inspectors final speech, where he says, “We don't live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other.”(p.56). This idea is one that Priestley, himself believed in deeply, and many of Priestleys writing shared this very theme.
The inspector represents J.B.Priestley and the socialist idea. Priestley hopes we have learned about socialism and that what can happen in a chain of events theory. Priestley hopes that we have learned that everyone should be equal and share their possessions. he also wanted us to learn from our mistakes. I have learned about socialism and about life in 1912. my views haven’t really changed because I didn’t know about socialism before. my view is that the play is a decent play, but not one that I would go and see.
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.
opinions in Act 1, Scene 2. The aim of this is to build the suspense
An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley as an Effective Piece Of Social Criticism As Well As An Enjoyable Theatrical Experience
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.
Priestley mainly uses the characters in the play to present his views, especially Mr and Mrs Birling, to present his ideas about class and society. In the Birling family, Mrs Birling is the most upper class, and is always referring to the lower class female factory workers such as Eva Smith as ‘girls of that class’. She seems to think that working class people are not humans at all.
The play "An Inspector Calls" was written by J.B Priestley in 1945, when the British people were recovering from over six years of constant warfare and danger. As a result of two world wars, class distinctions were greatly reduced and women had achieved a much higher place in society. It was due to this and a great desire for social change that Labour's Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. He nationalized the gas steel and electrical industries, established the NHS and introduced the Welfare State. The play was set in Brumley, a fictional industrial city, in 1912.The playwright believed passionately in the left wing perspective and his message is overtly political. He uses techniques such as "dramatic irony" and "direct mouthpieces", which define the genre of the play as non-illusory, to impart his left-wing message.
In act 1, while Arthur Birling was giving advice to Eric and Gerald, an Inspector gives them a visit to investigate a young working-class girl’s suicidal death. This is very important because later on, we find out how J. B. Priestley has linked the girl’s death to all the Birling family members.